Ernest Paul asked:


Most merchant transactions these days are performed using credit cards. But besides business transactions, personal ones can be carried out, too. The convenience of using a credit card allows for managing your money and your time better and eliminates the necessity of carrying unmanageable amounts of money around.

What are the three key essentials of credit card processing for a merchant?

1. First of all you need to have an Internet merchant account-affiliation between your retailing company and any merchant bank which authorizes the collection of funds from a customer’s credit card account.

2. Your customer, of course, needs to have a bank account from which withdrawals can be made.

3. And then you need the payment gateway which is a combination of hardware and software and which sends information about the payment from the buyer to the merchant, performs the credit card processing

, and doe s the billing, and reporting.

Take care to see that your method of handling credit card information is confidential and secure.

One of the easiest and safest ways of processing credit cards online is by engaging a third-party service. This would be a merchant account as well as a payment gateway. There is a large amount of software and third-party service for the asking today which is suitable for any types of business. Beside the payment gateway and the merchant account most of these services also include a shopping cart application in the deal. Although it seems more expensive it is financially feasible in the long run as you will not have to pay for a shopping cart application separately or for any other contracts.

Before you decide on a third-party service for your credit card transactions, think about what the quantity and the incidence of your sales is going to be. There are a number of other third-party credit card processing services you can avail of and their pricing schemes are almost similar. Choosing the right one for you will be dependant upon how much business you expect and how large your transactions are going to be.



TERRY

DTS Web Solutions asked:


Many of us have used credit cards to make purchases online. It is important to understand how the online credit card processing works, how having a merchant account can enhance your chances of increasing sales, and the importance of SSL certificates.

Merchant Accounts:



Increase sales: According to Visa International, of every $100.00 spent by consumers, nearly $40.00 is in a form other than cash or check. Plus, the average credit card purchase is considerably larger than cash. A Merchant Account is the quick, easy way for these customers to pay.



 



Get paid, fast: Make the move to credit card transactions and start receiving payment within 24-72 hours.





 



Increase credibility! A merchant account means you’ve passed the approval process necessary to accept credit cards. It gives your customers confidence.





 



Cut paperwork! Why spend your valuable time processing checks? Instead, have proceeds from all your business’ transactions deposited directly into your banking account.



 



Reduce risk! Automate your transactions and take any hassle out of your sales. Visitors to your site want the convenience, flexibility and security that credit cards offer. They want to spend!



 

The followinng is a brief description of how the process works:

1. Customer’s Credit Card:

Provides the funds needed for the transaction. All authorized cards are processed in the same way, regardless if they are credit or debit.

 

2. Shopping Cart:

Serves as a collection point for necessary information including credit card data, product type and quantity, shipping information and more.

 

3. Gateway:

Securely transfers encrypted data from the Shopping Cart to the Merchant account, screens for fraud and authorizes the transaction.

 

4. Internet Merchant Account (Processor):

Verifies the credit/debit account for the necessary funds. Approved transactions are processed and the funds are placed in a Checking Account.





5. Checking Account:

Receives and holds the money gained from approved online sales. Funds can be withdrawn at any time through an ATM or at your local bank.

 

The Importance of SSL Certificates:

People are getting smart about online security. More and more of them are looking for the padlock icon and “https” prefix in the address bar of their browser before submitting personal information online. If your Web site doesn’t have an SSL Certificate, visitors may leave before making a purchase, creating an account or even signing up for a newsletter.

 

About the Author

DTS Web Solutions is a Low Cost Domain and Hosting Company that provides a variety of services ranging from Domain names to hosting, SSL Certificates, and other high quality business solutions. For more information visit:http://www.dtswebsolutions.com/

 





GARLAND

Jessica Miller asked:


Credit Card fraud is one major worry for the booming online shopping portals, given a choice, 90% of online stores at some point of time would prefer a different mode of payment than a credit card, because in a Card-Not-Present scenario, an online merchant suffers the most if a fraudulent card is used by a shopper. 

But isn’t this mode of payment the most convenient of all other forms of payment, if only basic safe-guards are exercised by a merchant, a credit card is the most ideal and handy mode of payment than a money transfer, check or e-payment facility.

This article will shed some light on how best a merchant can organize and observe a few measures that will to a large extent prevent him from being conned, by fraudulent credit card transactions resulting in chargeback and revenue loss to his online business.

As a first step, sign-up for an online security service provider who can screen credit card transactions on a merchant website before forwarding it to payment gateways for processing the card, these service providers have access to updated databases through which it can be easily determined if a fraudulent credit card is being used.

Apart from the access to databases that have updated inputs on identity thefts, the Merchant Risk Management Service provider also check other parameters of the transaction that include,

IP address of the customer Global Address Validation Mapping the customers computer or device used for the transaction Match the proxy server through which the customer is logged in with the billing address entered for the transaction Generating an instant report for the transaction, and sending an alert to the merchant in case of fraudulent representation.

These preventive measures adopted by merchants, will to an extent eliminate online credit card fraud and increase the growth potential of e-commerce businesses.



KENNETH