Zed Miller asked:




Whether you’re selling digital products or tangible goods through online channels, your business should be able to accept credit cards to ensure the widest customer base possible. Being able to accept credit cards makes your online business more accessible to a greater number of potential clients and customers, hence, increasing your customer base. By building an online enterprise that could accept credit cards, you will be able to secure payment in a more convenient and safe manner. If your online business would accept credit cards from paying customers, you’d be empowering them to spend on your products.

You will be able to access your e-Commerce merchant account control page from any country and any computer, letting you review, overview and control your credit card processing. But, as important is the fact that your customers will be able to access your e-Commerce website and your credit card processing service from any part of the world. This is important if you do not want to limit your product or service to one particular location or country.

Credit card processing gateways are 24-hour stable, i.e. they always function, and server breakdowns occur very rarely. 128-bit SSL encryption and other security technologies make it impossible for hackers to read and modify credit card information on your e-Commerce website. This makes it safe for you and your customers to use your credit card gateway.

Especially, if your e-Commerce shopping cart is equipped with a ‘One-Click Buy’ function. This means that not only you will save much time with a merchant account; your customers will be able to fill one form upon registration and then start purchasing just by clicking the “Buy Me” button on your website without the hassle of re-filling credit card information forms.

Especially, if your business is selling digital products and services which are normally available for immediate download after payment. No one wants to want to wait for a week or more for the post to arrive, pay the check into your bank account and then the time delay for the check to clear and finally credited before sending out each order.

Jerry

Uma A Ilango asked:


5 Things To Consider When Hiring Online Credit Card Processing Services

Branching out globally is a sure way to keep your clientele growing voluminously. With an online credit card processor, you can now accept all forms of payment anytime from anywhere in the world. However, selecting the best online credit card processing service will probably seem a little daunting with the number of options available in the market. Let us look at 5 main points that you should consider to make the task viable.

1) Fixed fees

Learn about all the costs by reading your contract conscientiously. The common fixed costs are as follows:

Start up costs Gateway fees Statement fees Monthly minimum fees Software costs

Please note that as the market is very competitive, some online credit card processing service providers offer all or some of the above for free. Be sure to compare as many service providers as you can before reaching a decision. Also be aware that some providers may charge hidden costs that may have been added on arbitrarily. Read your contract carefully before making the final decision.

2) Transaction fees and discount rates

These charges are applied to every credit card payment that you accept. It is important that you select a service provider which enables you to increase your profits. Your selection has to be suitable for your type of business and transactions. Suppose your transaction fee is $0.25, your discount rate is 3% and your sale is $100, then you would make $96.75 from that sale and pay your provider $3.25. If your transaction fee and discount rate is the same as above while your sale is $1000, you would then make $969.75 and pay your provider $30.25.

Let us say that you managed to shop around more and find a better deal with a transaction fee of $0.20 and discount rate of 2.25%. You would then effectively make $977.30 and pay your provider $22.70 for the same $1000 sale. However, if your average sale is only $100, the lower charges would cost you only $2.45. Since your average sales size is small, the difference in the charges may not make much difference to you. You should then focus more on the monthly fixed costs when making the final decision. As you can see, depending on your volume and size of sales, a small difference in the charges may or may not translate to big differences in your profits and expenses. Search for the best deal that suits your business needs.

3) Security

Credit card numbers are stolen every day. In order to protect your customers as well as your business, ensure that the online credit card processing service provider you hire is secure, and encrypted. One of the accreditation you can look for is ScanAlert. It is given to providers who are considered safe from hacking and who comply with the rules set up by the major credit card companies in the world to protect your customers’ credit card information. For further information you may want to refer to http://www.scanalert.com/. To help identify service providers who would protect you and your customers, search for customer feedback on the security features offered by them.

4) Customer support

As a merchant accepting credit cards online, you are bound to run into problems. In times of need, it is crucial that you receive prompt, effective assistance 24/7. Obtain referrals from currents users of the service provider to ensure that you would be given excellent personalized assistance.

5) Incentives

Once you have compared the all-important rates, security and quality of customer service and narrowed down your choices, you can now focus on the incentives given by the service providers. As online credit card processing service is highly competitive, most service providers are willing to throw in freebies such as free advertising of your company in popular search engines. Get one that gives you value for money.



CASEY