Online Credit Card – prepaid application

Frank Owen asked:




Advantages of Online Credit Card Processing

If you own an online business and don’t already accept credit card payments you should consider doing so immediately. Nowadays upwards of 80% of consumers use credit cards to pay for products and services online. If you don’t accept credit card payments regardless of how small your business is, you risk losing customers and profits.

Credit cards are often preferred by customers because they are safe, secure and easy to use. Many people rely on credit to buy gifts and business items. Some customers will walk away from a website and not even look at the products and services if they know that credit card payments are not accepted. For that reason alone it is very important you consider credit card payments. Here are just a few of the benefits credit card processing has to offer:

You provide your customers with a secure and easy to use online method of payment.

Your customer’s purchase is guaranteed and protected by the credit card company.

Customers receive instant satisfaction because they can order products and receive confirmation, and sometimes download their product or service within minutes of placing their order.

Businesses that accept credit card payments will improve their sales and profits exponentially.

Accepting credit card payments makes a business look more professional and established.

Credit card processing ensures optimal customer service and convenience.

You don’t have to worry about bounced or bad checks or wait several days for a payment to clear when you use online credit card processing.

Mark

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