Accepting credit card online orders is a must for everyone who does business on the Internet
By: AY Software Corporation
Accepting credit card orders is a must for everyone who does business on the Internet. If you do not accept credit card orders you could lose at least 85% of your potential orders. Most online businesses report that 95% of their orders are through online order forms. Accepting online credit card orders is easier than it appears. To accept online credit card orders, you need three basic things:
Merchant Account
Software
Internet Service Provider
Merchant Account:
A Merchant account is a special account that you have with a financial institution in order to accept credit cards. Even if you already accept credit cards for your offline transactions, that may not be enough. Credit card companies consider Internet transactions to be riskier than other standard transactions; so, not all accounts permit Internet transactions. If your current account does not allow Internet transactions, you have to contact your financial institution to correct this.
Software:
Most brokers who open Merchant accounts offer software or hardware to process credit cards. If you want to accept credit cards over the Internet, you need a software solution, not a hardware solution. Even though a hardware solution saves you $50-$100, you will have to enter all your transactions manually. With a software solution, you will never have to enter your transactions manually. Some brokers offer software solutions for as high as $2,000, which is way overpriced. The software should cost about $400. Sometimes, brokers may also offer you programming or software setup services at an additional cost. Do not pay for these services. All of the software comes with technical support from the manufacturers, and the bank will give you all the information you need.
Internet Service Provider:
Choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is not easy. Some providers will provide you full service and all of the software to process your credit card orders, while others will provide only basic services. Some providers will charge $150-200 per month, or even more, while others will charge $9.95 per month. What are the basic things that you need from an ISP? The first thing you need is a Secure Server. Many people believe that you must have a Secure Server for security and they will not place an order unless you have a Secure Server. Yet, a Secure Server is not expensive. You do not have to pay $100 a month to use a Secure Server. Many ISPs provide this server for free. In any case, you should never pay more than $10 per month for this service. The best way for you to gain access to a Secure Server is through the ISP that hosts your Web site, which is usually the least expensive; however, you may use any ISP that you want. If you have your own domain name and you want to use it as a secure server, you must buy your own certificate, which costs between $100 and $350 per year. We will discuss Secure Servers and certificates in detail in the next issue of our newsletter.
Accepting credit card orders is a must for everyone who does business on the Internet. If you do not accept credit card orders you could lose at least 85% of your potential orders. Most online businesses report that 95% of their orders are through online order forms. Accepting online credit card orders is easier than it appears. To accept online credit card orders, you need three basic things:
Merchant Account
Software
Internet Service Provider
Merchant Account:
A Merchant account is a special account that you have with a financial institution in order to accept credit cards. Even if you already accept credit cards for your offline transactions, that may not be enough. Credit card companies consider Internet transactions to be riskier than other standard transactions; so, not all accounts permit Internet transactions. If your current account does not allow Internet transactions, you have to contact your financial institution to correct this.
Software:
Most brokers who open Merchant accounts offer software or hardware to process credit cards. If you want to accept credit cards over the Internet, you need a software solution, not a hardware solution. Even though a hardware solution saves you $50-$100, you will have to enter all your transactions manually. With a software solution, you will never have to enter your transactions manually. Some brokers offer software solutions for as high as $2,000, which is way overpriced. The software should cost about $400. Sometimes, brokers may also offer you programming or software setup services at an additional cost. Do not pay for these services. All of the software comes with technical support from the manufacturers, and the bank will give you all the information you need.
Internet Service Provider:
Choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is not easy. Some providers will provide you full service and all of the software to process your credit card orders, while others will provide only basic services. Some providers will charge $150-200 per month, or even more, while others will charge $9.95 per month. What are the basic things that you need from an ISP? The first thing you need is a Secure Server. Many people believe that you must have a Secure Server for security and they will not place an order unless you have a Secure Server. Yet, a Secure Server is not expensive. You do not have to pay $100 a month to use a Secure Server. Many ISPs provide this server for free. In any case, you should never pay more than $10 per month for this service. The best way for you to gain access to a Secure Server is through the ISP that hosts your Web site, which is usually the least expensive; however, you may use any ISP that you want. If you have your own domain name and you want to use it as a secure server, you must buy your own certificate, which costs between $100 and $350 per year. We will discuss Secure Servers and certificates in detail in the next issue of our newsletter.
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