Credit Card Processing & Merchant Account Services

Ways to Accept Payment By Using a Merchant Account

Merchant Account Servicesadmin28 December 2009

Most of the online businesses and companies prefer going to banks if they want to accept payments through credit cards through their website. This is due to the fact that banks are undeniably possess expertise in providing all solutions related to financial things. However, everyone have to admit that dealing with them can be quite tedious and time consuming sometimes, with expectations of a whole lot of problems. Due to this reason getting your own merchant accounts and third party credit processing solutions is becoming much more popular these days.

To begin with, one must know exactly what are merchant accounts? A merchant account are specialized accounts arranged for businesses to accepts and process credit card payments for purchases made. Once a customer’s credit card has been processed, the transaction undergoes a sequence of multifaceted procedures. And once the steps are finished within two to three business days, the money acquired through the merchant account is then transferred and deposited into the checking account of the business.

For opening a merchant account, you are required to present some specific things to the service provider of your choice. First among all is a checking account. The sole proprietors can easily use their own personal checking account. You may also require to submit a copy of a voided check, business or reseller license if any.

The objective behind all such things is to prove the legitimacy of your enterprise. In case if the service provider consider your business among the high risk businesses, you might be asked for references and pictures of your business office or location. A bad credit record can also be the reason behind this. Other proof of identification is also necessary.

After you are done with all the formalities, then you will be able to make use of your merchant account. For getting the right services according to your business requirements, you will have to opt for an apt third party credit card processing solution. For instance; for retailers who deal personally with their customers, they will get benefits with a retail swipe terminal. These accounts comes with low processing fees. Also, it comes with low risk for frauds from both the customers and the merchants.

Real-time processing provides the best solution for online businesses. They allow you to process the credit card payments automatically through your merchant account. Then there are virtual terminals, who receives orders through phone, fax or mail. It is a secure website where you will log in to feed in your customer’s personal details and other information. There are a number of other ways to accept payments; it’s all up to your requirements and other factors to determine which one you think will satiate your desires the best.

Get more information on Merchant Account at www.paynetsystems.com

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The Price Factor in Merchant Credit Card Processing

Credit Card Processingadmin23 December 2009

The Price factor dominates the merchants’ mind and the whole strategy when they are looking for a merchant credit card processing provider. If value-added services really do take a back seat over price, how the merchant service providing companies endure with steady margin erosion?

When it comes to credit card processing rates, the service providing industry is reviving continuously. Both the small and big time merchants gets the same pricing as larger retailers. Prices are always negotiable as no merchant want to let their customers walk out leaving behind a hollow space. Also, the provider knows that once the customer is out he will surely gets a provider who can provide them the services even at a lower price.

Other than price, people require good and honest customer service. It is difficult to restrict the customer’s questioning mind. So there should be a proper system to solve their problem quickly and successfully.

Customers are always willing in paying if they get the convenience of talking with a real person locally, instead of calling in the foreign country. They want to fix their problems as early as possible and are interested in getting it solve from a real person. Also they want their things to be handled in time. Time is the most crucial element here. For them replacing a machine within an hour during a busy weekend retail rush, especially during the holidays is of utmost importance.

Find a perfect solution to the Price Debate : - for everyone price, value, customer service, and technical support are all important for a merchant credit card processing. Its best to understand the following basic fundamentals and try to use it as and when needed:

1. Understand the customer’s shopping or buying needs.
2. Understand the pain, and search for a solution to resolve it, making it a win-win solution for the customer
3. Know your final offer

Get more information on Merchant Credit Card Processing at www.paynetsystems.com

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Ways to Avoid Additional Charges on Your Merchant Account

Merchant Account Servicesadmin21 December 2009

Researching for a perfect payment service provider can be time a consuming process. Although transaction fee is the indispensable part of the services provided to you, the providers might charge some additional fees enough to deprive you from your profits.
Here are a number of tips to help you avoid any additional costs to save your revenue with your merchant account : -

1. Avoid chargebacks: Chargebacks occur when a customer ask for a refund from the trader. Apart from refunding the amount, other processing fees will also be charged. The most common cause of a chargeback request is where the customer is not satisfied with the type or quality of product of services or does not recognize your company’s name on their statement. You can correct this by ensuring that your trading name will be recognized by your customer by highlighting it on your checkout page, terms & conditions and confirmation pages.

2. Improve your after sales service: Clearly mention your refund policy in case if you accept refunds. And follow the same religiously. Avoiding delays will save you money.

3. Get e-statements: If your monthly statements are sent to you by post, sign up for electronic statements if they are offered. Generally, Internet Merchant Account providers will charge you for posting your monthly statements.

4. Get cost effective settlement terms: Always make sure that your payment service provider settles your funds in the most cost effective way. There are Internet Merchant Account providers who will offer to settle your funds with a cheque but there is often an extra fee involved in this. Clarify your settlement terms. This is usually the most economical way to have your funds released.

By following these simple tips, you can avoid paying too much for your Merchant Account. For more information please visit www.paynetsystems.com

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Advantages of having Online Payment Processing Services

Credit Card Processingadmin16 December 2009

Online payment processing has gained a lot of popularity worldwide these days. Though there are merchant services providers who offer their services to offshore and international merchants, still there are banks and other financial institutions who are reluctant offering these services due to the potential risks of frauds. Therefore, do remember to inquire about the kinds of payment processing services they offer, while looking for a merchant account provider.

Types of Payment Processing

The two kinds of payment processing services offered by merchant account providers are ; manual and real-time payment processing.

Manual payment processing requires you to deliver the credit card number via phone, fax or by an online form, in comparison to the real-time payment processing that allows merchants to process credit cards online in no time at all.

Merchants are assured of secure and cost effective ways to process transactions online.. the service providers offer online payment processing services so that international and offshore merchants can process online on secure servers and virtual terminals. With the authentic merchant account providers, online payment processing services usually includes ability to accept various credit cards and multi-currency options.

What the Payment Processing Services offer?

There are processors who requires specialized payment processing services for international customers due the various limitations, for their online businesses.

A real-time payment processor saves a lot in terms of time effort and energy. It dismisses the manual credit card processing, reduces risks and offers high protection against credit card fraud as compared to manual payment processing. The authentic and reliable payment processors offers many advantages for operating online transactions in real-time.

In addition, in order to provide real-time payment processing services to customers merchants can either have a link-up through their e-commerce site to the acquirer for connecting to a card processing network, also they can outsource to a payment service provider. Possessing a merchant account that provides online payment processing offers a great flexibility and is beneficial for the businesses in the long run.

If you can get online payment processing services with a merchant account provider who will be able to provide you and your customers with online payment processing services worldwide then you would not have to worry about getting a U.S bank account, like most merchants who

Merchants tend to select the payment processing methods considering the volume of online transactions they would be processing for their e-commerce business. think that they need a U.S bank account to process online transactions worldwide.

Get more information on Online Payment Processing at www.paynetsystems.com

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Avoid Getting Trapped in Aggregated Merchant Accounts

Merchant Account Servicesadmin15 December 2009

Merchant Account Aggregation refers to the creation of master merchant account in which number of merchants are assembled by the payment service provider. The numerous credit card companies are interested in getting their credit card accounts clustered. But a word of caution for merchants who aggregate is that they can also end up sacrificing the services of the service provider without any prior notification.

The merchants, however, can not follow a specific process to scout whether their accounts are aggregated or not by the service provider. Its your sheer luck that you get to know such details of your accounts and if by any means you get to know the details through any vague processes, you’ll probably not get the ideas of types of charges when the account is opened in your name. Also, there are defined policies against the system of banks that plays it this way.

The participating banks, for encouraging such account’s accumulations can receive huge fines through a centralized system. In addition, the funds in the aggregation account if not setup as an aggregated account from the beginning can be frozen temporarily or sometimes permanently.

It solely depends on the merchant account holder because he is has to suspect that their account is being aggregated or not. It can be done by searching for whether an individual account is assigned to the merchant or not. If you opt for low fees and rates, the account can still be suspended. This will freeze the funds available in the account and probably then be unattainable till the operation of cleaning up the mess is performed.

It can also move the other way round in a way that if an individual merchant cannot be identified as per the credit card statements, this many also complicates the rest of the process. You can also identify through a number of ways that if the application process is not charged much or fees seems too low, the account is getting aggregated.

The PCI-DSS certification ensures that such kind of problem is addressed in a way that you will not be left with the feeling of fraud or cheat. While signing up the contract, make sure that it is signed with the acquiring bank and not with some other one. This is one of the best technique for screening the payment service providers. In addition, there should be a unique identification number on the statements which ensures proper functioning.

And if still the requirements are not matching, this might be the case the payment service provider is aggregating your account. Under which along with the payment service provider, you could also be at loss in a lot of ways. It is just the case of ignorance on the merchants part, which let them trap into such conditions otherwise they can avoid such situations by handling the documents fairly.

Get more information on Merchant Accounts at www.paynetsystems.com

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Trade Show Merchant Account Services

Merchant Account Servicesadmin14 December 2009

Most people opt in favor for using their credit cards instead of liquid cash during trade shows and exhibitions. There are chances of loosing money, calculation errors, inconvenience while shopping here. A lot of customer rejoice with the convenience they get with just a swipe of a card at such places. It enables them to make payments without worrying or thinking about any error or shortage of money. Customers will choose you during their shopping spree if you provide them the convenience of easy payment.

The merchant account provider provides you options either to buy or to lease a credit-processing equipment. You can opt for a combined terminal and printer, a wireless unit, or a debit and electronic check processor. You also get an auxiliary equipment, like pagers easily available through your merchant services account.

Always let your merchant account provider know about your business pan and budget. Your underwriter also wants to check whether you have chalk-out your expansion plan and also you have the capability to achieve the same.

Trade shows, fairs and exhibitions offers a great opportunity get in the limelight. When you accept credit cards at at such places, your clientele starts expanding from there as many people from all walks of life visit such places for shopping and buying all sorts of things.

Take your wireless unit to the trade show or the place of exhibitions along with you, set it up in a safe place where it is safe from any kind of damage. You can also put up a sign to alert customers to this credit paying option.

Distribute fliers of your company with your company website so that customers can visit online and make purchases by using their credit cards. Offering excellent services that provide a lot of convenience in return to the customers will let them enjoy added benefits and surely make a great difference to your business. Accept credit cards at any trade shows, exhibitions and fairs and get an increase in the profitability level of your business.

Get more information on Merchant Account Services at www.paynetsystems.com

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Selecting a Payment Service Provider

Credit Card Processing11 December 2009

Accepting credit cards is the widely accepted form of online payments for online retail businesses. For accepting online payments you require a merchant account or you can opt for a third party payment processor. A huge of number of online retailers prefers the latter option as it offers a lot of conveniences and ease when accepting payment from customers. If you are selecting a payment service provider, you are required to keep few things in mind : -

Registration Fees
Look for the requirement of a setup or registration fee? There are companies which require the fees whereas others do not need it at all.

Transaction Fees
You will find payment service providers who charge a certain amount for every transaction made on your site. The fees can range anywhere from 2% to 20% depending on the provider.

Additional Fees
Before signing up with any provider, read the fine prints carefully to know if there is any additional fees that you may be required to pay, such as fees for charge backs.

Rate of Payment
Before striking the final deal, also consider how often the payment provider sends payments. Some will send it as soon as a customer makes a payment. Others make weekly or even monthly payments.

Customer Service
Look for a provider who offer customer service platforms. Once you are in the market, your customers want to know more about your company and the kind of products and services you are offering. You must have a platform that promptly answers all the inquiries within 24 hours.

Global Payments
If you are providing services in the foreign markets, make sure the payment service provider accepts global payments made in foreign local currencies. Some services accept payments only in the U.S. while others accept from a specific list of countries. There are also providers with no restrictions at all, so make sure you choose one that fulfill your requirements.

Receiving Payments
Inquire for how the payment provider will be transferring your payments - by mailed check, an ACH transfer, or even a real-time bank transfer.

Get more information on Credit Card Processing at www.paynetsystems.com

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Use SSL to Enhance the Online Security For Your Customers

Credit Card Processingadmin08 December 2009

The internet has revolutionized and also globalized our shopping habits. Customers love to shop online to save time. It also offers a lot of convenience to the hurried buyers. More and more people are tech savvy and exploit the opportunity they get online.

But while shopping, the customers need to be careful to protect themselves from web hackers and pirates struggling to watch and get our card details. Every customer want to buy from the web stores that are protected against online fraud.

In order to avoid such fraudulent activities, the merchants are required to get SSL certificate for their website. A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a network protocol which is supported by all popular web browsers. SSL functions by establishing a private communication channel when a user enters sensitive data into a website such as their credit card details. The information is then scrambled into a language which is impossible to decode.

For SSL to work a SSL certificate issued by a Certification Authority such as Verisign or Rapid SSL must be installed on the compatible web server.

Secure Process of SSL

A secret private key is given to the merchant when they request for an SSL certificate from the chosen provider. This private key is then kept securely on the website’s server. Once the SSL certificate is received, it will also be installed on the web server by the web hosting company; effectively matching up the SSL certificate to the SSL key. Because the SSL key is only ever used by the web server, this process is a means of proving that the web server has permission to use the SSL certificate

in case if you the SSL key or the SSL certificate is lost somewhere, the merchant should speak to the SSL provider to re-issue you a new one, as they will no longer be able to use the SSL on their web server.

Who needs to have an SSL certificate?

You should seriously consider using an SSL certificate if your business:

1) has a log in area on your site
2) processes credit or debit payments online
3) stores or transmit personal information such as addresses, dates of birth, ID numbers

if as a customer you want to verify whether the website is using an SSL certificate or not, you can know this by checking for the padlock symbol on the website. Also, while making a transaction your browser will indicate that it is using an SSL secured session by changing the http to https and displaying a small padlock icon. To view the certificate, users just need to click on the padlock icon.

Get more information on Credit Card Processing at www.paynetsystems.com

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Defining the Various Components of Online payment Processing

Credit Card Processing07 December 2009

Accepting credit cards helps the business owners in raising the revenue level and speeding up the cash flows in their businesses. Almost all banks provides the option of merchant accounts. Which is an indispensable part of the process.

For accepting credit cards on your website, you need to procure the following things first:

(1) a credit card processor
(2) a payment gateway service
(3) an electronic shopping cart system and
(4) an Internet merchant account issued by a bank or other financial institution or service bureau.

Now you must be wondering on the terms like Credit Card Processor, Internet Merchant Account, Payment Gateway Service, Shopping Cart System, so here is an detailed note on the terms: -

Credit Card Processor: It is an electronic data center that processes the credit card transactions coming from the gateway company. It ensures the validity of charge and then settles the funds in your merchant account.

Internet Merchant Account: It is an account in which funds from online sales are deposited by the processor. These accounts are usually issued by banks that are associated with the major credit card services like Visa and MasterCard.

Payment Gateway Service: It is an e-commerce service that authorizes payments for e-businesses and online retailers and is linked with a huge network of credit card issuing banks. The payment gateway service acts like a middleman who comes in act when a customer submits his/her credit card information to the web page form. Then the website’s shopping cart checkout system electronically submits the credit card to the gateway service. It further routes the information for approval to the processor.

Shopping Cart System: A shopping cart system allows the customer to select and purchase products from the website. It consists of mainly three components: the product catalog, the shopping cart, and the checkout/payment system.

The product catalog exhibits the items that are on sale on the website. The shopping cart system component let the customers selects products by clicking on “add items to cart,” and the checkout/payment system helps the customer in completing the check-out process and pay for their purchase with a credit card.

Get more information on Online Payment Processing at www.paynetsystems.com

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Credit Card Processing - The Key to Savings is Starting From Zero

Credit Card Processingadmin04 December 2009

Credit card processing charges counts among the bulky expenses in the businesses. All the businesses that directly deals with consumers have to incur huge processing expenses. Due to this reason businesses are required to opt for low cost processing solutions. Also while searching for a new processing solution, the merchants consider their existing service provider for making a comparison. And inspite of looking for a suitable processing services and the cost, they inquire about the savings they get over the prevalent rates and fees.

On the contrary the merchants should inquire for their actual cost of the services and only then they should measure their actual profits. Interchange fees published by the card companies like Visa and MasterCard govern the underlying costs of all credit card processing charges. Interchange fees are basically the wholesale rates and fees charged to process credit cards. The fee is readily available for download from Visa and MasterCard’s websites.

Every merchant should know the interchange costs incurred in their businesses. It will help you in finding the reasonable merchant account solution for your businesses. You can also ask for the audit from the prevailing credit card processor or from website that offers such audit services free of charge or at low prices. Once you are aware of the actual costs, you can meticulously scrutinize the merchant account fees and rates from new providers.

Rigorous efforts are required to figure out the interchange costs being paid by the businesses. Also you can have the services of prospective companies do the work for you on behalf of you if you looking for a new provider in the market. Go for a detailed assessment of your current service materialized into actual interchange and association fees in contrasting to provider profit.

Get more information on Credit Card Processing at www.paynetsystems.com

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