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One of the best features of owning an
online-based business is the amount of money you save on start up costs,
and ongoing overhead in comparison to businesses with physical
locations. Not only do you not have to pay high rental or mortgage
payments for the space, but you save on utilities, business insurance,
and even credit card processing accounts!
As an Internet business, you almost have a requirement to accept credit
card payments for your products or services. Have you ever been to a
website that doesn't accept credit cards as payment? Consider how you
would feel if you wanted to purchase something online but you couldn't
enter your payment details in the site- would you take the time to write
a check, put it in an envelope and mail to the company or would you just
find the next website offering the same products that DOES accept credit
cards? Web sites that accept credit card payments have sales that are
50-400% higher than web sites that do not accept credit payments. It is
so easy to get set up to accept credit card payments that there really
is no excuse for an Internet business not to accept them! |
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As a web business, you have a choice. You
can apply for a traditional merchant account at any of the local banks
and hope to get accepted (and likely pay a set up fee and sometimes an
ongoing monthly fee for having the service), or you can use one of the
numerous card processing companies that operate online and are geared
toward online businesses just like yours. Many of the card processing
providers you can use online allow you to set up your website for
accepting credit cards with no set up fees!
Merchants Providing Credit Card Processing
When you are just starting out as an online business, or you are a small
business- you are probably not going to want any credit card processing
provider that requires you process a minimum number of transactions each
month. It is hard to predict what your minimum will be for a new
business, and it might be better to pay a slightly higher
per-transaction fee than to pay a higher monthly fee in exchange for a
lower per-transaction fee based on a minimum number of cards processed
each month.
Paynet Systems: Offers a variety of merchant accounts, with a few
focused on Internet based businesses. You can get your account set up to
accept credit card payments (ATM, and Debit also) for no set up fee. You
pay a small monthly fee for the account ($8-10) and fees per transaction
processed.
Merchant Express: Offers a merchant account for Internet businesses that
can accept credit card payments in real-time. Your account with Merchant
Express will also give you access to a free "virtual terminal", which
will allow you to accept credit card payments by phone or mail as well
as online.
Charge.com: Similar to Merchant Express in that it provides both a real
time processor for web site orders, and a virtual terminal in case your
customers provide their payment information via telephone, fax or mail.
The software will automatically send you an email to help you fill the
customer's order once the card has been successfully processed.
There are many other providers that allow internet merchant account
providers that can set your internet business up with the ability to
accept credit card payments at no set up fee. Researching each company
before signing up will help you compare the features and make sure you
sign with a company that can provide you with the necessary options for
your business and at the lowest fees. Debbie Dragon |
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