Accepting Internet Payments Without a Merchant Account

If you are not accepting credit cards online, you will lose sales. The more card types you can accept, the higher your sales will be.

Credit cards are the most popular way to pay for products and services on the Internet. The majority of online customers will pay by credit card, debit card, electronic check, or PayPal. Very few people will mail in a check.

To accept online payments, you will typically need a merchant account, a payment gateway, and a shopping cart. A shopping cart on a web site collects the payment information, communicates with the payment processor and gateway, verifies that the credit card or echeck is good, and returns the authorization or denial to your site. This all happens very fast.
Through the shopping cart software, you can set up a thank you page that will automatically appear when the payment is authorized. When selling ebooks or software, you can put your download links in your thank you page and automate the complete ordering process.

You will pay an activation fee and monthly fees for both the merchant account and the shopping cart - usually around $30/month for each.

Some shopping carts are more powerful and user friendly than others. Some of the better shopping carts allow you to set up many products, support recurrent billing, set up membership sites, provide upselling options, and your download page can expire automatically after a certain period of time.

You can choose from many shopping cart plans depending on your needs. You can start with the basics and upgrade anytime as needed.

Did you know that there was an alternative to paying monthly fees for a shopping cart and a merchant account?

Third party payment processors offer an inexpensive alternative to accepting credit cards online without a merchant account and without monthly fees. Third party payment providers allow you to take payments online without having your own merchant account and without paying monthly fees. Third party payment processors will process payments for you. A third party provider gives you a link to a secure site where your customers place orders using their credit card or check. You receive your payment from the provider instead of from a bank or financial institution.

It is easier and faster to use a third party payment provider. You do not have to qualify for a merchant account which typically involves having good credit. And you don't have to pay monthly fees for a merchant account or for a shopping cart. Typical fees include an activation fee and transaction fees. The transaction fees are typically higher than you would pay when having your own merchant account.

Give your customers several different payment options to order your products or services. It is essential to accept credit cards when doing business online. Some customers do not have a credit card or do not like to order online, so you still want to give them the option of faxing their credit card information or sending you a money order.

Which system you should choose to accept online payments depends on the amount of sales you are generating. If you are generating a good amount of sales, you will probably want to get your own merchant account.

If you're just starting out, you should consider third party payment processors. When you start generating regular sales, you can switch to a traditional merchant provider to save on transaction fees.
Start accepting credit cards online now and see your sales soar!

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