How To Accept Credit Card Payments Online

By: Shelley Lowery

Part seven of ten - Accepting Credit Card Payments Through Your Website

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How to Become a Webmaster Part 7

 

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Accepting Credit Cards on a Website

NOTE: You will discover there is much to learn when you begin designing your website so this article about accepting credit cards is just one attribute. Study as much as possible about web design after you read this report. You may even want to learn web design from home. Go here now to find out how ...

- Bob Pardue, Webmaster Course

Accepting credit card payments through your website is an absolute essential part of doing business on the Internet. If you're not accepting online credit card payments and processing orders online, you're losing a massive amount of business.

Studies have shown, you can increase your online sales up to 400% simply by accepting credit cards. In addition, by offering a combination of payment options, you can increase your sales even further.

With today's advanced technology, you can start accepting credit card payments through your website almost instantly (depending on the service you select). Preparing your website to process orders online can be as simple as pasting some HTML code within your web page.

Accepting Credit Cards

There are many professional companies online that will enable you to accept credit card payments through your website without a merchant account.

These companies are known as third party payment processing companies and provide an invaluable service for home based businesses.

Most companies will enable you to accept all major credit cards and electronic checks. Some companies will also provide telephone billing and recurring billing for paid subscription and membership sites.

There may or may not be a set up fee and there are usually no monthly fees. Some companies charge a "percentage" and a "per transaction" fee. While others simply charge a set percentage fee per transaction. They will process your orders and send you payment for all your orders processed, minus their fee and a reserve fee.

Credit Card Reserve Fee

A reserve fee is withheld to cover any charge backs you may have. If you have no charge backs within a period of time, your reserve will be refunded to you. Each company has their own guidelines in regard to reserves.

Credit Card HTML Code

Once you've applied with a company and/or have been approved and paid the setup fees, you can immediately begin accepting payment. You will then be provided with special coding to place within the HTML of your order page.

When your customer clicks on your order link or image, they will be taken to the processor's secure server to process their purchase. Once their order has been processed, they will then be directed back to a page on your website that you specify. This page may be a download page, or even a "complete your purchase" page that you can use to collect your customers' name and email address and then direct them to your download page.

Once your customer places an order, you will instantly receive an email notification letting you know that you've made a sale. Your account will be instantly credited, minus the company fee, and you will be paid according to the company's payment schedule.

Third Party Credit Card Companies

Third party processing companies are great for startup businesses, as if you don't make any sales, you won't be charged a fee. You are only charged a fee when and if you make a sale.

The following third party processing companies will enable you to accept credit card payments through your website:

PayPal

Pay Pal is one of the most popular (and easiest ways) to accept credit cards online. You can Go here to check them out >>

PayPal will enable any business or consumer with an email address to securely send and receive payments online. You can also accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover credit cards and electronic checks. You can sell with PayPal through an online auction, on your own website, or as part of an online marketplace. They also offer recurring billing. There are no setup fees. They charge 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. Services available for US and non-US merchants.

ClickBank

CLICK HERE and CLICKBank will enable you to accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Eurocard, Visa-Debit, MasterCard-Debit, Novus credit cards and electronic checks.

They charge a one-time $49.95 activation fee, and a $1 + 7.5% fee per sale. There are no monthly fees. The great thing about this company is that they'll enable you to run an affiliate program. Services available for US and non-US merchants.

2Checkout.com

http://www.2checkout.com/

2Checkout.com enables you to accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit cards. They also offer recurring billing and a free shopping cart. There is a $49 set up fee. There are no monthly fees. They charge 5.5% + $0.45 fee per sale. Services available for US and non-US merchants.

Accepting credit card payments through your website is an essential part of your online success. Don't put it off another day. Take your time and select a company that will best suit your needs. It will be well worth your effort.

 

Sidebar: If you are reading this article about setting up credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard or Discover on a web site and have not yet learned the art of Internet design, you can find a unique program for learning website design for beginners by going here. I highly recommend these web design tutorials by Shelley. - Bob, Webmaster Course

More Info for Accepting Credit Card Payments Online

If you have an online business, you want to make sure that you can accept credit cards online, or you may find your business prospects to be cut down substantially. Most people prefer to buy things online via credit card because it is not only very convenient; it is always the quickest way.

You may find some people who would pay for something by mailing in a money order or will do a check online, but for the most part, you want to make sure you can accept credit cards online or you may not have any business.

PayPal and the Online Trust Factor

More and more people have Paypal, and this is because it is a great way to pay online. It is always a great way to use a credit card to pay for something.

Even if you don’t accept credit cards online through your website, they can still use a credit card to pay through Paypal. You may have to have a special merchant account with them, but this is something you can learn when you go to sign up your business with them. If you aren’t considering Paypal, you may want to change your mind on that matter because they are becoming a preferred way to pay for things online for a lot of people.

Online Security for Credit Cards is Essential

If you want to accept credit cards online, you have to make sure you give your customers a secure connection or they will not want to give out their credit card information. If your site is not secure, people who enter their information into your site run the risk of having their number stolen online. You want to search until you find someone like Verisign who will help your customer’s complete a secure and safe transaction. Many web shoppers know that Verisign means the site is secure.

On the other hand, if you are looking at a site that accepts credit cards online, and you do not know whether or not the website is secure, do not take the chance with your credit card information. Any secure channel or web address will start with https://. If the ‘s’ is missing, the link is not secure. If you find that the site will accept Paypal, you can use that method to make a payment without your financial information being compromised. You also have recourse if you don’t get what you paid for, or if the site itself is a scam operation.

I hope this article has contributed to your understanding about web design and incorporating credit card ecommerce into your online business. Now that you have found a few answers, it's time to move on to the Webmaster Course for Beginners .

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Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed beginner web design series, Web Design Mastery -- an in-depth guide to professional web design that is rapidly becoming known as the "Bible" for professional web design.