Have a Website? Accept Payments On-line

To be a business with a credible internet presence, it is very important for your website to have the ability to accept orders online and to accept customer payments. You can either set up your own on-line merchant account or use an online payment processor.

A merchant account is a type of bank account that allows businesses to accept payments by debit or credit cards. Typically you apply for the merchant account with the same bank that has your business checking account. Fees for a merchant account can be fixed and variable and will vary by bank used. The fixed fees can include the application cost, the monthly cost of having the account, and the annual fee, if applicable. Variable fees include service transaction fees and possible monthly charges that will vary according to your use of the service. It’s important to understand all of the fees you will be responsible for prior to engaging in a contract. Also note that you will be responsible for the security of your system. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)details a set of rules merchants must adhere to in order to reduce fraud in the credit card industry. You must be able to prove your compliance with these rules.

The advantages of a merchant account include added professionalism and integrity for your business. When your customer receives their credit card statement your business name will appear next to the on-line purchase. Also after the initial set-up the overall cost of this option is typically lower than an online payment processor.

An online payment processor provides ways for you to accept credit cards and other payments online without the extra cost and responsibility of a merchant account. For the ease of using their service transaction fees for the third party processors are considerably higher than for merchant accounts. PayPal and Google checkout are two well known online payment processors.

The advantage of an online payment processor is that the system is easy to adopt and use. Also some customers feel more comfortable using their credit card with a system they are familiar with (such as PayPal).