What To Consider When Opening A Merchant Gateway Account

A merchant gateway account gives you a fully integrated online payment solution, together with your storefront and shopping cart software. The ability to take credit card payments online is no longer an optional benefit, it is now a total necessity. The days of website owners asking people to mail paper checks to pay for products and services are virtually over, and it rare now to even see check payments being offered as an alternative. Setting up your website to take credit card payments need not be difficult or time consuming, depending on the complexity of the solution you need.

If you are in business selling purely on the Internet, you can start without a merchant account. Services such as PayPal, 2Checkout and ClickBank give you the chance to sell online, although each of these has some kind of restriction. ClickBank is purely for sellers of digital download items, and is restrictive for small growing businesses in that you are only paid from your account on a monthly basis. PayPal gives you a lot more freedom, but PayPal accounts are often limited and even suspended when there is unusual activity, even though that activity may have a perfectly sound reason.

PayPal is also restrictive in the countries which are able to use it fully. 2Checkout is a lot more international friendly. In many cases, you will be able to accept PayPal payments through 2Checkout when you would not be able to accept them directly. These solutions are all that many online retailers feel they need in order to start and build up their business. Of course, having a fully fledged merchant account creates the image of being a legitimate, established business, because most customers know that these accounts are not easy to get.

It can be difficult to qualify for a bank merchant account, and even if you do qualify you may be subject to very high transaction fees as the bank will view Internet commerce as a high-risk activity. It is often better to work with a company which is a specialist in online card processing. In many cases, you can get the shopping cart software and the gateway service as an integrated package. This avoids any compatibility issues, even though it is usually possible to get shopping cart software packages to support the gateway you are using.

It is important to ensure that the merchant gateway account you are using has a high enough degree of security to protect against fraudulent transactions. While total protection is impossible, there are steps which can be taken to vastly reduce the potential problems you may face. The first of these is to make sure that the CVV number is required on all transactions where the customer is not present. Address Verification System will also help to reduce fraud. You are taking a big step, so make sure you are as well protected as possible when you apply for your merchant gateway account.






 

Credit Card Processing News:

 

2012 Credit Card Processing Trend Predictions Released by CardPaymentOptions.com
CardPaymentOptions.com has released its 2012 predictions for the payment industry and the focus for this upcoming year is mobile processing.Santa Monica, CA (PRWEB) February 07, 2012 CardPaymentOptions.com has released its 2012 predictions for the payment industry and the focus for this upcoming year is mobile processing. With the boom of near field communication, mobile payment systems, as well ...


This Week in Credit Card News
? has received regulatory approval to issue credit cards in China, the first non-Asian bank to receive permission. Citi said it would likely launch credit card operations this year. [Reuters] Debit Fees Gone, But What's ? Three months after scrapping plans for debit card fees, banks are trying to find ways to make up the ...


First Premier's $400-a-year credit card
Would you pay $400 a year to own a credit card?..


Airlines milk card fee cash cow ahead of ban - TotallyMoney News

TNT Magazine

Airlines milk card fee cash cow ahead of ban
TotallyMoney News
A small number of airlines have been introducing or raising debit and credit card processing fees in a bid to milk customers for all they are worth before the introduction of legislation to outlaw excessive charges, according to Which?
Budget airlines netting 265000 a day in card feesTNT Magazine
Labour leader Ed Miliband calls for end to 'rip-off' consumer cultureDaily Mail

all 13 news articles »
..


New Version of Android App Creates Custom Invoicing and Uploads Image Documents - PR Urgent (press release)

New Version of Android App Creates Custom Invoicing and Uploads Image Documents
PR Urgent (press release)
. app solutions provider, announces that a highly-desired upgrade has been added to Android business app, SignHere, which produces professional mobile digital invoices and forms in the field, for digital signature capture and credit card processing.

..


New Credit Card Processing Comparison Review Released
Business startups or hobbyist looking to increase sales revenue by implementing credit card processing capabilities can now more easily find the best merchant account companies with new comparison review released by consumer feedback site RateCreditCardProcessing.com. The popular user review site has announced a new update to the review section designed to make selecting the best service faster ...


CU Credit Card Programs Are Poised to Shine - Credit Union Times

Credit Union Times

CU Credit Card Programs Are Poised to Shine
Credit Union Times
In addition, credit card programs also carry a historic stigma of being difficult to manage. In previous years, FIS, First Data and other processors would sometimes give card-issuing credit unions with complicated and incomprehensible reports from .

and more »
..


Vantiv Chosen by Six Credit Unions for Processing Expertise
CINCINNATI, Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Vantiv, LLC, (formerly Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC)  one of the leading integrated payment processors, announced today that six credit unions recently ...


The Best Credit Card Processors Ranked by topcreditcardprocessors.com for February 2012
topcreditcardprocessors.com, the independent authority on credit card processors, has released their list of the best credit card processing companies for the month of February 2012.(PRWEB) February 08, 2012 The independent authority on credit card processors, topcreditcardprocessors.com, has named their list of the best credit card processing companies in the merchant services industry for the ...


Selecting a Smartphone Credit Card Processing System
Small scale credit card processors now benefit from secure smartphone credit card processing systems...


Alliance Data Renews Partnership with Clothing Retailer - American Banker (subscription)

Alliance Data Renews Partnership with Clothing Retailer
American Banker (subscription)
Alliance Data Systems Corp. has renewed an agreement to provide private-label credit card services to clothing retailer The Buckle Inc. Under the long-term deal, Alliance Data will continue to provide marketing services for the Buckle's credit card in .
Alliance Data Signs Multi-year Renewal Agreement With BuckleMarketWatch (press release)

all 11 news articles »
..

OnConference to Open US Office - MarketWatch (press release)

OnConference to Open US Office
MarketWatch (press release)
The addition of the US office will eliminate credit card surcharges and enable checks to be mailed and processed faster with enhanced credit card payment options and faster remittance processing. Registered to conduct business in the United States .

and more »
..


Merchant e-Solutions Named Finalist for Customer Service Team of the Year in Stevie Award Competition
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 15, 2012  /PRNewswire/ -- Merchant e-Solutions, a global leader in the credit card processing industry, has been named a finalist for a Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service ...


 

Many, if not all of the links on this website are affiliate links which means that we will be compensated if you choose to buy at some point in the near future. Please accept our sincere thanks for your support.




Technorati Tags: , ,