Merchandizer eCommerce Blog ArticleAccepting Credit Cards on Your Ecommerce Website
Accepting Credit Cards on Your Ecommerce Website
One of the easiest ways to increase your online business is to accept credit cards on your website. Customers like the convenience of using a credit or debit card and are more likely to make a purchase when they don’t have to go through all the hassle of writing a check and tracking down a stamp and walking to their mail box to mail it. What usually happens is they mean to mail the check, but the phone rings and they set it down for a minute, then the dog gets a hold of it and it becomes lost in the house. By accepting credit cards, you are making it much easier for the customer to whip out their wallet and punch in a few numbers on their keyboards and voila, the transaction is complete.
So how do you go about accepting credit cards online? First you will have to set up a merchant account. This is the account that the money will be transferred into from the customer’s credit card. Some companies will charge you an application fee and most will charge you a monthly fee as well as a transaction fee for each sale that your website makes. This transaction fee will generally be between 2 and 4% of the purchase price. If you are a high volume seller most companies will offer you a discount on the transaction fee.
After your merchant account is set up you will need a virtual terminal to accept credit cards from your website. Most companies that offer merchant accounts will also offer virtual terminals. The virtual terminal has the same purpose of regular terminals used in a bricks and mortar store. It reads the credit card and completes the transaction.
Virtual terminals will also require that you have a shopping cart set up on your website. It is a good idea to have a shopping cart anyway because it makes customer shopping even easier and allows you to track which items are selling and which are not. In three easy steps you will be able to accept credit cards through your website and easily boost your sales revenue.
One of the easiest ways to increase your online business is to accept credit cards on your website. Customers like the convenience of using a credit or debit card and are more likely to make a purchase when they don’t have to go through all the hassle of writing a check and tracking down a stamp and walking to their mail box to mail it. What usually happens is they mean to mail the check, but the phone rings and they set it down for a minute, then the dog gets a hold of it and it becomes lost in the house. By accepting credit cards, you are making it much easier for the customer to whip out their wallet and punch in a few numbers on their keyboards and voila, the transaction is complete.
So how do you go about accepting credit cards online? First you will have to set up a merchant account. This is the account that the money will be transferred into from the customer’s credit card. Some companies will charge you an application fee and most will charge you a monthly fee as well as a transaction fee for each sale that your website makes. This transaction fee will generally be between 2 and 4% of the purchase price. If you are a high volume seller most companies will offer you a discount on the transaction fee.
After your merchant account is set up you will need a virtual terminal to accept credit cards from your website. Most companies that offer merchant accounts will also offer virtual terminals. The virtual terminal has the same purpose of regular terminals used in a bricks and mortar store. It reads the credit card and completes the transaction.
Virtual terminals will also require that you have a shopping cart set up on your website. It is a good idea to have a shopping cart anyway because it makes customer shopping even easier and allows you to track which items are selling and which are not. In three easy steps you will be able to accept credit cards through your website and easily boost your sales revenue.
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