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How to Accept Credit, Debit and PayPal Payments Online



Paying online by credit or debit card is no longer science fiction, turning into normal everyday routine for many. In view of the growing tendency to shop online, many businesses began to incorporate online payment systems that allow them to accept credit and debit card payments. Payment gateways help them attract potential customers and stay competitive.

Even small business owners try to offer a variety of paying options to their clients. It has been statistically proven that accepting credit cards for online payments helps to maximize the number of sales. Thanks to online shopping, some businesses have doubled and even tripled the volume of their total sales. By offering credit and debit card payment options, companies manage to make the most of the spur of the moment. They reach higher number of sales, making a significant difference when it comes to their monthly financial reports.

There are two ways to go about offering online payment options. Businesses may open internet merchant accounts or use services provided by companies that specialize in online credit card processing. Some of these companies also offer internet merchant accounts. It is important to choose the most secure method of handling credit card payments. The right choice is essential for sellers and customers because both parties are interested in avoiding credit card fraud. The choice between an internet merchant account or a third party payment processing system usually depends on the volume of sales.

Internet merchant accounts are typically preferred by large businesses with high profit volumes. Merchant accounts are offered by banks or companies that provide credit card processing services. The downturn of this service is the large amount of fees that come with internet merchant accounts: a transaction fee, a start up and gateway fee, a monthly fee, etc. Some banks charge application fees, regardless of whether the client’s application is successful. The transaction rate is typically a flat rate that is due for each transaction. Some banks also require that account holders maintain a certain amount in their accounts as a reserve to cover any chargeback fees. In general, most banks charge heavy fees because of the potential risks involved. Companies that specialize in e-commerce may offer better terms for opening internet merchant accounts. Among these companies are InstaMerchant, Durango Merchant Services, Merchant Warehouse, Merchant Express, etc. Merchant Warehouse, for example, operates more than 100,000 and enables online businesses in the United States to handle credit card payments. InstaMerchant processes more that $15 billion in purchases each year. The company offers instant approval and 24/7 customer support service.

Although the fees are comparatively high, they may vary depending on certain factors. Established companies with clean credit records and high volume of monthly sales are entitled to multiple benefits. However, the discount rate per transaction is lower in comparison to discounts offered by third party payment processing systems.

Third party global leaders in online credit card processing are PayPal, ProPay, Google Checkout, 2Checkout and WorldPay. The benefit of using their services is that the partner takes responsibility for the accurate handling of payments and verifies the credit or debit card details. Clients pay no monthly or sign up fees, but processing fees are deduced for each payment. For this fact, third party payment gateways are the preferred choice of online businesses with small turnover.

PayPal is the preferred choice of sellers and buyers who appreciate the stability, security and accuracy of the payment gateway. Merchants pay no entrance fee and need to only open a paypal account. Then, they can display “buy now” buttons on their websites.The fee per transaction varies from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent + 0.30$.