 Accept Credit Cards for Increased Profits
~Part 2~
by
Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D
Go to Part 1
Once you have a merchant account you will need a payment gateway, such as www.verisign.com which enables you to get real time authorization.
Along with this if you set up with a bank or independent provider you will need to add a secure shopping cart on your site that is compatible with your payment gateway. This company will provide your virtual or real credit card terminal.
With a third party processor you won’t have to be concerned about a shopping cart or payment gateway. But when customers place orders through a third party processor you’re sending them to the company website, such as when you use PayPal. Some merchants are uncomfortable with sending customers to another site for payment.
In addition to accepting credit cards and debit cards, third party processors such as PayPal also allow your customers to pay by check and money order. You will be notified to hold the order until the check is cleared.
When I began Gift Basket Business World I decided to add PayPal. I’ve been very happy with their service, including tech support when I needed it. On occasion when customers prefer to give me their credit card information on the phone instead, I’m able to handle that also with my separate merchant account. If you are earning less than $1,000 monthly, a third party processor is probably the easiest to set up and manage in the beginning.
Before you make your final decision in choosing an independent merchant provider or third party processor, check to see how customers evaluate them. Just put the company's name in Google and scroll down to listings from message boards and forums. You'll read the good, bad and ugly. Even though some of the extremely negative ones may be from customers who violated terms or jealous competitors, it will still give you another perspective.
Although there are a number of steps involved behind the scenes from the moment you accept a credit card and the approved payment lands in your bank account, they take place quickly once your merchant account and credit card processing system are set up. Deciding whether or not to accept credit cards is no longer an option. Without credit card acceptance you’re not only losing business and discouraging customers from ordering, you have shut the main flow of your profits.
Return to Part 1
About the Author
Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus at Fullerton College, educational consultant, gift basket expert, writer and professional motivational speaker. From her websites, blogs and newsletters she motivates small business owners and gift retailers with sales-generating ideas, marketing tips, design ideas and business success strategies. She is mother of four and grandmother of three. When she's not traveling she enjoys her home in Anaheim, CA.
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