How can I set up my web site to accept credit cards online?

Being able to accept credit cards on your website is becoming more important than it ever has been before. PayPal is one easy and convenient way for you to offer credit card services on your website without having to pay any setup fees. In fact, with the exception of minor fees charged by PayPal, you will not have any of the additional fees that you often find with other merchant services.

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However, PayPal is not the only way that you can accept credit cards on your website. Many specialty companies offer credit card services for your website. You can also contact creditors directly and talk to them about becoming a vendor for their credit cards.

Why should I accept credit cards on my website?

In truth, many people no longer carry cash. When they shop online, which millions of people do, people want to be able to do an instant transaction. Paying by check is just not an acceptable means of doing this. You run the risk of checks bouncing something that does not happen when people pay with a credit or debit card.

If you don’t accept credit cards it is very likely that someone will pass you over for another vendor even if they have to pay a little bit more for their product for the convenience of paying with a credit card. You are literally losing business by not accepting this form of currency.

With the ease of accepting credit cards online today, there is no reason for you to overlook this option. For basic services, start with PayPal and then move on to other merchants if you find yourself doing more and paying higher fees because of the excess business.

What kind of fees can I expect to have when I accept credit cards online?

Different companies charge different fees for credit card services. PayPal for example, charges a percentage fee based on the balance total of the purchase. However, they do not charge setup fees or other fees in the process.

Many companies offer these services for a fee. The kind of fees that you can expect are setup fees, application fees, software fees, transaction fees and secures connection fees. You will occasionally find a company that does not charge setup fees or software fees; however, this is more the exception than the rule.

With the U.S. Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Law, many people think that companies are no longer charging transaction fees, but that is not the case. What has happened is the fees have been lowered to merchants. The problem is these fees do not include middlemen companies that help small businesses set up their websites for credit card transactions.

This means that in addition to the fees that you have to pay for each credit card transaction that applies to the credit card company, you will pay another fee to the credit card processing company that is helping you make the credit card transactions. For this reason, you may want to consider going directly to the source in order to accept credit cards.

The downside to directly going to creditors is that the fees are much higher initially. If you are only expecting a small amount of credit card transactions, you may not be willing to pay the thousands of dollars that it takes to start up with a credit card company.

What’s more, when you use a secondary company, they typically include every major credit card company. When you do it on your own, you are required to set up a contract with each individual credit card company Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express. Each of these companies will have their own set of fees for which you will have to pay for your access separately. The cost can be astronomical.

How do I choose the best company to provide my credit card services?

Some of the things that you should look for from your credit card company provider are companies that process payments instantly. You do not want a service that delays processing the payment. If they delay too long and the person uses their credit card for other purchases, that will cause their card to max out and your charge will not go through.

Even more, without instant processing, you do not have that money. You need a service that will process those payments instantly so that you have access when you need it.

In addition, you should choose a credit card provider that accepts all major credit cards. You do not want to have to pay separately for different merchants in order to accept all the credit cards available. Of course, if you want, you can choose to exclude certain credit cards such as American Express who are synonymous for higher fees.

You also want to choose a company that does deposits to your bank account on a regular basis. Some companies offer once a day deposits while others will deposit into your account multiple times a day. Still others only deposit once a week or even once a quarter. You do not want to choose a company that does not allow you access to your funds for a full quarter.

It is important that you check online with such sources as the Better Business Bureau, to determine if the company that you are considering using if reputable. Be sure to also look online at forums and other common sites and read the reviews on the company carefully.

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