The Birth of a Successful Internet
Business Part seven of ten -- Accepting Payment Through
Processing Companies
By Shelley Lowery
Accepting payment through your website is an absolute
essential part of doing business on the Internet. If
you're not accepting online payments and processing orders
online, you're losing a massive amount of business.
Studies have shown, you can increase your online sales up
to 400% simply by accepting credit cards. In addition, by
offering a combination of payment options, you can
increase your sales even further.
With today's advanced technology, you can start accepting
payment through your website almost instantly (depending
on the service you select). Preparing your website to
process orders online can be as simple as pasting some
HTML code within your web page.
There are many professional companies online that will
enable you to accept payment through your website without
a merchant account. These companies are known as third
party payment processing companies and provide an
invaluable service for homebased businesses.
Most companies will enable you to accept all major credit
cards and electronic checks. Some companies will also
provide telephone billing and recurring billing for paid
subscription and membership sites. There may or may not be
a set up fee and there are usually no monthly fees. Some
companies charge a "percentage" and a "per transaction"
fee. While others simply charge a set percentage fee per
transaction. They will process your orders and send you
payment for all your orders processed, minus their fee and
a reserve fee.
A reserve fee is withheld to cover any charge backs you
may have. If you have no charge backs within a period of
time, your reserve will be refunded to you. Each company
has their own guidelines in regard to reserves.
Once you've applied with a company and/or have been
approved and paid the setup fees, you can immediately
begin accepting payment. You will then be provided with
special coding to place within the HTML of your order
page. When your customer clicks on your order link or
image, they will be taken to the processor's secure server
to process their purchase. Once their order has been
processed, they will then be directed back to a page on
your website that you specify. This page may be a download
page, or even a "complete your purchase" page that you can
use to collect your customers' name and email address and
then direct them to your download page.
Once your customer places an order, you will instantly
receive an email notification letting you know that you've
made a sale. Your account will be instantly credited,
minus the company fee, and you will be paid according to
the company's payment schedule.
Third party processing companies are great for startup
businesses, as if you don't make any sales, you won't be
charged a fee. You are only charged a fee when and if you
make a sale.
The following third party processing companies will enable
you to accept payment through your website:
=> iBill
http://www.ibill.com
IBill will enable you to accept Visa, MasterCard, American
Express, Discover, JCB and online checks. They also offer
a telephone billing service (900 toll phone number). There
are no setup fees. They charge 12%-15% per transaction fee
for credit card and check purchases and 20%-30% per
transaction fee for phone purchases. Services available
for US and non- US merchants.
=> PayPal
http://www.paypal.com
PayPal will enable any business or consumer with an email
address to securely send and receive payments online. You
can also accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express,
Discover and electronic checks. You can sell with PayPal
through an online auction, on your own website, or as part
of an online marketplace. They also offer recurring
billing. There are no setup fees. They charge 2.9% + 30¢
per transaction. Services available for US and non-US
merchants.
=> ClickBank
http://www.clickbank.com
ClickBank will enable you to accept Visa, MasterCard,
American Express, Discover, Eurocard, Visa-Debit,
MasterCard-Debit, Novus cards and electronic checks.
They charge a one-time $49.95 activation fee, and a $1 +
7.5% fee per sale. There are no monthly fees. The great
thing about this company is that they'll enable you to run
an affiliate program. Services available for US and non-US
merchants.
=> Revecom
http://www.revecom.com/
Revecom will enable you to accept Visa, MasterCard,
American Express, Discover and JCB credit cards in
real-time. They also offer Check Processing in Real-time
and recurring billing. There is a $49 set up fee. There
are no monthly fees. They charge 3.95% + $1 fee per sale.
Services available for US and non-US merchants.
=> 2Checkout.com
http://www.2checkout.com/
2Checkout.com enables you to accept Visa, MasterCard,
American Express and Discover. They also offer recurring
billing and a free shopping cart. There is a $49 set up
fee. There are no monthly fees. They charge 5.5% + $0.45
fee per sale. Services available for US and non-US
merchants.
Accepting payment through your website is an essential
part of your online success. Don't put it off another day.
Take your time and select a company that will best suit
your needs. It will be well worth your effort.
Copyright © Shelley Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design
course, Web Design Mastery.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com And, Ebook Starter -
Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book.
http://www.ebookstarter.com Visit Web-Source.net to
sign up for a complimentary subscription to Etips and
receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet
Marketing Strategies."
http://www.web-source.net
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