The Birth of a
Successful Internet Business
Part seven of ten -- Accepting Payment through Processing Companies
By Shelley Lowery
Copyright © 2002 - 2004
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 2002-2004.
About the Author
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