Accept Credit Cards

2007-08-07T02:44:00.000-07:00

Credit Card Chargebacks: A Merchant's Most Difficult Challenge
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=William_Hamilton]William Hamilton

Joe Q. Merchant, a successful e-commerce business owner, opens a letter from the Chargeback Department of his credit card processing company. “What’s this?” he wonders, intuitively knowing that this can’t be good news. His suspicions are proven correct when he reads this retrieval request form where he must provide information about a particular transaction. While no specific reason is offered as to why this request has been initiated, Joe knows that he must comply to avoid a chargeback – where funds can be taken out of a merchant’s account due to a variety of reasons and placed back into a given customer’s account.

Joe ponders what went wrong with this particular transaction. Is it possible that a member of his staff accepted an invalid credit card (e.g., expired date)? Has there been a processing error (e.g., an input error has been committed where the wrong account has been charged)? These scenarios are very unlikely, Joe decides. In all probability, a customer has either disputed a) the validity of the transaction (i.e., whether the customer has authorized the transaction) or b) the quality of the service and/or product (i.e., the customer has voiced dissatisfaction and wants a refund).

According to guidelines set by Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, Joe Q. Merchant must reply with written correspondence, providing all the requested information – in an expedient fashion – in an attempt to rebut any possible chargeback. (A review committee will eventually render a decision as to the legitimacy of a chargeback.) But the retrieval request has indicated the date that this information must be received. If the merchant offers evidence of a transaction after this date, a chargeback will ensue and the merchant will automatically lose those hard-earned dollars that he/she may have already spent.

Online merchants, such as Joe, have more difficult obstacles to overcome than retail merchants in the resolution of chargebacks. After all, those who generally swipe credit cards have a transaction slip or receipt. If a card does not swipe through a credit card terminal, retail merchants must run the card through a manual imprinter to prove that the transaction was authorized. In contrast, those who run businesses online will not have such a physical receipt proving that the customer authorized the sale. This is why online transactions are categorized as “card not present” or “customer not present.”

Every year, a myriad of chargebacks result when customers claim that they never received the merchandise. In such instances, it is imperative that the merchant has a proof of delivery notice, indicating the date with the customer’s signature. If the signature on this notice belongs to another individual (e.g, neighbor) or even if the customer claims that he/she never signed for the item (signature is not clear), the merchant can lose the chargeback. It is always best that an online merchant use the Address Verification system (AVS) to ensure that the address listed on the customer’s credit card matches the billing address. Moreover, it is advisable to check for Visa’s CVV2 code or Mastercard’s CVC2 code – the three digits printed on credit cards near the signature panel in the back of the card – to help determine the validity of a sale. This aides the merchant in helping to identify a cardholder in a non-face-to-face transaction.

Of course, the merchant may then insist that the billing address and ship to address be the same to reduce the possibility of a chargeback. (As an added measure of protection – as a proactive maneuver – a merchant may fax a customer an order or invoice form and ask that the form be faxed back so that the customer’s signature may be on file. In another scenario, if the customer has initiated a chargeback for non-delivery of goods, before 30 days has elapsed from the time that the transaction occurred, the merchant can respond that ample time for shipment was not provided – especially if he/she can submit the terms of agreement, indicating the delivery date. If the merchant knows that delivery will be delayed, it is imperative to contact the customer should the customer derive the conclusion that the shipment was never made. Moreover, at least with phone orders, the merchant may even decide to postpone charging the card until the delivery is near completion or completed.

The retrieval request/chargeback battle becomes even more complex if the customer claims that the product or service does not live up to the customer’s expectations. If this has occurred, Joe Q. Merchant needs to submit his refund policy and proof that the customer was made aware of such a policy.

If a product was purchased, the customer must return it before a chargeback can be initiated – at least if the customer used a Visa or Mastercard. It is then up to the merchant how to proceed (i.e., to either grant or deny a refund). Disputes regarding a service fall in a very gray area. While it is mandatory that the customer attempt to work out an agreement with the merchant before attempting to charge back payment, such a conference may result in a stalemate. The almighty refund policy may help the merchant but if there are loopholes, the customer may very well be deemed victorious. And it should be clear that any “tie” goes to the customer; if the merchant cannot provide conclusive evidence that services rendered were thorough and appropriate or if there exists reasonable doubt, Joe Q. Merchant will not only have lost time with the customer but his money. And if the customer asserts that services were not rendered at all, Joe needs to show evidence of his work to the processing bank or a contract that spells out that he intended to provide service on a future specified date. Again, any inconclusivity that Joe fulfilled his obligation or planned to will result in a thinner wallet for Joe.

Although Joe Q. Merchant was quick to dismiss the notion that a point-of-sale processing error transpired, he needs to realize that there exists the possibility for human error on any given transaction. What happens, for example, if a customer has inadvertently been billed twice for a product or service? What happens if a customer cancelled a recurring billing charge but was still assessed a charge? In business, attention to detail is a must. But if Joe or a member of his staff erred, a credit to the customer must be issued posthaste.

Of course, the best way to prevent chargebacks starts with Joe’s actions and not necessarily the customer’s actions. Are safeguards in place to prevent processing errors? For instance, on phone orders, do the merchants’ representatives ensure that every given digit, including the expiration date, is absolutely correct? Are orders confirmed by fax?; Are phone numbers checked with directory enquiries?; Are customers contacted back by phone to confirm the telephone number?

Internet orders need to be evaluated, too. Are fraud-preventative devices, such as the AVS and CVV2/CVC2 code employed? Was the customer’s address verified by calling the card issuing bank’s Voice Authorization Center? (Alternatively, the merchant can automatically decline any transaction where there is an AVS mismatch.) Is the refund policy easily accessible and observable on the website? Does a recognizable Doing Business As (DBA) name with a concomitant phone number appear on the customers’ statements? Are signed delivery receipts obtained?

Logic and intuition are powerful tools in preventing chargebacks, too. If Joe Q. Merchant has an uneasy feeling about a transaction (e.g., the customer is willing to pay additional fees for faster delivery for a high-ticket item, the customer has a domestic billing address but a foreign shipping address, etc), he needs to proceed with caution. High-ticket items are profitable but risky and Joe Q. Merchant must especially perform his due diligence with such transactions.

A yellow light should also appear for any foreign order, particularly those that originate from certain problem countries like Singapore or Indonesia. Indeed, Joe needs to weigh the benefits vs. the potential cost of doing business outside the States.

Although chargebacks can raise their ugly head for any merchant, Joe Q. Merchant realizes that by taking a thorough, hands-on and cautious approach, he can substantially reduce or eliminate their occurrence. As an added measure of protection, Joe will conduct business ethically and responsibly and reach out towards his customers to ensure their satisfaction. He will, for example, describe products and/or services with accurate descriptions, provide a clear and fair return policy and establish dialogue, whenever possible, with the customer – either before, during or after a given transaction.

Advancing technology, to better identify customers (e.g., Verified by Visa or SecureCode provided by Mastercard), will serve to reduce fraud and/or limit chargebacks. But until technology catches up with the oft-unpredictable world of e-commerce chargebacks, Joe Q. Merchant can look towards one reliable stop-gap measure: himself.

Copyright 2006 William Hamilton

William Hamilton owns a payment processing company, IntelliCollect (a subsidiary of United Bank Card), a firm offering cost-effective payment processing solutions. Services are listed at: http://www.intelli-collect.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_Hamilton http://EzineArticles.com/?Credit-Card-Chargebacks:-A-Merchants-Most-Difficult-Challenge&id=187377

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-31T05:42:00.000-07:00

Why You Should Refinance Your Credit Card
By Max Hunter

Getting the Right Rate Can Save YOU Thousands

A credit card debt can be like the worst sort of trap. Like a
wound that won’t heal, a monthly minimum payment – with
ceaseless regularity and endless strain on your budget – leaves
your account. It’s to pay for the Christmas shopping, or the
last July 4th party, or your holiday two years ago. You don’t
know; frankly you care less – you just want to see it gone. But
when your next statement arrives, the hole your minimum payment
should have burned in your debt is no smaller – the sore remains
unclosed.

Is this situation familiar? Is it you?

If it is, you’ve not heard the worst of it yet. The way that
credit card companies exist and thrive is by exploiting your
debt burden. They’ll lend and lend and lend, until you get to
the point that the most you can pay back each month is the
minimum payment – usually around 2.5 per cent of the balance.
The problem with this is that they hit you with a load of
interest, sometimes amounting to 2 per cent of the balance. If
only one half of a per cent is being paid back it doesn’t take
much math to figure out the amount of time it could take you to
pay back your debts.

In fact, if you’re paying repayment insurance, in some
instances you can pay back less than the amount of debt
accumulating.

It’s a horrible, self-perpetuating cycle of hemorrhaging money,
but the good news is twofold.

First off, you’re not alone. Thousands upon thousands of
decent, hard-working Americans are in this position through no
fault of their own but necessity and the demands of modern
living.

Secondly, if you’re stuck in this horrible cycle of bleeding
money, the chances are that it can be at least partially
redressed. Many Americans have – and still do – unwittingly
signed up to credit card deals that are uncompetitive,
over-priced and unnecessarily expensive. What many don’t
realize, is that simply because you have pledged allegiance to a
particular credit card company doesn’t mean to say that you are
stuck with them for life. There’s a way out that can save you
hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year and help you pay
off your debt burden more quickly.

Transferring the balance of your credit card to another one is
a way of paying off your existing debt with a new credit card
that you take on at a cheaper rate. In many cases this can be
set at 0 per cent for a period of a number of months, before
reverting to a higher rate. By switching to such a card – and
then another at the end of the interest free term, and maybe
even another after that, it gives you a clear run at reducing
your debt, without it spiraling ever further upwards. Even if
you’re still only paying 2.5 per cent off the balance a month,
far better to do that than knocking off one half of a per cent,
or less.

By bundling up the old expensive credit card debt, getting rid
of it, then paying back the new credit card at a lower rate, you
can save countless dollars each month. You can save even more
money by paying a bit more each month, thus clearing the debt in
a shorter time. By doing this you’ll free up more dollars
further down the line enabling you to spend them on something
really nice.

Unfortunately, 0% deals are not always available to all
customers. If you’ve got a credit rating that’s in some way
below scratch, it is probably unlikely that a 0% credit card
will be made available to you. It’s a sad fact of finance that
the best deals seem to always be available for those who need
them the least.

That said, there are a number of other excellent credit cards
on the market through which you can save many dollars. Even if a
balance transfer rate is as high as 10 or 12 per cent, if you’re
paying upwards of 20 per cent on your existing deal then you’re
clearly going to save a stack of money – even if it’s not as
much as you might have liked.

If you’re concerned about how much you’re paying each month on
your credit card repayment it certainly pays to check out your
existing interest rates and compare them to some of the balance
transfer rates available at competitors: it’s almost a certainty
that you’ll save yourself more than a few dollars.

Even if you’re not worried about your existing credit card
deal, it’s worth checking out the market to see if you can get a
better deal. Complacency doesn’t pay, but a bit of awareness can
save you a lot.

About the Author: Max Hunter is the author of many credit
related articles. If you are looking for help with Home Loans or
any other type of credit issue please visit us at
http://www.creditcardunlimited.com

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-27T05:19:00.001-07:00

Benefits Of Online Credit Card Processors
By Matt Garrett

We have all heard of PayPal. PayPal is an online credit card
processor that allows online businesses to securely accept
credit cards as a form of payment. In addition to PayPal, there
are additional online credit card processors.

Online shopping has dramatically increased in popularity and
each day more consumers think about purchasing online. Online
shopping is popular because it is generally easy and
convenient. Online credit card processors help to make online
shopping hassle free. Online credit card processors are used by
large or small businesses. In additional to nationally known
companies, online credit card processors make it easy for
work-at-home individuals to successfully make a profit selling
homemade or wholesale merchandise.

For individuals interested in starting their own online
business, finding the perfect online credit card processing
company make take sometime. Credit card number are valuable
information and unfortunately many account numbers are stolen
each day. In addition to protecting the assets of your
business, obtaining a secure online credit card processor will
also protect your customers. Consumers do not want to be
shopping or handing out valuable personal information to an
unsecured website or credit card processing company. The best
way to determine the success of online credit card processors
is by searching for customer feedback on the internet. Many
times clients will post feedback when they have had a positive
or negative experience with a company.

In addition to personal and business security, fully
researching the various different online credit card processors
is a potential way to increase your profits. For allowing you to
use their services, you are charged a fee. The fee and rates
will depend on the online credit card processor in question.
For this reason, it is important to shop around and find the
best value for your money. Although cheaper rates are nice, it
is not always better. Go with your gut instinct, if something
seems too good to be true it may be. Research is an important
tool in keeping your profits intact.

It is not uncommon to come across online credit card processors
that offer certain guidelines or restrictions on their services.
For example, there may be a select few of online credit card
processors that limit the amount of sales it processes. This
limit may be monthly, weekly, or even daily. If your business
becomes a success, this restriction could only hurt it and
could cause you to lose potential profits.

Another restriction may include the type of business that you
are operating. Although each online credit card processor is
different and they tend to operate under different standards,
some online businesses may be a violation of their standards. A
few examples of the businesses that online credit card
processors may refuse to service are gambling sites, adult
sties, or pharmacies. Before entering into a contract with an
online credit card processing company, it is important to read
through their contract rules and guidelines.

Credit cards are used by consumers because they are a
convenient and easy way to participate in online shopping. If
you are operating an online business, whether it be large or
small, consider accepting online credit cards. There a wide
number of online credit card processors available to serve your
needs and help your businesses grow.

About the Author: Matt Garrett, SEO Services
http://www.Accept-Credit-Cards-Online.co.uk

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-26T04:16:00.000-07:00

Accept Credit Card Merchant Account
By Shane Penrod

If you’re looking to expand your business, you can soon accept
credit card merchant account payments by applying for a
merchant services account. Many lenders and financial
institutions are eager to provide this account to responsible
entrepreneurs who seek to provide credit card payment options
at their business. Whether you sell products from your home,
travel around to provide consulting or training services, or
conduct business solely over the Internet, a merchant services
account can help move your company into the e-commerce arena.

When you are ready to accept credit card merchant account
payments for your goods or services, start by shopping for an
established banker or lender that can offer you a merchant
services account. Look for a company that has been in business
for several years and enjoys a good reputation. You may want to
check with the Better Business Bureau to ensure that the company
is not running a scam and that it can provide as well as
maintain the benefits it offers. When you locate two or three
companies that you might want to work with, compare their
terms, prices, and equipment options. These can vary widely, so
first have an idea of what your company and customers need.
Don’t try to bite off more than you can chew by taking on too
much debt at first for equipment you may never or seldom use.
Instead, stay focused on your primary objective, which may be
as basic as processing credit card payments from customers who
stop by your restaurant for a meal. Only when you identify a
real need for additional services should you consider extending
your credit and your budget to buy these things, which might
include a pager, an e-check and debit processor, or a Website
credit payment processor.

If your business continues to grow and you want to accept
credit card merchant account payments on a wider scale, you can
set up a company Website to promote your company and offer
credit card processing options. A Website will let customers
visit any time it is convenient for them to do so, and you
don’t have to maintain a staff person on call to answer
questions. Just add an email option to the site, and your
clients can send questions, orders, or suggestions to you
directly, in addition to making credit card payments on goods
purchased at the Website. The site may include a product or
service description, price list, FAQs, and other relevant
details that will help answer customers’ questions and clear
the way for them to order online. Many people prefer this
shopping method to paying in cash or in person.

Accepting credit card payments can cost as little as a few
cents per transaction or an overall low percentage rate each
month. There may be additional fees, whoever, so be sure to ask
before signing a contract. Inquire about a domain name
registration, hosting fees, and site maintenance service terms.
Then get ready to watch as profits climb when you learn how to
accept credit card merchant account payments online.

About the Author: Shane Penrod is the founder of
Merchant-Account-Quotes.com Specializing in allowing merchants
the ability to shop and compare multiple quotes from national
merchant account providers. For free quotes on merchant account
rates and fees, please go to
http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-25T03:16:00.000-07:00

Best Credit Card After Bankruptcy... How To Find One
By R. Lawrence Anderson

Finding the best credit card after bankruptcy is not that
difficult, if you know where to look and what to look for.

Let’s start by talking about secured and unsecured credit
cards. When it comes to applying for a credit card after
bankruptcy one question that a lot of people seem to have is:
Should I apply for a secured credit card or unsecured credit
card?

In case you don’t know the difference, a secured credit card is
“secured” by a special savings account you establish with the
credit card issuer which acts as collateral for your credit
limit.

For example, you deposit $500 in a special savings account and
then have a $500 credit limit. If you default, the credit card
issuer simply takes the money in your special savings account.

Unsecured credit cards are just that – unsecured. Meaning the
person fills out a credit application and, based on their credit
report, income, etc. are approved for a certain credit limit. Of
course, they could also be declined depending
on the credit card issuer’s guidelines.

So which is best? It depends on your credit history. However,
if you apply for a secured credit card you have a higher chance
of getting approved versus an unsecured credit card.

But be careful. Not all secured cards are created equal. And to
make matters worse, there are tons of banks out there pushing
secured credit cards!

So how do you find the best credit card after bankruptcy? Come
up with a list of criteria that the secured card needs to meet
in order for you to consider it. When I’m researching secured
cards, I apply eight criteria. Not many meet these criteria so
I’m able to narrow down the choices quickly.

What are the some of the eight criteria? For example, a low
interest rate is important. While researching some secured
credit cards I ran across one with an interest rate of 23.99%
and another with an interest rate of only 9.25%.

This is just one of the criteria I use to find the best credit
card after bankruptcy – and look at the potential savings! Over
several years you could save hundreds or even thousands of
dollars in interest depending on the balance you maintain.

Okay, here’s another criteria: application fees. Again, I found
some secured credit cards that have no application fees and one
that had a… are you ready for this… $120 application fee! Sadly,
people have paid it!

Let me give you one more criteria you can use to find the best
credit card after bankruptcy: You want to make sure the secured
card issuer reports to all three credit bureaus. But you also
want to make sure they report it a certain way.

I don’t have room here for all eight criteria, but hopefully
this gives you an idea of some of the things you need to look at
when it comes to finding the best credit card after bankruptcy.

By the way, don’t apply for too many credit cards at once. If
you do, it can hurt your credit score. That’s why if you’re
uncertain as to whether or not you’d be approved for an
unsecured credit card it may be better to apply for a secured
credit card.

Now you know some steps you can take toward finding the best
credit card after bankruptcy!

About the Author: R. Lawrence Anderson is author of After
Bankruptcy Credit Solutions, which shows individuals how to
qualify for credit and loans after bankruptcy. For details
visit: http://www.bankruptcy-credit-solutions.com

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-24T04:20:00.000-07:00

Accept Credit Card at Trade Show
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Shane_Penrod]Shane Penrod

Are you wondering whether to accept credit card at trade show options? You know how it goes. You register for a show, set up your booth, and over the course of the event you find that lots of customers want to buy your products. If you are stuck making change for cash payments or trying to decide whether to accept a personal check, you could spend a lot of time and lose many customers in the process. Those who prefer to pay by plastic will head to your competitors’ booths where they can swipe a card and be on their way in a few moments’ time. With a credit payment processor, you can be the one swiping the plastic and ringing up the sale. So how can you get set up to receive credit card payments at a trade show? It all starts with a merchant services account.

If you are exploring whether to accept credit card at trade show possibilities, you should consider opening a merchant services account. Many banks or other financial institutions offer this commercial-grade company account. They will often let you submit an application over the Internet at their Websites and get back to you with an answer in a day or two. When your application is approved, you can take advantage of the great financing options that the bank will provide in underwriting a credit processing account so that you can accept credit card payments from your customers either on-site or at a remote location, such as a trade show. Simply buy, lease, or rent a wireless credit processor and take it with you to the show. Your customers will love the convenience of using plastic over cash, and you will love adding up profits at the end of the day.

When you decide to accept credit card at trade show options, your journey into e-commerce should be smooth and clear. If a problem should arise, you can report it to the service technician who is responsible for maintaining your equipment. If you buy the unit outright, however, you may want to consider purchasing an accompanying service agreement in case a glitch should develop. Take your wireless unit to the trade show with you, set it up in a safe place where it won’t fall or get damaged, and put up a sign, if you have one, alerting customers to this credit paying option. If you also have a company Website, you may want to hand out fliers with your Web address on it so they can visit online to make additional purchases, using their credit card paying ability at that location as well, assuming you have set up your site to receive secure credit payments.

Going to the trade shows is a great way to see and be seen by customers and competitors. Imagine taking your credit processing equipment to facilitate sales while there. Give some serious thought to reasons that will benefit both company and clients as to why you should accept credit card at trade show options.

Shane Penrod is the founder of http://www.Merchant-Account-Quotes.com Specializing in allowing merchants the ability to shop and compare multiple quotes from national merchant account providers. For free quotes on merchant account rates and fees, please go to http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shane_Penrod http://EzineArticles.com/?Accept-Credit-Card-at-Trade-Show&id=103872

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-23T23:37:00.000-07:00

Accepting Credit Cards - Positives vs. Negatives
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Scott_Burke]Scott Burke

Today there are hundreds of thousands of small & medium size businesses in this country that take orders via credit cards. In addition, every day in this country, there are hundreds of companies entering the world of e-commerce. They come from many industries including retail, internet, mail order, home based businesses, B2B, professional services, wholesale and mobile businesses. In many cases they are "taking the plunge" to accept credit and debit cards for the first time. Some are successful and some are not. As with any other business venture, the companies that do their homework typically have a better chance at being successful.

To help you start your homework, let's look at the advantages of accepting credit cards for your business.

6 Benefits of Accepting Credit Cards

1. Convenience - You probably already know that accepting alternative forms of payment like credit and debit cards helps make it more convenient for people to pay you. This will increase your sales and profits. Some studies say by 30 -100% or more (Visa International).

2. Increases Your Credibility - Did you also know that advertising your acceptance of credit and debit cards increases your credibility? It's true. The public knows that a Merchant Account status is not always easy to get and will look at you as more of a solid company -here to stay. "Hmmm... doesn't accept credit cards? Is there some kind of credit problem I should know about this company?"

3. Increases Your Average Sales Order - Were you aware that you're AVERAGE SALE AMOUNT GOES UP when you accept credit cards? Studies prove (and I am sure it's true of most of us) that when we are ready to make a purchase and we are paying with a credit card we are more inclined to purchase the "upgrade" product or service. Human nature seems to cause most of us to be inclined to purchase the "better model or service upgrade" when we can finance the purchase with a credit card.

4. Impulse Purchases Go Up - Did you also know that your willingness to accept credit cards also causes impulse purchases to go up? Customers are more likely to purchase when they can use a credit card versus paying with cash or a check. For some reason human nature - especially in the US - causes us to think paying on credit is easier.

5. Increases Cash Sales - I bet you didn't know that the mere presence of credit card logos at your business location increases CASH sales. A fascinating study was explained in the book Influence by Robert Cialdini. This scientific experiment documented that the mere presence of Master Card/ Visa logos will increase cash sales by as much as 29% in controlled studies - even though credit cards were not used! If your business accepts cash, this is an extra bonus of accepting credit cards and advertising that you do.

6. Cuts Back on Bad Checks and Collection Costs. -By accepting credit and debit cards through a reputable Merchant Account Provider, credit cards orders will be screened for fraudulent transactions. Some providers, like Cardservice International, will take extra steps on address verification, verifying the extra four digits on the credit card, and blocking selected credit card numbers, Internet protocols, names or addresses. These are extra safety measures you can take to find peace of mind that the orders you are receiving - particularly on the Internet - are legitimate. When a customer is a "slow pay", a common collection technique is to call the customer and suggest they give you their credit card information over the phone right then to clear up the default. Without this option you would typically have to wait to see if the customer sends you a check like they said they would.

Disadvantages of Accepting Credit and Debit Cards

Like anything else, the benefits of increasing sales and profits by accepting credit and debit cards do not come without some risks. Sure, one disadvantage is that you have to pay a percentage of the sales that are paid to you with a credit or debit card in rates and fees. You also have to wait from one to three days for your money to post to your checking account. You should be aware of other issues also.

1.) Chargeback Risk - The customer who paid you with a credit card has up to six months to dispute the charge. Should they not be happy with the product or service, they would typically call you and negotiate a resolution. Should you decide to give the customer a credit than you will typically pay your Merchant Account Provider the same rates and fees that you paid when you accepted the charge - even though the money is flowing OUT of your account.

Worse yet, the customer may still be dissatisfied after calling you because you felt a credit was not justified. The customer may not call you at all.

In any event, the customer has the right to dispute the charge and write a letter to the bank that issued them the credit card they paid you with. The bank will contact the Merchant Account Provider who will then contact you to "retrieve" the signed receipt or possibly other evidence of the sale. This is called a "retrieval request" and usually costs $10 or more. The Merchant Account Provider may "charge back" the amount, which also has a fee of $10 or more. Consumer Protection Law will usually side with the consumer and not you.

Should the order be a Mail Order / Telephone Order (MOTO) or an Internet order then your defense is very weak because you may not have a signed receipt. Make sure your "Descriptor" includes your phone number. This is the name of your business which the customer sees on the credit card statement they get showing the charge. If your phone number is included the customer will have a greater likelihood of calling you first to resolve the dispute. This could save you both a Retrieval Request fee and a potential Charge Back fee.

2.) Your Money Can Be Held Back By the Merchant Account Provider. An ounce of prevention may be worth a ton of headaches. When you filled out your Merchant Account Application you were asked the type of business you have, the monthly volume of sales you anticipate, and the average order size you anticipate. The reason Merchant Account Providers run a credit report on you and are concerned about your business type and sales volume is because ultimately the Merchant Account Provider has to make good your charge backs if you are not able to.

Should you declare bankruptcy, not ship your product, provide your service inadequately, or even be running fraudulent credit card orders, the Merchant Account Provider could really be hurt. Because of this, a "Loss Prevention" department will watch your processing activities and has a good idea of the types of businesses that have greater risk to the Merchant Account Provider. A Merchant (or the sales rep) may describe the business differently than it really is in order to get the Merchant Account Application approved more quickly. Once the Merchant Account Provider finds this out, they may hold your funds until everything is straightened out.

Spikes in your processing above your average daily approved sales volume estimate and much larger average order sizes than you were approved for will also concern the Merchant Account Provider. Trouble sometimes arises when a Merchant is stacking up credit card orders waiting for their Merchant Account to both be approved and setup properly. The Merchant finally goes live and keys in a bunch of orders the very first day. Alarm bells go off.

The lesson learned is to make sure your business description, monthly volume estimate, and average order size (or average ticket) are all correct. If you have more than one business make sure you set up each business properly and separately. The expense to do this is not great compared to the risk. The right kind of credit card terminal, as example, permits multiple Merchant Accounts.

The Bottom Line

Make sure you keep your Merchant Account Provider informed. Are your sales seasonal - which could cause a spike? Did you make a large sale that you keyed into your terminal or software that is well above your estimate of average order size? Are you getting into another business all together? Save yourself some headaches and call first for advice from your Merchant Account Provider.

You also may want to look at the cost of NOT accepting credit and debit cards. Never mind all the hype about "My sales increased 500% because I started accepting credit cards." - Although in some cases I have seen this to be true. DO think about the likelihood of getting even just a few "extra" orders for your product or service because you accept credit and debit cards. Based on your average order size, how much profit will you make on each of these "extra" orders. Add to that the savings on labor by possibly not having to send out invoices. What about the labor savings by converting to an electronic check service so you just enter the check information on the Internet. Add to that using credit and debit cards as a collection technique for your slow pays. I know it sounds self serving because I am in the business but it is hard for me to imagine ANY business not choosing to offer as many payment methods as possible to their clients and customers. The question becomes one of choosing the best method of accepting credit and debit cards - not whether to accept debit and credit cards for your business or not.

What this guide is all about is giving you the education to make a decision on a Merchant Account Provider, a bank, or even a third party processor based on a cost benefit analysis and your service needs.

About The Author

Scott Burke; President of iMAX Business Solutions in charge of sales, strategy, and execution and thus is responsible for managing all aspects of the company's marketing, communications, new accounts, and support.
For more information on how your business may benefit from accepting credit cards now. Click over to [http://www.cmscreditcards.com ]http://www.cmscreditcards.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Burke http://EzineArticles.com/?Accepting-Credit-Cards---Positives-vs.-Negatives&id=225600

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-20T04:08:00.000-07:00

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-18T00:20:00.000-07:00

Credit Card Offers
By Beth Pardue

The vast majority of credit card offers you receive are fair
and ethical. But there are two things to look out for that some
credit card companies have been known to pull on unwary
customers. These tactics are perfectly legal, so your only
recourse to preventing them is to be alert.

The old bait and switch. You apply for a great credit card that
gives you tons of frequent-flier miles, hoping to put all of
your shopping on it, and then head to the Bahamas in February.
When and if you get that card, study the terms carefully. If
you don't qualify for the great card, the credit card company
can send you a completely different card with different
terms--without telling you. Visit www.amex-visa-mastercard.com
for a list of reputable credit card offers.

Cash advance fees and rates. Read the fine print on your
statement and you'll see it's a very bad idea to take cash out
on your credit card. Your card might have a really low rate for
purchases, but the rate for cash advances is much higher. And
there is no grace period--you start paying interest right away.

Aside from paying a high rate on the cash you take out, you're
going to pay a fee, usually 2 percent to 4 percent of the
amount advanced. And your payments will be applied to the
lower-interest balance before they are applied to your cash
advance. Don't get yourself into trouble with either of these
two mistakes ... read the terms of your credit card offers
carefully before you activate them.

About the Author: This article was written by Beth Pardue who
has over 10 years of experience in the financial industry
assisting clients with assorted financial needs. To learn more
about credit cards or to apply for a credit card online please
visit: Visit http://www.amex-visa-mastercard.com today!

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-13T02:59:00.000-07:00

Accept Credit Cards Online Without a Merchant Account
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Joe_Duchesne]Joe Duchesne

There are two major ways to accept credit cards on your website. The first and most expensive is to have your own merchant account. Not only is this option expensive, it also requires extensive credit checks, lots of paperwork, and usually takes days or weeks before you get approved. Fortunately, there is an alternative.

Third party payment processors who will accept credit card payments on your behalf exist in growing numbers. These third party processors will take a percentage of your sale for their troubles, then pass on the rest to you. Rates vary greatly from one payment provider to another so doing your homework is important in order to get the right fit for you. Some payment providers will accept all kinds of goods and services while others specialize in only digital products, or hard goods, or services.

General Purpose Payment Providers include:

Paypal – Owned by Ebay, Paypal offers one of the lowest rates of any third party payment processor. At the time of this writing, their standard rates were 2.9% plus $0.30 US per transaction. Paypal offers excellent support and great documentation to get you up and running in no time at all. www.paypal.com

2checkout.com – Has a $49 US one time setup fee. Their rates at the time of this writing were $0.45 US plus 5.5% transaction fee. Discount rates are middle of the pack, service is very good and through them, you can accept most major credit cards. www.2checkout.com

Digital Information Payment Providers include:

Clickbank – You pay a one time $49.95 US activation fee. They then pay you the retail price of your product minus $1 and a 7.5% fee. Clickbank also has an easy to use affiliate program so that you can make money when others sell your product. www.clickbank.com

Digibuy – An electronic commerce solution for publishers of software, shareware, electronic art, information, and data. They charge a rate of 13.9% per transaction with a $3 US minimum order. They provide you with many features including brandable order forms, invoicing and test orders. www.digibuy.com

All but Clickbank give you the ability to have brandable shopping carts. This allows you to customize your order forms so that the customer doesn't feel like they are leaving your site thereby building trust. All of the third party payment processors above provide you with help to get started.

Accepting credit cards online doesn't have to cost you a lot of money. Most times it doesn't even have to include a credit check. Most of these services will even make regular deposits directly into your bank account for ultimate convenience.

When you need to accept credit cards quickly and inexpensively, one of the payment providers mentioned above just might fit the bill.

Joe Duchesne is the webmaster for turbomerchant.com which specializes in offering information to people looking to sell online via a [http://www.turbomerchant.com ]merchant account and accept credit cards online. Reprint freely as long as the keyword rich link in this resource box stays live and with this article.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Duchesne http://EzineArticles.com/?Accept-Credit-Cards-Online-Without-a-Merchant-Account&id=9567

Accept Credit Cards

2007-07-10T00:19:00.000-07:00

Accept Credit Cards

2007-05-14T03:49:00.001-07:00

How to Maintain Credit Card Terminals
By Jeremy Maddock

Buying credit card processing terminals for a retail business can be a substantial investment, costing several thousand dollars or more in many cases. When you invest this much money in this rather essential equipment, it is quite natural to want to properly maintain the equipment and extend its useful life for as long as possible.

One of the best ways to prevent your credit card terminals from breaking down prematurely is to clean them periodically.

The presence of dust, crumbs, and paper lint can cause built-in printers and stripe readers to become clogged making card reading devices difficult or impossible to use properly. A simple $2 investment in a can of compressed air, however, can help you quickly and easily clean your terminals, helping them last for up to five years without missing a beat.

When you buy new equipment of any kind for your business it is essential that you stay in the habit of maintaining it, and remind your employees to do the same.

Another, perhaps less obvious way to ensure the longevity of your card reading equipment is to buy a terminals that use integrated flash memory to store the software that runs them. Flash memory makes it easy to download and install system updates, preventing software advances and security vulnerabilities from rendering your devices obsolete.

About the Author:
Jeremy Maddock is a successful web-based freelancer, who writes articles about business financial products and other corporate products.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeremy_Maddock
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Maintain-Credit-Card-Terminals&id=297856

Buying credit card processing terminals for a retail business can be a substantial investment, costing several thousand dollars or more in many cases. When you invest this much money in this rather essential equipment, it is quite natural to want to properly maintain the equipment and extend its useful life for as long as possible.

Accept Credit Cards

2007-05-12T02:03:00.001-07:00

Accept Credit Cards Online
By Dominic Ferrara

If you have a business online, you are going to have to have a way to accept credit cards online. There is no way around it. You can’t run an online business by taking checks or money orders if you want to make money. If people have to take the time to send either of those in, they are going to get frustrated with the wait. You have to have a way to get a payment instantly so that you can get your product or service up and out the door as soon as they order it.

You will find that every successful website on the Internet knows how to accept credit cards online. They know that everyone is looking for fast service when they are shopping via the Internet, and that is what they give them. If you don’t accept credit cards online you should see about having that option available as soon as you can. If you don’t, you shouldn’t expect to make a go of it, and you are going to find that it is more hassle than it’s worth.

There are a few different ways to accept credit cards online, but it doesn’t matter which you choose as long as you choose one of them. You can have a system that takes the card numbers much like they do in retail stores, or you can use Paypal to accept credit cards online. Paypal is not as common as the first method, but it is gaining in popularity. Though some are leery of Paypal, I honestly think if you are going to use a credit card this is the way to go. A person can use their credit card in their own account with Paypal and it makes check out faster and easier, and some feel, more secure.

Make sure you provide your visitors with a secure setting if you want to accept credit cards online. This means that the transaction is encrypted so that their information is not broadcast around the Internet for those who may take those numbers for their own use. You can see an https:// beginning to any web address that has a secure setting. If you want to accept credit cards online you have to have this or your customers will most definitely think twice before they put their information in for an order. They want to be safe, so you have to make sure you do everything you can to keep them feeling secure and at ease about ordering through your site.

For more information on how to find the Best Business Online try visiting Small Business Start located at http://Small-Business-Start.com where you will find valuable information on internet marketing, making money and other information..

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dominic_Ferrara
http://EzineArticles.com/?Accept-Credit-Cards-Online&id=420872

Accept Credit Cards

2007-05-11T02:02:00.000-07:00

How To Protect Yourself From Pre-Approved Credit Card Offer?
By Cornie Herring

Have you received before a pre-approved credit card offer that sent to you through your email address? If you are not, then you are the lucky one. Most of people who have access to email are receiving dozens of "good offer" from credit card companies. Low-internet rate and higher credit limit are among the good deals in the offers and the best part is: it has been pre-approved to you. Sound good? Well, before you go ahead and accept one. Ask yourself whether you really need it or not. According to the credit card site CardWeb.com, average American household are holding a $10,000 credit card debt. Don't let you be one of the statistics.

The best way to keep credit card debt down is not to use a credit card. But if you do receive a pre-approved card that intrigues you, at least know what you are getting into before signing on the bottom line:

What interest are you paying? Make sure you understand the interest rate you will be paying for. There are two types of interest rates, fixed-rate annual percentage rate (APR) and variable rates that swing according to the market rate. A better option would be APR because credit card companies have to notify you before raising rates.

The low interest rate being offered is usually only an "introductory rate" which means the rate can - and probably will - increase significantly at the end of the introductory period. This means that balances transferred from higher interest rate credit cards to the new, low introductory rate card could, over the long run, actually cost you more in interest payments. So, be aware of the terms and conditions before you sign to accept the card.

Know that a credit card may carry more than one rate. You may not aware that most of credit cards carry more than one rate. The balance transfer and cash advance normally have higher interest rate. Interest rate shows in the offer normally is the interest rate of your purchases with credit card. Hence, at the end you probably pay higher interest rate if you have balance transfer or withdraw any cash advance with your credit card.

Credit card companies may raise the interest rate if you have late payment. Some credit card companies will immediately raise your interest rate from introductory teaser rate to the regular rate if you are late just one time.

Don't accept the new credit card offer if fee involved. If there is fee involved with your new credit card, don't accept the offer. Why pay a fee for a credit card when, with good credit, you don't have to? If you have good credit, there are many other better offers which you can choose from.

Many of these cards are just preliminarily approved. This means that when you actually apply, the credit card company will reviewing your credit report in full as well as verifying information provided on your application. Terms and conditions may change according to your qualification, such as higher interest rate or smaller credit line. And if your application is rejected, it could cause at least minimal damage to your credit report.

So, in order to protect yourself, you need to carefully read all of the fine print in the offer and, if you don't fully understand and like everything you read, throw the credit card offer away. Even if you fully agree with the stated terms and conditions, do some calculations to be sure that the lower introductory rate, especially in the case of balance transfers, will actually save you money over the long run.

Cornie Herring is the Author from http://www.studykiosk.com This site is an informational website on credit basics, debt consolidation and bankruptcy. Visit her "Money Matters" blog for more credit related information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cornie_Herring
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Protect-Yourself-From-Pre-Approved-Credit-Card-Offer?&id=515973

Chances are you have received one of those pre-approved, low-interest rate credit card offers. Sounds like a good deal, right? Well, before you go ahead and accept one, at least know what you are getting into before signing on the bottom line of application form. Learn how to protect yourself from these pre-approved credit card offers.

Accept Credit Cards

2007-05-10T03:42:00.000-07:00

Accept Credit Cards

2007-05-09T04:14:00.000-07:00

Accepting Credit Card by Jack Chevalier

From : hotlib.com.

Credit Cards Machines come in all shapes and styles. Credit card machines come in a variety of price ranges, offering enough choices that you can select exactly the model your business would thrive with. Credit card machines are a must for any business to succeed in today's market. Credit card machines tap into the most popular form of payment for products and services: credit cards. Since the evolution of the ATM card into a debit card, credit card machines have developed many talents. Credit card machines can run payments on a card as a check, as a debt transaction straight from a checking account, or as a credit card payment that a patron will pay at a later date as decided by the credit card company.

Credit card machines offer the security of positive payment. A credit card machine offers increased reliability, ensuring money is in an account before your clients leave with product. Money saved in bad check recovery more than makes up for the cost of credit card machines. There are many different kinds of credit card machines.

Some credit card machines tap into the credit system without a printer. These terminals make sense for mail order or phone order businesses. When a merchant does not need to issue a receipt of sale at the time of the sale, the merchant can save money by not buying a terminal-printer combo.

Credit card machines without a printer are the cheapest machines, costing between two hundred and five hundred dollars. Landscaping, locksmith, and plumbing businesses, businesses where travel and on-site payment is required without immediate access to a credit card terminal, all benefit from credit card machines lacking printers.

Credit card machines that include a printer are the most common form of credit card machine used in industry today. Printers on credit card machines can be integrated impact or thermal. A single unit dually functions to process the credit card transaction and then to print a receipt. These machines can be more expensive than those terminals without printers, but they are reasonable and effective in medium volume retail. These credit card machines range from under three hundred dollars to nine hundred dollars. Additional options can be ordered, such as a built in pin pad. These enable customers to enter their pin number for debit transactions without the merchant needing to purchase an additional machine. Some credit card machines with built in printers require ink cartridges, but some do not. While those that do not require ink cartridges may be slightly more expensive they may save time and add efficiency to sales.

Wireless credit card machines provide the same functions of general credit card machines with a few overwhelming advantages. Wireless credit card machines do not require separate wires to trip on. They do not require a separate phone line. Wireless credit card machines access credit systems faster, and provide faster turn around on sales. Wireless credit card machines are more expensive and require wireless service packages, but may be a must for high volume businesses. They are effective and reliable, consisting of the most up to date technology.

Regardless of the type of credit card machine you choose to invest in, credit card machines can aide your business. Credit card machines are a must for the twenty-first century and have advanced to be more effective for you and for your customers.

About the Author

None

Accept Credit Cards

2007-05-08T05:31:00.001-07:00

Keeping Your Credit Card Safe And Avoiding Fraud by Tracey Morgan

Credit card companies and their customers all have to think about and face up to the possibility of fraud. Both sides have a responsibility to take steps to try and reduce the risk of becoming a victim of this type of crime.

Credit card customers are not usually liable if their account is involved in fraud, unless they have been negligent. Negligence could include for example disclosing a PIN number or keeping a PIN number with their card. Credit card companies will take note of any unusual transaction on the account and contact customers to check the spending is genuine (this will not affect your credit rating).

In order to avoid fraud it helps to be aware of the methods used by fraudsters to obtain and misuse credit cards.

What is credit card fraud?

Counterfeit fraud - this is the most common type of card fraud. The data on the magnetic strip on a credit card can be copied electronically onto another card in a process called skimming. This is most likely to happen at cashpoint machines, shops, bars, restaurants and petrol stations. The card holder will be unaware that skimming has occurred. It is hoped that skimming will be reduced now that the more secure chip and pin system has been introduced.

Loss or theft of cards - if you lose your card or it is stolen it is most likely to be used in the first few hours. Therefore it is important to report the loss immediately to the company and the police.

Interceptions in the post - new cards and cheque books can be intercepted while in the postal system. If you are expecting a card/cheque book and it is not delivered then you should inform the bank.

Theft of account details - it is recommended that any paperwork which shows account details should be shredded. This could include statements, receipts and store cards. Details obtained from rubbish bins can then be used where the cardholder is not present, for example mail order and internet transactions. The cardholder may be unaware of any problem until their statement arrives.

Identity fraud - Personal documents and other items such as utility bills can be stolen and used to take over your identity. You should therefore be careful about how you discard unwanted items. It is best to destroy personal documentation. Be warned that your credit rating can be affected if you are a victim of identity fraud. Credit reference agencies can provide a copy of you annual credit report if you are concerned about this possibility. You will then be able to see if accounts have been opened using your name.

Cashpoint fraud - cards are often stolen along with their PIN number. When using a cashpoint machine make sure that nobody can see you entering the PIN number. Put your card and cash away safely before leaving the cashpoint and keep any printed items to discard safely later. If you suspect the machine has been tampered with or the machine does not return your card, then contact the bank immediately.

Steps you can take to protect yourself from fraud

There is a lot you can do to keep your card safe and reduce the risk of fraud.

Firstly don't carry your cards in a pocket or on the top inside a bag where they can be stolen more easily.

You should never tell anyone your PIN number even if they claim to be the card issuer or police. Also never write the PIN number down and carry it with you.

When using a cash machine be aware of anyone talking to you and possibly trying to distract you as they may be watching out for your PIN number.

Keep your card company's lost and stolen contact number to hand so that you can report any loss or theft immediately. Also remember to take the telephone number with you if you travel abroad.

Do not lose sight of your card or leave it where details could be copied. For example in a restaurant the waiter should bring the terminal to the table or you should go to the till.

Always check your statement when it arrives and report any unknown transactions to the card company. If you keep your details with the company up to date then they will be able to contact you immediately if they suspect any misuse of your card.

Is it safe to use credit cards online?

Millions of people in the UK now use the internet to shop regularly online but many also wonder how secure the internet is. As long as you are careful and take some simple precautions, shopping on the internet can be safe as well as convenient.

Firstly only use websites you know you can trust because they are well known or have been recommended. Make sure you know who the seller is by asking for a telephone number and postal address but do not accept a mobile number or a post office box number. It is unusual for credit card fraud to be the result of computer hackers breaking into a system and stealing card details. As with phone and mail order fraud, internet fraud mostly happens because a credit card has been lost or stolen so the most important thing is to keep your card safe. Remember you should still sign the signature strip on the back of the card even though most now use the chip and PIN system. Never be tricked into revealing your PIN number or passwords to online accounts. It can be easy to respond to unsolicited emails, phone calls or cold callers without realising that the real reason for the call is to obtain information useful to criminals.

When you are shopping online you may well be given the chance to use a scheme involving use of a password. For example Verified by Visa (www.visaeurope.com/verified) or MasterCard SecureCode (www.mastercard.co.uk/securecode). You should accept the offer to sign up to one of these schemes. If a fraudster does not know your password they will not be able to use your card details on any internet shopping sites participating in the scheme.

You should also take care to only use secure websites for shopping. Your browser window should display a security icon at the bottom of the screen before you enter any credit card information. When you submit an order using a secure connection the beginning of the website address will change from "http" to "https".

It is vital to protect your computer and ensure it is secure. Simple steps such as using a start up password rather than an automatic login feature all help. You can disable any browser option that remembers your username and password and also file sharing software. This will mean that only you have access to your computer and the data stored on it. Make sure your computer has the latest anti-virus software and a firewall installed and set your browser to the highest level of security notification and monitoring. When you install your computer these safety options may not be the default. The most widely used browsers have websites with the latest version available to download.

When shopping online it is a good idea to print out your order and also to keep copies of terms and conditions, returns policy and so on. If there is a problem with the order you will then have all the relevant information to hand when contacting your card company. This is particularly important if you are buying from abroad as it can be more difficult to sort out any problems.
About the Author

This review was sponsored by the website www.betterborrowing.co.uk - The government and banking organisations take credit card fraud seriously and publish more advice on the website www.cardwatch.org.uk

Accept Credit Cards

2007-05-04T02:59:00.000-07:00

How To Get A Credit Card One Month Out Of Bankruptcy by Hugh Harris-Evans

Bankruptcy is the black mark that stays longest on your credit record. It will be ten years before it is removed, but this does not mean that you will have to wait for ten years until you can obtain a new credit card. Offers of new credit cards are likely to appear in your mailbox within weeks after your discharge. So the advice is to take your time and not accept the first offer, but to wait until you have received several so that you can compare the terms to get the best deal.

In order to understand why credit is so readily available to people who have only recently been discharged from bankruptcy, you have to look at the way the industry works. The credit card industry is very competitive with a large number of companies all looking for new customers. Discharged bankrupts are part of the larger group of people with bad and problem credit records who form a significant sector of the market for credit cards. As a result special products have been developed for people in this category.

Although your credit report will disclose the bankruptcy for a period of ten years, its negative effect on your ability to obtain credit reduces from day one. In fact a discharged bankrupt is regarded by some companies as a better risk than he was before the bankruptcy since he will now have little or no outstanding indebtedness. Naturally this is on the assumption that such a person is now using credit in a responsible manner by making regular repayments and not borrowing right up to their limit.

The terms offered to a discharged bankrupt for a credit card will be at the bottom end of the scale. These will involve a high interest rate and extra fees including a setup fee and an annual charge. On top of this will be a deposit for the secured credit card which is your most likely option. You pay a deposit to the card company which is held as security for the balance outstanding at any one time and can be used to clear the debt if you default. Your credit limit will normally be the same as your deposit, but as long as you make regular payments you should be allowed to transfer to an unsecured credit card with an increased credit limit.

Following a bankruptcy there will be no difficulty in obtaining a credit card even if it will be expensive. The possession of a card will help in rebuilding your credit score. But to end on a note of caution, if easy credit from too many credit cards contributed to your bankruptcy, take a step back before going that way again.
About the Author

Hugh Harris-Evans writes on financial matters and is the webmaster of Credit Card Cleanup.com where you will find further articles on credit repair and tips on how to make the most of your credit cards.

To receive an intensive 5-day e-mail course on Restoring Your Credit, Click Here: Credit Repair Strategies.

Accept Credit Cards

2007-05-03T04:46:00.000-07:00

The Credit Card System in Consumer Societies
By Michael Russell

The concept of credit is as old as Man himself. Since the dawn of civilization, people have borrowed money in order to purchase goods or hire services for which they were not able to pay at that moment. In return, they promised to repay their debt in the future and pay the lending agent a fee for his service. In modern day language that means that a financial institution grants a loan to its client and expects that loan to be repaid with interest within a specified period of time. Until the 1970s, those loans were made for a specific purpose, like buying or building a house (where the credit is called a mortgage) or financing the purchase of a new car. The object for the loan was then taken as a collateral to ensure that the lending institution got back its money.

The credit card industry began to develop in the late 1970s, changing completely the way banks grant credit by making it available to huge numbers of people. No collateral is required when applying for a credit card. Instead, the banks look at the trustworthiness of its clients by checking their past behavior when borrowing money, which is called their credit history. This and the amount of fixed income the client has determines the credit line, the amount of money the client can borrow from his bank on a monthly basis through the use of his credit card.

Today it is not only banks that extend credit to large numbers of qualifying individuals. Many retail institutions like department store chains offer their customers their own credit cards in order to turn them into loyal clients. Nowadays consumers can buy nearly everything from groceries to clothes or book a holiday by using what has come to be called plastic money.

In consumer societies, for example the United States or Japan, buying goods on credit and paying for them later has become the norm. In fact, the granting of credit by financial institutions to individuals through the use of credit cards has become the engine for the whole economy. Societies that operate exclusively on a cash basis tend to be more conservative and its members tend to think more carefully before spending their money. However, the lending of money generates more economic activities and therefore creates more jobs and more wealth. This has to be based on the premise that the financial institutions grant their credit wisely to responsible consumers.

Banks and financial institutions, in general, are not government agencies or charities, but are companies that are in the business of making profits for themselves. They do that through various means such as the annual fee they charge the credit card holder, even if he never uses the card, the fees the merchants have to pay to the bank for the privilege of being able to accept credit cards in their stores, thus attracting more clients and the interest they charge the credit card holder for the credit itself.

But there is a risk as well that the financial institution runs when issuing credit cards to its clients. It may lose money when people default on their account, i.e. they do not repay all the money they have spent using their card. Or the bank may lose money when its customers do not use this particular financial instrument enough so that the profits generated are not sufficient to cover the cost of the operation of the whole credit card system.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Credit Cards

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Credit-Card-System-in-Consumer-Societies&id=315790

Accept Credit Cards

2007-05-02T04:52:00.001-07:00

Accept Credit Card Payment Online
By Dominic Ferrara

Everyone is selling on the web these days. When we ponder this concept, most of us immediately think of EBay. After all, this is pretty much where it all began. I have to give props to the fellow who started the online auction phenomenon. As of now, he's definitely sitting pretty. Since then, so many nuances have stormed cyberspace. Now you can pick and choose from a variety of online forums and auction websites that sell products. You too can get in the game and sell a few items of your own. The cool part is you don't even have to bother with checks and money orders. Why not just accept credit card payment online? Anyone can do it now. Welcome to the age of big business.

I was speaking with a custom knife vendor on the phone the other day. I wanted to purchase one of his products, but wanted more information before I actually threw down the cash. I decided to call him up and get a feel for who he was a bit. This is so much more personal than emailing. Well, needless to say, we chatted about knives for some time. Once I had decided on a piece, he asked me if I wanted to pay him with a credit card or via PayPal. Now, for those of you who aren't in the loop with PayPal, it's an EBay company that allows you to send and receive electronic payments. You can accept credit card payment online with this service. If someone wishes to buy from you, they can add a credit card to their PayPal account and quickly send you the funds. It's ideal if you buy and sell online a lot. Anyway, I was stoked that I could simply PayPal the knife vendor. This makes life easier for me. I typically don't want to use my credit card at all, but I do keep some cash in my PayPal account. Anyone can open one of these on the web.

Imagine you're selling some big ticket items on EBay. The person who wins your items will most likely hope you accept credit card payment online, or have some sort of Paypal account set up. It just makes life a heck of a lot easier now days. No one wants to bother with money orders and checks are becoming obsolete. Thank God! So check into PayPal and see how you can begin to accept credit card payment online as easy as pie. This is ideal for anyone who sells on the web.

For more information on how to find the Best Business Online try visiting Small Business Start located at http://Small-Business-Start.com where you will find valuable information on internet marketing, making money and other information..

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dominic_Ferrara
http://EzineArticles.com/?Accept-Credit-Card-Payment-Online&id=420876

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-30T02:18:00.001-07:00

Accept Credit Cards Today - For An Absolute Maximum Of 30
Dollars A Month
By Pearl Deloria

You can accept credit card payments at your website within
days, and pay no monthly charges and no equipment rental
charges.

Research has shown that customers are nine times more likely to
buy from a website if the site accepts credit cards. Everyone
knows this but many website owners do not know how to go about
accepting credit cards. It is much easier than you think, and
does not have to cost a fortune either.

If your site is selling downloadable goods, like software, or
pdf files you can sell them through Clickbank, with income
being credited to your StormPay or PayPal account
automatically. This is the lowest cost option. The card
processor takes a percentage of the sale, but you have very
small account running costs.

You have to sign up as a Seller at Clickbank. This means that
you have to have a customer support system in place. The
support system does not need to be very complex, just a web
page with an email address where customers can be given
non-automated replies and live answers to email queries within
a certain time, but you would have that anyway.

If you are selling goods that need to be delivered, then your
costs will be higher, but still less than you probably think.
Check out http://Charge.com for an excellent low cost package
(it works out at about 30 dollars month).

You can go for the whole package of course, with Credit Card
Merchant Account, but that will cost you much more, with
charges for setting up the account, monthly charges and
equipment rental charges, too. The percentage of each sale
taken by the processor is lower if you have a Merchant Account,
but the fixed charges are much higher.

Merchant accounts make sense if your sales are thousands of
dollars a day, otherwise you should consider the lower cost
options outlined above.

About the Author: Pearl Deloria has a background in management
and engineering, including SMEs. For more small business
related information visit
http://www.accept-creditcards-today.info/and
http://www.home-business-today.info/

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-28T05:13:00.001-07:00

How To Accept Credit Cards
By Matthew Coers

If you plan to do business online, then your website will need
to accept credit cards. For many, the idea of applying for a
merchant account sounds like a daunting task, but the truth is
that building an online store is incredibly easy these days.
The major credit card processing companies have improved and
streamlined the process of setting up accounts, and software
companies have had several years to improve their software to
the point that it is easy for non-technical business owners to
create and operate an online store effectively.

3rd Party Processors – The inexpensive way to start
For the beginning web entrepreneur, the most important issue in
credit card processing is how much product you think you can
realistically sell in a month. If you are selling less than
$1000 per month, then you will want to go with a “third-party
processor”. PayPal is the most widely known and reputable third
party processor, and you can easily set up an account with them.

Unlike traditional merchant accounts, PayPal accounts are free
to set up and cost nothing on a monthly basis. You will pay
more per transaction with PayPal than you would with a
traditional merchant account, but for low-volume start-up
businesses making less than $1000 per month, you will gladly
choose higher transaction costs over account set-up fees,
monthly account fees, minimum charges, interchange fees,
gateway fees, and perhaps worst of all, account cancellation
fees (just to name a few).

Steps You Need To Take To Set Up A PayPal Account

Bank Account – you will need a bank account for PayPal to
deposit your funds into.
Apply for a PayPal Account

Traditional Merchant Accounts
If your processing volume will be higher than $1000 per month,
then you will probably want to go with a traditional merchant
account. Credit card processing companies generally charge a
minimum monthly fee that is approximately equal to the amount
of money you would pay to process $1000 per month. Generally
speaking you can expect to pay around $50 per month in minimum
charges for a merchant account. As you process more, your costs
will go up, but the percentage of your gross sales that you pay
for processing should go down.

Steps You Need To Take To Set Up A Traditional Merchant Account

It is not difficult to set up a traditional merchant account,
but you will need to follow several steps in order to pull it
off.

Get a business license
Get a business bank account at your bank
Make sure your web host supports your shopping cart system (you
might even be able to get your shopping cart system bundled in
with your credit card processing services for free).
Try to determine the amount of business you will generate. Your
credit card processing company will want to know how large each
transaction will be, and how many transactions you expect to
have per month.
Negotiate with merchant account providers and establish your
merchant credit card account (see list of merchant account
providers).

Following are several merchant account providers you may be
interested in contacting:

www.paypal.com
PayPal allows you to accept payments instantly without the need
to set up special accounts or sign long-term contracts. You will
want to strongly consider using this one if you are processing
less than $1000 per month.
www.totalmerchantservices.com
Total Merchant Services is one of the largest resellers of
merchant accounts both on and offline, and are trusted by
literally tens of thousands of businesses of all sizes. They
use First Data as their back-end processor.
www.merchantexpress.com
This is a well-respected processor that services both on and
offline businesses.
www.expandyourbusiness.com
CardService International provides a very helpful eBook that
you can download for free

Some Issues You Want To Consider

Generally speaking you will be more concerned with up-front and
recurring fees rather than the discount rate that processing
companies will quote most prominently. The hidden fees
generally eclipse the discount rates – especially for low
volume start-up businesses.

Try to accurately estimate your business volume when you fill
out your applications. The risk department at your processing
company can put a freeze on your account if your volumes move
significantly outside the estimates you have provided them.

If you do experience a sudden spike in orders, you should
contact the risk department of your processing company to make
them aware of the spike BEFORE it hits their system. They may
want to have you send them details about the orders and provide
proof that the orders are legitimate. As inconvenient as this
is, it is far better than getting your account frozen.

Make sure you understand what fees you will be responsible for
if you need to cancel your account before the end of your
contract. You may find that you need to shut down your account
for a variety of reasons, and you don’t want to find out about
exit fees after you get the bill!

In conclusion, you should start off your search for credit card
processing by making a realistic estimate of your processing
needs. If you believe you will be processing less than $1000
per month, then you will probably want to work with a
third-party processor like PayPal. If you will be processing
more than $1000 per month then you will want to work with a
traditional credit card processing company (see list of
processors above). You should be more concerned with upfront
and recurring fees than with the discount rate. Once you have
selected a processing company, you will want to make sure you
have your business license and business bank account. Finally,
you will need to make sure that your shopping cart system
supports your processing company.

About the Author: Mr. Coers specializes in helping
entrepreneurs build effective web businesses. His website,
http://www.profitchoice.com contains useful articles and
"how-to" guides to help organizations build their brands and
sell more effectively.

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-27T04:52:00.001-07:00

Accept Credit Card Today
By Shane Penrod

Are you an accept credit card today kind of business? If not, this may be the time for you to check into opening a merchant services account. By learning how to accept credit card payments at your place of business or on a company Website, you can multiply profits and expand your client base. Here is how the process can be used to upgrade your business systems to better serve your customers and increase profit margins.

1. To accept credit card today transactions, you first need to find a banker or other financial underwriter who will extend you merchant account services. There are many such lenders who advertise their services on the Internet. All you need do is search them out and apply to those that will best serve your clients. The application process is easy. Just demonstrate that you have a good credit reputation, that you can afford to upgrade your business via a merchant account, and that you are not involved in shady dealings. When choosing a financial underwriter, inquire about all related fees. You may be asked to pay an application fee, a membership fee, a gateway fee, a service fee, and other costs as well. Juggle account options to see where you can get the best deal. You also should consider equipment costs and whether to lease or buy, along with a service contract, if applicable.

2. As you prepare to accept credit card today options, develop a plan for implementing the best type of equipment. For example, if you operate a restaurant or office supply outlet, you may want to purchase a terminal-printer credit card processor for your store to facilitate customers’ credit payments. At the same time or later, you can think about adding an e-check or debit processor if your customers typically ask about those functions. If you operate a delivery service, you can buy a wireless unit so that credit payments can be made at delivery destinations like customers’ homes or at places of business. You can even get a pager to facilitate communication between remote locations.

3. Another way to upgrade your business so it can accept credit card today customers is to put up a Website, First, register a domain name so people can find you easily on the Web. Then find a host site for a low monthly fee, with or without service and maintenance options, depending on your level of skill or cyber connections with others who are knowledgeable and can handle this for you. With your merchant account, you can accept customers’ online credit payments any time of day or night from any location in the country or around the world. You don’t even have to keep a staff member on hand. Clients can shop at their convenience while you simply add up the profits.

A merchant account can become your gateway to even greater success. Start browsing the Web now to find a financial underwriter who offers this service so you can get ready to accept credit card today customers who are ready to pay with plastic!

Shane Penrod is the founder of http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com Specializing in allowing merchants the ability to shop and compare multiple quotes from national merchant account providers. For free quotes on merchant account rates and fees, please go to http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shane_Penrod
http://EzineArticles.com/?Accept-Credit-Card-Today&id=112917

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-25T02:26:00.001-07:00

How To Start Accepting Credit Cards
By Michael Baker

How to start accepting credit cards in your business is almost a requirement in today's world. The amount of commerce transactions is increasing each day, year over year, especially in the category of e-commerce, that is, transactions on-line. Customers want the gratification of the instant purchase, or impule buy, and want it paid for right away. Don't take that away from them. If you accept credit cards, you can have the money in a matter of seconds, and the customer is just awaiting their package.

How to start accepting credit cards? It really is a simple process. It depends if you are a corporation, or an individual owner. If you are a corporation, you can apply for a merchant account, which is just an account to allow you to accept credit cards. They usually have the best rate that you are charges, typically 2.3%-2.6% per transaction, along with a .15-.25 cents fee per transaction. But, the downside, is they, being the merchant account holders, will have you sign an agreement for 1, 2, or 3 years, and charge you a monthly fee for their service. If you are doing monthly transactions of above $1000 and plan on growing, this is the right service for you. You can easily make your money back, and depending on the fee percentage, you will start to save money after $700 - $1000.

Another method to accept credit cards, are what we call 3rd party vendors. These are companies, which allow anyone to accept credit cards, but charge you, being the business, a higher fee. This is because they are the ones with the merchant account. So you may be charged 5.5% from a company, but they are only being charged 2.5% for their merchant account. So, they make 3% off of each transaction. There are many companies out there, but I will give you 2, which are above the rest:

PayPal is one of the largest 3rd party processors on the market. They have over 78 million accounts, and actually account for 25% of eBay's revenue. In other words, they are big. But, they are good. Their fee is 1.9%-2.9%, plus a .30 cent per transaction fee. Pretty comparable to merchants, without the monthly costs. I use paypal all the time, whether on ebay transactions, or if I need to email an invoice to someone, PayPal covers it all. And it is free to signup for PayPal

There are other companies out there, but this the one I use. I can use paypal to accept credit cards through websites, and through ebay auctions. This is how to start accepting credit cards.

Michael Baker is a provider of quality information on Financial Services for your Business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Baker
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Start-Accepting-Credit-Cards&id=535946

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-17T04:04:00.001-07:00

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-16T04:21:00.000-07:00

Advantages Of Having Credit Cards
By Rudy Hadisentosa

Credit cards have many advantages if used judiciously. It fulfills all your needs. You can buy anything with the cards. Because of various benefits the card provides to the users, everyone from teenagers to retirees in the United States has credit cards.

Convenient to shop: Credit card is very much convenient to buy anything anywhere. If you are on a shopping spree and want to buy so many things at different shops in a market, credit card will be convenient enough for shopping. If it is on-line shopping then, credit is the best. Some online stores only accept credit cards for payments. If you are in foreign countries, you can make purchases with the credit card without having to worry about local currency.

Meet emergent needs: In case of emergency, credit cards can be an extremely helpful. If you are short of funds and need money, the credit card will provide you the required amount. If you are away from your place or on a trip to some city and you have inadvertently emptied your pocket, there the credit card will act like a friend.

Keep record of your expenditure: Your spending on the credit card will give a statement at the end of a month, stating the detail on your expenditures. You need not keep record daily to know about the spending. Credit cards can also keep you under limit in expenses as you cannot spend or borrow beyond the credit limit. It will remind you on spending.

It is secured to carry credit card: It is not secured to carry a large amount of cash. If you lose your cash, you cannot retrieve that. If you lose a credit card, you can immediately inform the card company to cancel the card. You can have another card in few days. If you are traveling, whether in the town or country or outside the US, it will be convenient to carry the card instead of cash.

Benefits: Credit card providers offer various lucrative offers like cash back on purchases, rebates on products you buy on the card, additional warranty coverage for the items you purchase, travel concessions, various insurance covers, etc. Some credit card offers free air tickets, free hotel accommodations to the card users.

Balance transfer: With the credit card, you can transfer your balance from a card with high interest rate to a card where the APR is 0%. There are many card companies who offer 0% APR for the starting six to 12 months. You can take the benefits of the promotional periods. You can save hundreds of dollars by balance transfer.

Can build good credit history: You can build a good credit rating if use credit card judiciously. If you have good credit rating that will help you later in your life. You can take loan easily. Financiers will believe you if your credit rating is good.

Improve the standard of life: Credit card can improve your daily life. Your life will be easy enough if you are using the card judiciously. What you have to give is the payment at the end of the month and not every day for every purchase.

However, if you misuse your credit card you may fall under the debt trap. Credit cards should be used properly and seriously.

There are hundreds of financial organizations in the United States providing credit cards. Some of the most famous among them are American Express Co., Chase Bank, Discover Financial Services, HSBC, and Citibank of America. They offer different types of credit cards for different categories of people. If you are a business person and want credit cards which can facilitate your various business transactions, go for a business credit card. Likewise, there are student credit card, entertainment card, store card, gas card, airlines card, etc.

CreditMe.com is a free online credit cards review and application website. We offer credit cards selection from visa, master cards, bank of America, orchard bank, discover, American express, citicards, visa credit cards, and many others. We have quite some categories and hundreds of credit cards selection to fit your need. Compare credit cards at CreditMe.com now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rudy_Hadisentosa
http://EzineArticles.com/?Advantages-Of-Having-Credit-Cards&id=513224

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-14T00:32:00.001-07:00

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-13T00:32:00.001-07:00

Increase Your Sales - Accept Credit Cards
By Sue And Chuck DeFiore

Many people today simply prefer the convenience of paying by credit card. If you want their business, you must be able to accept their credit-card payments.

In part one of this series we will discuss why you should accept credit cards, and the basics of getting merchant status. Part two will deal with objections you might get, which credit cards to accept, and the check paying option.

Obtaining merchant status, which allows you to accept credit-card payments, might seem like an unnecessary hassle, especially for those in business where the majority of their customers pay by cash or check. But by not accepting credit-card payments, you lose sales. This is especially true if yours is a mail order business, or consulting business. Just look at the majority of business today, all of them accept credit cards, and becoming more and more popular all the time are debit cards.

As many businesses have found, up to 70 percent of people never mail the check, so accepting credit cards is crucial. When the customer places an order, he’s excited and eager to buy. Faced with the prospect of sending a check, waiting for it to clear and then awaiting shipment, his interest is likely to wane. In the meantime, you lose sales.

The Basics of Merchant Status

In order to accept credit cards, you need to work with a bank that will transfer the money into your account within a day or two of the sale, and then collect the money from the customer. In return, you pay the bank a commission of 1.5 percent to 5 percent for each credit-card transaction; a set, per-transaction fee; and a setup fee. You will also have to pay monthly support or equipment-rental fees for a point-of-sale terminal—the machine used to swipe the card—depending on the contract.

The fee is based on two things, the average amount per transaction and the total volume for the year.

When you apply for merchant status, the banks evaluate your business based on its sales track record, the type of business it is, your credit record, the business’s credit record and your overall financial picture.

Apply for merchant status when you get your start-up financing. This accomplishes several things. First, it shows that you’ve thought ahead. And you will probably have customers that you wouldn’t have otherwise. In fact, some people don’t pay with anything but credit cards.

Second, you show you’re taking steps to minimize the time and expense involved in recovering bad debts. If someone writes a bad check, for instance, it will cost you time and money to recover the loss. If you swipe a customer’s credit card through a point-of-sale terminal, you can be sure you’ll get paid. The machine contacts the issuing bank to authorize the transaction and runs the account numbers through a variety of fraud-protection procedures.

In part two of this series we will deal with objections you might get, which credit cards to accept, and the check paying option.

Copyright 2004 DeFiore Enterprises

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sue_And_Chuck_DeFiore
http://EzineArticles.com/?Increase-Your-Sales---Accept-Credit-Cards&id=3249

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-12T01:50:00.001-07:00

How to Receive Payments for Your Online Sales
By Nowshade Kabir

Once you decide which products you are planning to sell on the
Internet, and what type of web store you are going to use in
order to display your products, next vital decision that you have
to take is to figure out how your customers are going to pay you.
Whatever you plan to sell online, accepting credit card
transaction is a must! A full 90 percent of all online sales
occur through credit card payments.

There are two ways you can add e-commerce capabilities to your
website:

1. Having your own merchant account

2. Using third party processors

What is a merchant account?

A merchant account is a special kind of bank account where funds
received from credit card transactions are first routed to the
special account and held there before being remitted to your
business account. You as an online merchant will need an account
called “Card Not Present Merchant Account”.

Having the merchant account is, actually, the first step in
processing credit cards online. You will also need a payment
gateway. A payment gateway is a service provided by billing
processor which allows real time authorization of online
transactions. The payment gateway you choose to work with has to
be compatible with your shopping cart. Three top payment Gateway
providers are AuthorizeNet (http://www.authorizenet.com/),
Verisign (http://www.verisign.com/) and USAePay
(http://www.usaepay.com/). All payment gateway providers have
their own merchant solutions. Most banks, today, work with
partner payment gateway providers and are fully capable of
furnishing with a merchant solution.

If you are just starting an online business and you don’t think
that your sales will generate more than a thousand dollars a
month, you will be better of with a third party processor.
However, once your sales become a few thousand you will save a
bundle by switching to a merchant account.

PayPal

With 72 million accounts worldwide and payment volume which is
growing at a rate of 44 percent each year, PayPal by far is the
most popular third party processor on the Internet.

PayPal is a simple and affordable payment solution for those
online merchants who are unable to or don’t want to go through
the complex process of setting up a bank merchant account.

At present, PayPal has four unique solutions for merchants.

PayPal Website Payments Standard: This solution allows you to
accept credit cards on your website. However, the transaction is
processed on the PayPal secure server. The customer can choose to
pay either by credit card or PayPal. If you don’t have shopping
cart as yet, you may get one from PayPal; or you can integrate
PayPal solution to your existing shopping cart.

Cost: No monthly fee. No setup fees. No cancellation fees.
Transaction Fees are 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 US$.

PayPal Website Payments Pro: This solution is virtually same as
having your own merchant account. If a customer pays by a credit
card, PayPal works as a payment gateway for you. The customer
does not leave your website at anytime if she pays you by a
credit card.

Cost: $20.00 US$ monthly fee. No setup fees. No cancellation
fees. Transaction Fees are 2.2% to 2.9% + $0.30 US$.

PayPal Email Payments: This is the payment system PayPal started
with. You send invoice to your customers by email and get paid on
PayPal.

Cost: No monthly fee. No setup fees. No cancellation fees.
Transaction Fees are 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 US$.

PayPal as an Additional Payment Option: If you already have a
merchant account and you would like to add PayPal to your
existing payment solutions, you can use this option.

If you are planning to sell products through eBay, you definitely
should have PayPal option. According to eBay, three out of four
eBay customers choose to pay by PayPal.

When you use PayPal as your primary processor, make sure that you
have at least one more alternative payment solution handy. The
reason is many disgruntled former users of PayPal claim that
PayPal might freeze your account anytime without any apparent
reason. Read http://www.PayPalsucks.com for more information.

However, According to a new report, Merchant losses from fraud on
PayPal are now only 0.17% of revenues, vs. 1.8% for online
merchants that accept credit cards through merchant accounts.
This gives one more reason to use PayPal.

WorldPay

If you are facing problems to get a merchant account due to the
factor that you are not located in the US, WorldPay could be the
solution for you. WorldPay is a one-stop solution for your
merchant account, payment gateway and store front. The payment
option comes with fraud protection and risk management
applications to safeguard your business. Based in England,
WorldPay is a division of Royal Bank of Scotland.

Cost: If you compare with PayPal, WorldPay’s fees are pretty
stiff. 50 US$ monthly fee. 400 US$ setup fee. Transaction Fees
are 3.25% + $0.40 US$. The charge for multicurrency processing is
5.25% per transaction.

2Checkout

2checkout.com works as an online distribution center. When
customer buys a product from your website through 2checkout, you
actually make your sale to 2checkout for immediate resale to your
customer. Customers are billed by 2checkout not you. 2checkout
accepts vendors from virtually all over the world. You can also
set up recurring billing through 2checkout.

Cost: No monthly fee. 49 US$ setup fee. Transaction Fee:
5.5% + $0.30 US$.

ClickBank

For selling e-books, reports and other similar digital products,
ClickBank.com is probably your best option. The great thing about
ClickBank is it has over 100 thousand affiliates promoting
products available on the ClickBank marketplace. By listing your
product with ClickBank, you automatically tap into a huge
potential market. ClickBank accepts all major credit cards and
PayPal.

Cost: 50 US$ set up fee. Depending on the percentage of the
commission you pay to your affiliates, transaction fee varies
from 2.5% plus 0.33 US$ to 7.5% plus 1 US$.

There are many other third party processing companies available
on the Internet. Two of them worth mentioning are
http://moneybookers.com and http://www.ikobo.com.

Since fees fluctuate considerably from one solution to another
depending on your location, products and other needs, make sure
to do a thorough research before signing up with any of the
mentioned providers.

Nowshade Kabir, is the founder, primary developer and present
CEO of Rusbiz.com – a Global B2B Exchange with solutions to
create e-catalog, Web store, business process management and
other features to run a business online. You can read various
articles written by Nowshade Kabir at http://ezine.rusbiz.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nowshade_Kabir
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Receive-Payments-for-Your-Online-Sales&id=47687

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-11T01:49:00.001-07:00

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-10T04:53:00.001-07:00

Accept Credit Cards

2007-04-09T00:47:00.000-07:00

How To Accept Credit Cards Without a Merchant Account
By J. Stephen Pope

To increase sales on your website, you must accept credit
cards. To process credit cards, you could apply for a
merchant account through your bank or other financial
institution.

Sometimes, though, you would be further ahead to use the
services of a credit card processor. This is especially
true when you are first starting out and have more
limited resources. In this way, you may process credit
card transactions without the high front-end costs and
requirements of a merchant account.

Here, then, are just a few ways of accepting credit cards
without a merchant account. I personally use all of these
vendors and can recommend them wholeheartedly.

1. Clickbank

If your product is downloadable (such as electronic books
or software), you might consider ClickBank.com . For a
$49.95 initial fee, you can process credit cards and
on-line cheques for $1.00 per transaction plus 7.5% of
sales.

You receive additional exposure through free listing on
their website and through the search facilities of other
websites, such as CBMall.com .

As an added bonus, you have your own built-in affiliate
program. You decide what commission (from 1% to 75%) you
would like to pay your affiliates.

2. PayPal

PayPal.com has no initial fees. For just 2.9% of sales
and $ .30 per transaction (and sometimes less), you can
receive money from anyone.

Also, you can pay others by credit card or chequing account
without supplying your personal credit information to the
payee. PayPal can be used to collect money from your
auctions, website sales, or even from friends or clients.

3. PaySystems

PaySystems.com can handle either intangible (downloadable)
or tangible (shippable) products. For an initial fee of
$49.00, you can accept all major credit cards as well as
online checks. Fees are just 3.95% of sales and $1.00 per
transaction. Alternatively, you may pay 5.5% of sales and
$ .35 per transaction.

For this, you receive shopping cart, integration with
third-party affiliate programs (such as ClixGalore.com ),
fraud screening, multi-currency transactions, toll-free
support, marketing tools, and more.

For more information on how to accept credit cards without
a merchant account, visit:
http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/creditcards.html

RESOURCE BOX:

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc.,
http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping clients
to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit
http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/

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Accept Credit Cards

2007-03-16T23:31:00.000-07:00