Online sales are big business and these days every website has to offer their customers the chance to pay for goods and services using credit cards, if it wants to meet customer needs. Accepting credit cards is known to increase profits as credit card users are more likely to purchase on impulse and spend more. The advantages include payments arriving much faster, no waiting around period while the cheque is received and has to clear before the goods can be shipped and no bouncing credit cards. If this payment method isn’t available potential customers will take their money elsewhere and business will decline.
To enable your website to accept credit cards there are a number of systems to be put into place. These are outlined below.
Shopping Cart System
The first thing you need to set into place when selling online is an electronic shopping cart system. First, there is the product catalogue where products available to purchase from your store can be viewed. Once the customer has selected the product they want it’s added to the cart, customers are able to select as many items as they like and the system will total it all at checkout. Once the shipping address is added, the system also calculates postage and any taxes to be paid. The final part of the process is when the customer enters their credit card details and this is where the gateway system comes into operation to conclude the sale.
Shopping cart systems can be simple with no frills, offered for free by organisations involved in ecommerce solutions in order to get you to buy other services from them, or they can be costly to purchase and contain many features. To select the shopping cart system that's best for your business, you need to take into consideration the type of product for sale, the purchase choices you want to be able to offer customers, the inventory control application and range of automation required.
Gateway Service
The gateway service is an automatic process of the payment transaction between the customer and the merchant. Once the customer enters their credit card details, these are electronically sent to the gateway service which then forwards the information to the credit card processor for authorisation.
Credit Card Processor
A credit card processor is a data center that electronically processes the credit card transaction. The processor will deal with the transaction, authenticate and accept or decline the credit card for the merchant using secure internet connections. After checking the validity of the transaction, if everything is correct, they will transfer the funds into the merchant account.
Merchant Account
Without a merchant account your website can’t accept credit card payments. An online merchant account is a bank or other financial institution where money generated from your online sales is placed by the processor. Some banks associated with credit card services, such as Visa and MasterCard, issue merchant accounts; however as online businesses are regarded as risky they may refuse you an account. This is not a great problem as due to the rapid growth of online sales there is a choice of merchant organisations that will set up an account for you.
Shopping has changed dramatically with the expansion of retail stores online, offering shoppers anything from a fully fitted kitchen to a kitchen tap. Add to this the increasing number of websites that now accept credit cards and shopping online has never been easier or more convenient.
There are many organisations out there that will facilitate you in the setting up of your online credit card payment system and other requirements. These organisations have varying fees, so ask around and take a good look at their website before making any final decision. If you spend your money wisely in this area and select a reputable company with a good reputation for its systems you will see an increase in sales from credit card customers. Lastly, ensure the service you decide upon has an up to date anti-fraud system that will protect your business from fraudulent transactions.
To enable your website to accept credit cards there are a number of systems to be put into place. These are outlined below.
Shopping Cart System
The first thing you need to set into place when selling online is an electronic shopping cart system. First, there is the product catalogue where products available to purchase from your store can be viewed. Once the customer has selected the product they want it’s added to the cart, customers are able to select as many items as they like and the system will total it all at checkout. Once the shipping address is added, the system also calculates postage and any taxes to be paid. The final part of the process is when the customer enters their credit card details and this is where the gateway system comes into operation to conclude the sale.
Shopping cart systems can be simple with no frills, offered for free by organisations involved in ecommerce solutions in order to get you to buy other services from them, or they can be costly to purchase and contain many features. To select the shopping cart system that's best for your business, you need to take into consideration the type of product for sale, the purchase choices you want to be able to offer customers, the inventory control application and range of automation required.
Gateway Service
The gateway service is an automatic process of the payment transaction between the customer and the merchant. Once the customer enters their credit card details, these are electronically sent to the gateway service which then forwards the information to the credit card processor for authorisation.
Credit Card Processor
A credit card processor is a data center that electronically processes the credit card transaction. The processor will deal with the transaction, authenticate and accept or decline the credit card for the merchant using secure internet connections. After checking the validity of the transaction, if everything is correct, they will transfer the funds into the merchant account.
Merchant Account
Without a merchant account your website can’t accept credit card payments. An online merchant account is a bank or other financial institution where money generated from your online sales is placed by the processor. Some banks associated with credit card services, such as Visa and MasterCard, issue merchant accounts; however as online businesses are regarded as risky they may refuse you an account. This is not a great problem as due to the rapid growth of online sales there is a choice of merchant organisations that will set up an account for you.
Shopping has changed dramatically with the expansion of retail stores online, offering shoppers anything from a fully fitted kitchen to a kitchen tap. Add to this the increasing number of websites that now accept credit cards and shopping online has never been easier or more convenient.
There are many organisations out there that will facilitate you in the setting up of your online credit card payment system and other requirements. These organisations have varying fees, so ask around and take a good look at their website before making any final decision. If you spend your money wisely in this area and select a reputable company with a good reputation for its systems you will see an increase in sales from credit card customers. Lastly, ensure the service you decide upon has an up to date anti-fraud system that will protect your business from fraudulent transactions.
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