Is it Easy to Accept Payments Online?

If you’ve just started a new online business or if you’re a small brick and mortar business looking to expand to the internet, you may want to add the option of paying by credit card to your website.  The ability to process credit cards online offers convenience and security.  As you probably already know, shopping online with a credit card is fast and easy.  However, if you’ve never dealt with online credit card processing, you may not be certain how to go about setting up your website to accept online payments.  The good news is that it isn’t that difficult at all.  In fact, it’s fairly easy.

First, you’ll need to find a good credit card processing company.  There are many out there, but not all of them provide the same types of services.  One thing to be mindful of when choosing a merchant account provider are the monthly fees, discount rates, and any contract you sign.  You’ll want to find information on a number of different credit card processing companies so you can compare and contrast and decide which is best for you.  It’s important too, to know which payment gateway your merchant account provider uses as some shopping carts are only compatible with certain gateways. 

Once you’ve selected a credit card processing company, they should give you all the instructions and resources you need to set up your account and get the payment feature onto your website.  Most of the time, all it involves is selecting the proper payment gateway from your shopping cart’s list and adding your merchant account number.  There is usually no coding involved.  But if you have very specific needs your merchant account provider should have technical support staff to help make sure you get everything set up. 

Normally you can be completely set up and ready to accept credit cards in under 48 hours, with some companies offering expedited activation.  So it really is easy to accept payments online.  And in today’s market you really can’t afford to be online and not accept credit cards as a form of payment.  If finding a credit card processor has been on your list of things to do but you just haven’t gotten around to it, do not put it off any longer.  The average website can expect at least a 25% increase in sales by accepting credit card payments.