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The
3 Steps to Accepting Credit Cards
Accepting credit card orders on the Internet is easier said
than done — credit card transactions are a complex process,
and hundreds of companies offer products that claim to handle
the details for you. Choosing the best one for you is not
easy. Regardless of the companies or services you enlist,
there are 3 basic steps to accepting credit cards: 1) Getting
the customers credit card number from the user's browser to
you securely, 2) Processing the credit card information and
authorizing the transfer of funds to a merchant bank 3) A
merchant account with a bank that underwrites the risk involved
in your transaction processing.
Taking
Credit Card Information.
The most popular way to accept credit cards securely over
the Net is the secure sockets layer (SSL) protocol. Whether
you gather customer credit card information from a form or
a shopping cart, you will want it to happen on a secure server.
In order to make a server secure using SSL, a digital certificate
is required. The digital certificate identifies you as a legitimate
business and allows all information to be encrypted for travel
over the web. Sound confusing? Well, it can be a hassle if
you don't know what you are doing. Fortunately most web hosting
providers can help you with this. And many integrated service
providers such as Bizhosting.com take care of it automatically.
Getting
a Merchant Account
You'll need a special bank account in order to accept credit
card orders. Most banks offer merchant accounts — the
problem is figuring out which one offers the best price, usually
as a percentage of each credit card order that you submit.
Most banks charge higher fees for what they consider risky
accounts, such as those with large numbers of charge-backs
or fraudulent charges. Usually a U.S. business checking account
and good credit are required to get approved for a merchant
account.
Processing
Credit Cards
This is where things get really tricky. Dozens of companies
offer transaction processing software that sends the right
information to everyone involved in the sale — your bank,
the customer's bank, the bank issuing the credit card and
so on. But most banks work with a handful of the biggest companies,
including Authorize.net. Some
processors lease their services to you for a monthly fee,
while others take a percentage of your sales. Some processors
will help you get a merchant account if you need one, and
many have deals with ISPs that provide everything you need
to build an online store. Be sure before you make any commitments
that your processor is compatible with your merchant bank
and your shopping cart software if you plan to do real-time
processing.
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