I'm sure you've heard the phrase: "If you don't accept credit card payments you're losing 80% of your potential sales ! ".
How do I start accepting credit cards for my Internet business ?
You need a Merchant Account, or more specific, an Internet Merchant Account.
What is an Internet Merchant Account ?
An Internet merchant account is a merchant account specifically approved for processing "card not present" sales [i.e. "MO/TO" (mail order, phone order) / Internet-Based transactions].
Visa and MasterCard have different criteria for evaluating the potential risk involved in credit card transactions where the card is not physically presented to the merchant. This type of business is typically referred to as "card not present" or "MO/TO" (mail order/telephone order) merchant. For this reason, a separate merchant account is required to process credit card transactions over the Internet.
For you (we call merchant) to be able to accept credit cards for payment on the Internet, the merchant must have an Internet merchant account with an acquiring institution. The acquirer (usually a bank or established financial institution) authorizes the purchases made with the card and ensures that the funds are deposited into the merchant's bank account. The transactions involved a Virtual Terminal.
What is a Virtual Terminal?
A Virtual Terminal performs all the functions of a physical credit card/check processing box, conveniently accessed over the Internet through a secure web page interface.
What is an Internet Payment Gateway?
An Internet Payment Gateway is a feature of a virtual terminal. It takes the credit card information from the Virtual Terminal to the credit card processor, and returns the approval information back to theVirtual Terminal. The Internet Payment Gateway does this in a "real-time" manner, over the Internet, in a totally secure environment.
We take an example of the famous Internet Payment Gateway provider, Authorize.net. The whole process can be illustrated as following :
| 1. | The customer places an order with the merchant via a website. |
| 2. | Authorize.Net receives the transaction via the Internet, securely encrypts it, and submits an authorization request to the customer's Credit Card Issuer to verify both the account and funds availability. |
| 3. | The authorization (or decline) response is returned via Authorize.Net to the merchant. Round trip this process averages less than 3 seconds. |
| 4. | Upon approval, the merchant fills the customer's order. |
| 5. | Authorize.Net sends the settlement request to the Merchant Account Provider. |
| 6. | The Merchant Account Provider deposits settlement funds into the merchant's bank account. |
How can I apply for a Internet Merchant Account ? I try googling & I got 10,100,000 results, which one suits my business ?
With years of experiences in researching Internet Merchant Account, we can assist you in finding one that suits your business the most. You pay us a small fee & have us go through all the hassle to get one for you.
Kindly contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
