As the ecommerce industry continues to grow, more and more businesses are now exploring new ways for their consumers to access goods and services in the most convenient way possible. Besides offering a wide range of products and making the shopping experience simpler and more hassle-free, it is also important that customers are given different options to pay online.
Allowing other forms of payment such as using credit cards and debit cards give consumers more freedom to choose the best mode of payment for them. In fact, 75% of consumers prefer to transact using credit cards or debit cards over any other options.
The first step to integrating credit card and debit card payments to your ecommerce website is to acquire a merchant account. You may either sign up with a member bank which processes Visa and/or MasterCard payments or talk to an authorized ISO/MSP agent of a member bank to get one for your business.
What is a Merchant Account
A merchant account is a bank account that enables a business to receive and process electronic payments. Merchant accounts necessitate a partnership between the business and a merchant-acquiring bank, which facilitates all electronic payment transactions.
Before shopping for a merchant service provider, the first step is determining your business payment processing needs. It would be best if you determined how your typical client prefers to make payment. Will you need to process mobile, credit, and debit card payments? Does your business require a customized virtual terminal instead of the traditional credit/debit card terminal?
Points to Consider
Below is a quick rundown of what to look for in a merchant service provider:
Payment Options
The best merchant service providers have various payment options, from the basic card processing that includes all major brands ( Visa, Mastercard, American Express, etc) to mobile payment and the new contactless payments such as Google and Apple Pay.
Security
A merchant service provider worthy of your attention should have PCI-compliant services, such as tokenization technology, to guarantee the safety of your customers’ data.
Support Services
One thing you can be sure of concerning online payments is that problems will arise. Excellent customer support is, therefore, a significant factor. What is important is how fast they address your concerns.
The online payment industry is dominated by giant corporations that sometimes need to improve at addressing the needs of their vast client base. However, by following the above pointers, you are well covered.
How to Acquire a Merchant Account
Check out these five helpful tips to apply for a merchant account in the article below. You may also take a look at ecommerce marketing guide to get the most out of your ecommerce business.
1. Understand the needs of your business
Every type of business is different from one another. Some are classified as high-risk merchants which include those that manufacture or sell regulated items, internet and ecommerce businesses, travel agencies, auction-type businesses, and others that offer membership to their clients.
At the start of the planning stage, you should thoroughly discuss with your merchant account provider all the features that you wish to add. Some of these include virtual terminals, type of point of sale terminals (POS), smart terminal, recurring billing options, and acceptance of payments through the internet and using mobile devices. For More information check out POSQuote.Com
2. Maintain a good credit rating
Another tip to get your merchant account approved fast and without any hurdle is to keep your credit rating at a respectable level at all times. Remove any records of bankruptcy in the past and settle all late payments and debts from your account. After that, you can ask the pertinent credit reporting bureau to review your account to prepare for an application for a merchant account.
3. Learn more about payment processors
Find the best credit and debit card processor that will suit the needs of your business. Learn more about the type of point of sale terminals, peripherals, and printers that they will be using as well as the costs for installation.
For your ecommerce business, you can also ask them about their services such as web hosting, payment gateways, virtual terminals, customer tracking, databases for orders, and systems for tax and shipping cost computations.
4. Keep yourself updated with the fees
Another thing that you should keep in mind when signing up for a merchant account is the recurring fees that you should settle. These include the transaction fee, discount rate, monthly minimum fees, chargeback fees, and reserve fees.
5. Check PCI compliance of payment processor
Payment Card Industry compliance or simply PCI compliance is the industry standard of all payment processors. Make sure that your service provider is fully compliant with the guidelines of PCI. You don’t actually have to conduct a comprehensive audit every time as you can always use PCI compliance tools to help you keep track of these things.
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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