Credit Cards:

Marketing studies show that you'll lose 60 to 80 percent of your potential orders if your Web site is not set up to accept credit cards. If you offer credit card payments, not only will you receive more orders, those orders will be substantially larger.

Credit cards enable impulse buying, reassure customers of your legitimacy, and simplify your billing.

Credit cards still reign as the leading method of payment for online purchases, but other payment options are available. Your product and your customer's buying preferences will influence which payment methods you accept. Offering multiple payment options on your Web site, if you can afford it and maintain your profit margin, is a means to increase sales by increasing customer convenience and confidence.

Many alternative methods are better suited to micro-payments, because the processing costs are often lower and credit card merchant account fees don't apply.

Merchant Account to Deposit Captured Funds:

To accept credit cards, you must establish a merchant account. A merchant account is a commercial bank account established to allow you to accept credit card transactions. In exchange, your Merchant Account Provider (MAP) will charge you a combination of setup fees, transaction fees, and 'discount rates' (a percentage taken from each order). Some merchant account providers will not allow a large volume of purchases to be made when a card is not present, such as for charges made over the Internet or by phone, fax, or mail. If you have such a Merchant Account, you will need to obtain a separate merchant account to process your online transactions.

This situation arises because financial institutions and the Visa/MasterCard card associations have different criteria for evaluating the potential risk involved in credit card transactions in which the card is not present. In most cases, business owners use their existing business bank account for the purpose of a Merchant Account.

Processor for Accepting Credit Cards:

This is the layer of eCommerce that provides merchants with the ability to add secure, real-time ordering functionality to their web site (this too is built into the online processors). This back-end component of your E-Commerce web site collects the order information and runs the transaction. Once the transaction is approved, the funds are transferred to the merchant account, as an incoming deposit, usually within 24 hours. The merchant is provided with real-time reporting as sales information is passed from the merchants site to the Secure Payment Gateway (your processor).

Common Questions about eCommerce:

What is eCommerce?
eCommerce (a.k.a. electronic commerce, EC, Ebusiness, Etailing) is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet or more specifically the World Wide Web.

What are the components that build an eCommerce
Web site?

a) A product to sell
b) A Web presence to sell it from
c) Shopping cart software, and if you want to process credit cards online:

d) Secure Sockets layer enabled
e) A payment gateway
f) A merchant account

What is SSL or Secure Sockets Layer? How does it work?
"SSL" stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It is a security protocol that encrypts all of your connections with a web server. SSL thwarts eavesdroppers who could "sniff" your internet packets for sensitive information such as passwords and credit card numbers. Thus, SSL has made on-line commerce viable for all Web users.

What is shopping cart software?
Shopping cart software acts as an online store's catalog and ordering process. Typically, it allows a consumer to browse the Web site, select items for purchase as they browse, review what they have selected; make necessary modifications or additions; and purchase the merchandise.

What is a payment gateway?
A payment gateway is simply software that is hosted on a server that links an online store to a process that verifies that a customer who is placing a credit card order has the credit available and that the order should be accepted. Later, when the merchant is ready to submit the charges for processing, the payment gateway accepts them and submits the charges to a payment processor who facilitates the transfer of funds to the merchant.

What is an Internet merchant account?
An Internet merchant account allows a merchant to process credit cards online and to have the funds electronically transferred into his/her bank account.

What is the most cost effective method for me to accept
payments on my Web site on a secure server?
Obtain a merchant account - we suggest Authorize.net.

They are a complete package and will keep your costs
to a minimum. With the services of Authorize.net, you will not incur the added cost of a Certificate (from Verisign or Thawte).

If you wish to apply for a merchant account, we recommend
going through HostingCt.com - just : click here : to browse details, and apply online.

Fees:  (subject to change)

Authorize.Net
Setup Fee: $169
Transaction Fee: .23
Qualified Discount Rate: 2.19%
Monthly Gateway Fee: $10

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