In this second decade of the 21st century it is absolutely absurd to have a commercial website that does not offer online card processing. Today's shoppers don't just expect, but demand the ability to pay for their purchases with their credit cards.

Here are some more good reasons to take credit cards:

Credibility - Customers will buy from a merchant that offers online card processing and will often look to see if a merchant accepts credit cards before shopping.

Competition – Offering online card processing levels the playing field between you and larger retailers.

Trust - Customers feel secure in using online card processing. If the purchased product or service is faulty, the use of a credit card allows the customer to dispute the charge, giving them an extra layer of protection.

Simplicity - Making it easy for your customer to pay you is probably the biggest reason to accept credit cards.

Future Sales - Customers will often shop at merchants where they have shopped before.

You may be saying "OK, I've decided to add online card processing to my site. What should I look for in an online card processing service?"

Security

First and foremost, the online card processing service should have state-of-the-art security. This includes, but is not limited to:

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) order pages – encrypts sensitive information (credit card number, expiry date, etc) to prevent interception and malicious use

Address Verification System – compares address used for ordering with the address on file to prevent fraudulent use of a credit card

High Risk Country/IP Address Blocking – compares country and/or ip address with a corresponding list of questionable countries and ip address in an attempt to prevent fraudulent transactions

Usability

The online card processing company should provide you with an internet gateway. The gateway performs the same functions as the credit card swipe terminal. But instead of being a piece of electronic equipment, the gateway is just software that is used by your website. This software passes the transaction information to the online card processing company, where it is reviewed and either approved or rejected.

Additionally, the online card processing service must allow the customer to pay for their purchase accurately and quickly. The gateway should be fast, validating the card instantly with a receipt being emailed to the customer. Duplicate transactions should be prevented.

Funds Transfer

The online card processing company should clear all transactions and deposit the corresponding money into your account within two days.

Cost

The online card processing company can charge variety of fees. Some fees will be based on percentages; some will be recurring and some will be transaction based.

There are interchange fees, which are charged by the card issuer, which are passed through to you by the online card processing company.

You should expect to pay set fees of $20-30US per month with transaction fees less than $.30US for online card processing.

You are now well on your way to being able to accept credit cards for your website. Know that there are a variety of companies that cater to internet businesses who will do everything possible to help you offer online card processing. Take the time to shop around, being sure that you understand all the associated fees and compare deals until you find the one that is best for your specific needs.