Business Guide: How To Accept Online Credit Card Payments

You should have a merchant account to be able to accept online credit card payments. Make sure that your merchant account information and bank data are the same.

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Any successful business is able to process sales online with credit cards. To do this all you need is a merchant account and a little bit of know how to begin earning money on the Internet.

One of the keys to a successful online business is the ability to accept credit cards. The process of having a potential customer mail in a check and receive their goods later is outdated to say the least. Online customers expect to be able to use their credit cards safely and easily when they shop.

How to accept credit cards online:

1. If you already have a storefront that accepts cards then you must also have a merchant account. If not you will have to set up one through a bank. Any of our major Australian banks are able to do this so that you can accept Visa, MasterCard, or Bankcard.

2. If you would like to accept American Express or Diners Club cards you will have to contact them directly to set up your merchant account.

3. You should share your merchant account information with your bank so that they can process any transactions from the credit card companies.

4. A special merchant agreement to accept credit cards online and over the phone will need to be completed. This is called a Mail Order Telephone Order (MOTO) or Card Not Present (CNP) and is unlike a storefront credit card transaction because it does not require a signature. These contracts require  you, the merchant, and not the acquiring bank who is responsible in cases of fraud.

5. You will have to pay a merchant fee for these services. In Australia these charges are around two to four percent of the transaction amount.

6. As a vendor you will want to be diligent in your efforts to authenticate transactions. Should a fraudulent sale go through on your website the credit card owner will be able to dispute it.

7. When you make an online sale the credit card issuer will give the customer temporary credit and it is up to you to verify that the card is not stolen. This is difficult to do since you do not have the luxury of actually seeing the credit card in person. In order to make this less risky you might call the credit card issuer for further verification, check a telephone directory to see if you can get personal information on the buyer to verify that it matches what the customer provided to you. For very expensive orders you might want to call the customer directly to verify the order.

8. After that is complete you will need to process the transaction. Most banks will do this for you, but there is usually a charge involved.

9. The final thing you will need to do is to verify the credit card information. There is a variety of software available that can assist you in this process.

When your business is able to accept credit cards online you will see your profits grow. The cost involved will be returned quickly in the added sales you are able to process. It may seem like a lot of work, but once you do the initial set up online credit card transactions basically run themselves with just a little bit of management on your part.

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