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VISA, MasterCard and Discovery credit cards are circulating the online market like foreign troops invading a country. If you run an online business, and you are selling products or certain services, you must enter the trend and accept credit card payments. People find it so much easier if they can get their hands on a favorite pair of boots on the instant, by using their credit card, and receiving the order the next day. The electronic payment system is:

• A trustworthy system both for you as a merchant and for the client
• An easy process
• A system that will bring you significantly higher profits, through impulse shopping. People come to your site to buy only a specific item, but then they will also notice that discounted digital camera you are offering. If the card has enough funds, they are going to buy it.

What you will need before you can implement the process

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• A Business checking account
• A Business license (issued by your government office)

You should carefully research the market and see which the best offers for business checking accounts are. These types of accounts are specifically tailored to meet your merchant needs. At BOA for example, you will find more types of such accounts available, you just need to choose what suits your needs best:

• Basic account – total security protection, bill pay options, mobile banking and other customizable offers
• Business plus (Advantage) – you can add between 1 and 3 additional checking/saving accounts, so that you can manage your finances even better and online payroll option.
• Business Analyzed Checking – if you want to receive detailed statements.

Settle for a merchant account provider

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Now that your business license and your business checking account are in order, you should comparison shop to find the most advantageous merchant account provider. Some of the most important factors you need to check are:

• Whether they charge you a monthly fee
• What is the per transaction cost ( usually between 0.15 EUR and 0.50 EUR maximum)
• Processing and high risk rates? (The high risk rate should not exceed 5%)
• Check whether all currencies are accepted, especially if your online business has an international profile.
• Make sure all major types of credit cards will be accepted

When you have found a preferred provider, you will contact them and ask about the main options. If you like what you have found there then it is time to set up your account. You will need to provide personal information along with business details and estimates + your business checking account. From there on, let professionals handle it. You just sign the contract, and you are ready to accept payments from your worldwide customers, hassle free and quick.

Next, a “buy now” or “add to shopping cart” type of logo is going to be inserted on your website, so that your customers can add the products/items to their e-shopping baskets and be able to pay using their credit cards.

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Refund requests and chargebacks are two features that online shoppers particularly love. They buy an item from your e-commerce site, using their credit card, but then when receive the order they discover that:

• The products is different from what they have seen in the item presentation picture
• It lacks certain features which were mentioned in the small text item description (for example, it stated that the remote controller comes with two AA batteries, while in reality it didn’t)
• They are not satisfied with how the product functions

There are hundreds of reasons that can make a customer unhappy with their purchase, and if they ask for a chargeback, this is going to cost the merchant extra money.

Strategies a merchant should implement in order to avoid chargebacks

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Setting up a perfectly running e-commerce business is not easy. You had to work hard on implementing the right marketing strategies, you needed to pay for the services of a reputable SEO company to handle your website optimization, plus in order to keep up with your competition, and you need to be innovative. It is not worth loosing everything you have managed to build; therefore, keep in mind the following:

• Product presentation photos – these must be as realistic as they can; you should avoid adding a different picture for the item you are actually selling. For example, you should not add the photo of an original Apple iPhone, if you in fact are selling low priced knock-offs.
• Product description- you should add every important detail in the text, but avoid adding specifications that in reality have no importance. Also, you should add annotations like “color may differ slightly from the picture”, if it is the case. Let the customer have no surprises of any kind when he/she receives the package
• Terms and conditions – this is where your credo as an online merchant will be described, and also where the return policy is described in detail.

If you pay attention to these three details, you will definitely be able to prevent chargebacks from your clients.

Top notch customer service may keep refund requests at bay

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The truth is customers like to be looked after, and feel important, and you can give them that through a very well setup online customer service.

• Quick responses to email (24 hours at most) will put you and your business in a very good light. Even if someone is only asking a question, it is important to give a prompt response. Not to speak of when a client wants to return the item, and contacts you through e-mail. You can settle so many disputes, if you show your clients that you are present and willing to help.
• “We are sorry for the inconvenience” – this is the magic phrase that should be repeated to unsatisfied customers through the phone. People are prone to change their minds very quickly, when they sense that they are treated respectfully. Remember this, and the number of chargebacks is going to get smaller with each day.

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Being into the online business, it means that you offer your products and services to a very wide audience. It also means that you need to offer trust, because online shoppers look after confidentiality of their personal data and banking details. Only if you can offer them both trust and a very well integrated and functioning online payment system, will your business function properly. Choosing such a provider is typically challenging, because there are so many options, you can easily get lost in the process. If you make sure that the provider offers you all the services that you need through a fully trustworthy environment and advantageous general fees and charges, you can say you have made a perfect choice.

Simple overview on how a payment gateway functions

The payment gateway is embedded software that allows communication between your presentation website (where you offer your products for sale) and the banking institution which is the card issuer of the respective customer buying the products from you. A widget is going to be installed on your website, in the form of “buy now” or “e-basket”, or any other form inviting the customer and helping him to place the order.

SSL, or Secure Socket Layer encryption is always used in order to protect the banking and personal details of the customer. After request for authorization happens, the issuing bank will respond to it (accepted vs. declined). Then, the payment gateway receives the information through the processor, and within seconds your website will receive the response (whether the transaction can take place- i.e. sufficient funds).

After that, you, the merchant will send the authorizations to the acquiring banks, and the bank will in turn make all the deposits into your merchant account. The entire process takes somewhere between 2 to 3 business days (payments authorizations => funds settlements).

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What to check before you sign a contract with a PSP

• Make sure that you are working only with trustworthy companies and online providers
• You need to have full control over all the transactions made through a certain gateway (i.e. real –time displays)
• Fraud prevention systems –
• You can accept all major payment methods (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Maestro, Visa Electron, etc.). If one of the major payment methods is not accepted by the gateway system, and implicitly by you as a merchant, that would mean less customers for you, so a smaller profit potential. You need to make a smart choice when you are looking for the perfect provider, and make sure that you receive many flexible options.
• If you have membership type of business selling online services, your system provider should make available a billing function as well (similar to the direct debit function you have with your bank when your card is billed every month for your phone payment for example)
• You need to have access to statements as many times as you want. This is the easiest way of keeping track of your online business and of all the transactions made within that week/month. Some providers will charge you extra for these statements, however the great majority offers this function for free.    

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Opening a merchant account is easy as 1 2 3. You, the merchant contract with a reputable provider, agree to the payment terms (fees, extra charges, rules and regulations stipulated within the contract, etc.) and you are ready to reap the benefits. Your little online business grows bigger and bigger by the day, because you have your business available to a wider audience. People like online shopping, because it is safe, it is comfortable and it is the quickest method of having that last generation plasma delivered right to their doorstep. All these can exist thanks to the online merchant system. But what’s going on behind the scenes? How does the pyramid work?

…because Plastic is Fantastic

Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discovery are the ruling payment technology companies that make it possible for these cards to exist. Visa, the master ruler detained almost 40% of the credit card market share in 2009, and an exorbitantly 60% debit card share. It is followed by MasterCard with 30% +, American Express with a mere 10%+ and on the last place there is Discovery with less than 5% for both credit and debit cards. It is always important what logo your credit card is bearing, and as far as the merchant accounts are concerned, the payment systems love accepting high brand and secure credit cards bearing any of these logos (considered less risk options).

Banking institutions – the rule makers

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There are many people who actually mix up payment technology systems with banking institutions: Visa is a brand, while the banking institution is the regulating party. All the banks issue Visa or MasterCard logo bearing credit cards, but they all have different rules and regulations. One bank might issue a Visa credit card with a high credit limit and outrageously high late payment fees, while the other bank issues another VISA credit card but with a low credit limit and very advantageous interest rates. The brand of the card simply certifies that the cardholder will have high security transactions and that the card will be accepted anywhere in the world, while the banks are the sharks dominating the money & the rules.

Merchant account services – the intermediaries for a successful business

You, the customer, will go online and search for the desired item. You will check if the respective merchant does accept the payment option you are about to use. If you own a MasterCard, and this is specified on the main page of the merchant, it means that you can safely pay the item you want, and receive it soon, no hassles whatsoever.

You, the merchant, will find the services of a merchant provider very useful and highly advantageous:

• You will be able to accept a wide array of payment options (credit cards and debit cards issued by a great variety of banking institutions)
• In exchange for a monthly fee, you will receive your statement each month- so that you can keep track of your businesses’ money flow.
• You will soon be able to see a boost of your profits, because the traffic to your presentation webpage has increased thanks to the fact that you accept credit card payments.

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The payment gateway is an equivalent of the physical point of sale systems. It is an e-commerce application that aids in the e-business, bricks and clicks as well as online retailers transactions by authorizing payments. This service serves by encrypting sensitive information to ensure security in the transactions. This is becoming the best option in business transaction because of the security they offer.

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What is a Payment Gateway

The payments gateways usually come in styles of two; secure order form and merchant side application. The secure order form style is the most used in transactions. This usually takes the customers to a third party site for the credit card processing. The payments are made to an individual merchant account. On the side of the merchant side application, the API is usually integrated in the hosting server of the merchant’s site of ecommerce.

Why Have Payment Gateways

The working of the payment gateway ensures utter security to the two parties involved. Any payments done via a debit or credit card has to authorize by the credit card issuer. This helps in the checking whether the card is accepted. The channel then provides a secure link between the business, the customer and the credit card processor. This helps in ensuring efficiency in the transaction processing with a response time of approximately 2 seconds.

By the end of the day, the payment gateway provider compiles all the transactions and submits them to the bank as one single batch. This is the process responsible for the transaction processing so that one receives their payments. It is called settling. After the settling process, it only takes approximately two working days for one to see their funds electronically in their bank account. This means that the transaction process is not only made secure but also considerably efficient.

Benefits of Payment Gateways

Another great benefit that the business rips from the payment gateway is the reliable reporting. Every transaction done is usually listed in a comprehensive report, which one can access via the facilities. This makes it possible for one to review their transactions in a particular period. They can further be downloaded or printed for any further processing. Some of the providers offer services that are compatible with one’s QuickBooks, which eases the accounting process.

Unlike the terminal or the software solutions, the payment gateway allows for unlimited users. This means that people from different locations so long as they have the access can look at the transactions at the same time. Transactions can also be entered by multiple users. This eases transactions by offer flexibility in location.

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Fraud is no longer a problem with this payment method. The payment gateway offers the fraud screening tools. These are used to reduce fraudulent transactions. This service includes an address as well as a card code value verification feature. This feature helps in the fraud prevention via the storing of all credit card transactions unlike other services that store them on ones website. This storage method helps reduce ones liability since they are not responsible with the storing of information relating to the credit card.

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While you hold an online business, you must be well aware about the fact that security of your consumers and safety of your business are more important factors to be considered. There are two main factors to be considered regarding credit card processing to handle security measures for credit card. These are named as “CVV” and “AVS”. Anybody who seek business online need both these types of information from the customers. With the help of these both, one can perform anonymous credit card transactions.

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First information:(AVS)Address Verification Service

This can be helpful in determining if the address provided by the customer matches that of the address provided by the credit card holder. It can be very much useful in determining if the person who uses the credit card is the person who inputs the information. AVS is not required to process credit card payments. However, while the processing is done, the processor matches the data found on the credit card and analyzes it with the address found on the credit card.

If the address does not match the records or if the address that was input is wrong, credit card will not be declined. The merchant can decide if to accept the credit card or not. The merchant can offer the credit card holder to input the data correctly or to correct the information or to offer additional information.

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Second information(CVV)Card Verification Value

All of the master cards, American express and visa cards have three to four digit number at the back of the card that is also known as CVV-2. This numerical value can be found only on the card and it can not be found anywhere else in the statement. Hence if a statement of credit card is found on the trash bin then a sale can not be completed. If a customer is able to enter CVV code, then one can be assured that the card is at the hands of the right person to whom it belongs.  If the CVV is entered wrong then the transaction will be cut off or will be declined.

Offer top security to the customers

Customers must be assured that they are using a safer platform while paying their bill and they must have a clear guarantee that their credit card information is kept safe and secure. The usual procedure for processing credit cards is that it must be transferred over 4 platforms. Hence these data must be protected with high security protocol or SSL certification through encryption of data. Finally when the credit card information are viewed by the staff, security measures must be employed not to misuse their information.

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If you have to accept payments through credit card from your clients either online or through direct methods then you need an account with your credit card provider. The provider for your credit card manages the dealing between your credit card network or the shopping network and the master or visa network. Each and every transaction performed with your credit card are charged and a percentage of it is offered to the credit card providers. Hence one must be aware about the services offered by the credit card providers and must be well known about the percentage of income that you will pay them in return for every transaction.

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Factors on which the transaction fee depends

Rate that you have to pay your credit card provider will depend upon many factors such as your product, service and sales type, average transaction sales. With these in mind, you can seek a perfect credit card provider from the list of available companies so that you may pay only few amount as fees.

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Poor credit transactions may charge a fee

If your business is on a lower end and tries to fail or drop down then you can not adjust with payment of your transaction fees or percentage of payment you have to do for your credit card provider. If this is the case then you may choose to work with business people who are in your same profitable limit. But do not ever choose the first option that comes in your way. You can every time go for the best available option in the market that can be always negotiable.

Look for issues that deal with technical integration

Gateway is a terminal end that can and must communicate between your credit card or online shopping end of software and with the provider’s software. All of the soft-wares offered by the providers do not come with compatible gateway. Hence one must make sure that the software one uses to process the credit card transactions must be enabled with compatible gateways.

Determine and understand the ‘Risk’ involved in the business and transactions

Many of the providers do not entertain businesses that involve any adult dealings or that which involve gambling. You must be ready to spend extra fees if you handle these business and you need to invest more amount of time to find the exact provider for such businesses. The easy way to sort out the provider is by finding it through your competitors’ website.

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Is International processing required?

If you need to handle transactions outside your hoe country then you need an international provider for processing credit card requirements. Usually business owners choose one provider who can deal with both International and domestic transaction because selecting two separate providers will make it difficult for the business owners to pay the fees.

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For the each and every dollar you spend, you can get a free air ticket with the help of the airline miles credit card. There are many airlines and banks that can be chosen in order to get the  information regarding the number of miles that you can earn, miles that are offered as bonus and other useful in-formations.

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Some of the most popular airline miles credit card are listed below

Venture one capital credit card for business (sm)

Every day the credit card holder is provided with double miles for every purchase. A bonus of 5000 miles can be offered if one or more of the employer cards are signed up. If $1000 is spent within the first three months then a bonus of 10000 miles is provided for the card holder. Rewards can be used as cash back, gift cards, merchandise, travel and much more. Miles will not expire even if you fly anywhere, anytime in any airline and there are no foreign transaction fees. Customer service provided by the company is award winning and exclusive.

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One-Pass plus credit card for continental airlines

The first year requires no annual fee and there is a saving of $85. After the first purchase is over, earn 25,000 bonus miles. This is enough as a reward for tour within United States excluding the Hawaii islands. Within 2 months of opening your account and after adding up an authorized user, you will get 5000 bonus after you first purchase. In addition, you will get two miles for every $1 spent with your card and one mile for every $1 charges.

Discover card for Miles

For the first year you will earn 1000 miles every month and then 12000 bonus mile. For every purchase of $1, 1 mile is got as bonus. $3000 spent each year offers 2 miles additionally on airlines and restaurants. Miles obtained as bonuses don’t expire and there are no dates for blackout even if you fly on any airline or book any air ticket. There are no fee for redemption, annual and over limit.

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American express card for blue sky

One can enjoy free travel with these credit cards. Over time can be paid well by the credit card holder. There will be no annual fee and offers APR 0% for all the purchases within 6 months.

Platinum card of American express

When $1000 is spent on the card for the first three months, bonus points of 25,000 is got. Clubs at the airport can be accessed with the help of these cards. You can get special amenities and rewards while you stay at hotels and other resorts.

Credit card for delta reserve

Concierge services on American express can be accessed. Around 30000 bonus miles can be obtained. After first purchase is over, 10000 MQMS can be obtained.

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Keeping track of expenses is essential factor in handling finances. If the number of expenses made are in increasing number one can have a tough time to keep track of the same. Be it a business organization  who wants to keep track of its expenses or an individual who wants to know about the details of the expenses made in a particular period or even a father who wants to keep track of the expenses made by a child on academic studies, having an easy way for the same would always be appreciable. Not being in track of ones expenses can have major consequences in future days.

Advantage of using business credit cards over other cards

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Business credit card is one of the best solutions available in the market. One of the main advantages being that one can make an online transaction to make purchases or pay of utility bills or even use it for any purchase at a merchant outlet. Nowadays there are lot of banks providing business credit cards, some free of cost and some with an annual fees applicable depending upon the features bestowed up your category of business card. Business credit cards are provided with a bigger credit value to make spending either in the domestic or even at international destinations, either in person or even on the Internet with the facility of transacting in foreign currency too.

Business credit card statements that can be helpful to analyze business

The most important part of the business credit card is the monthly statement that we receive at the end of  the billing cycle which is not similar in many case. A monthly statement provides us with information of the date that the expense was made along with the transaction amount and a brief detail of the merchant with whom the transaction was carried out. It usually gives further information of international transactions in the local currency by calculating the charges on the value of the foreign currency on the particular day of the transaction.

Certain banks offer a more detailed and easy to manage monthly state like having the expenses categorized for you to have an easier understanding of the areas of your expenditure. Such a monthly statement can be quite helpful in tracking ones expenses on a regular basis. Tracking ones expense will let us know the problematic areas of our expenditure where in we can work on to reduce the same.

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Software are employed to handle an process the business credit cards online

Certain softwares like a Quickbook can be very helpful for business credit cards as it can help one to easily download the credit card statements and make the reconciliation of your monthly and yearly statements an easier task for an entrepreneur. Having such a process of knowing and keeping tracking expenses of business credit cards would justify the reason of having one.

Track the expenses in order to manage the business card requirements and interests

Companies having employees provided with business credit cards for regular purchases can have lot time wastage as far as keeping track of expenses by filling out expense report forms. Such a company can find the monthly report a much simpler way of tracking expenses of their business credit cards. It can help you in know the areas of not required and overspending areas. Tracking expenses of business credit card is quite an essential element in handling finance.

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Business credit cards are the most important aspect of running a successful business and it has always been a credit to the business owners. But the high interest rates of the business credit cards have always lead to the deterioration of the value for these. Interest rates can be kept down through having good credit history and score along with maintaining proper credit limit, having the right card and carefully monitoring the card’s use.

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Having a strong credit card report for analysis

Interest rates that are offered by the lenders have large impact on the credit cards due to the credit history and the credit score. if the credit scores are high then the business owner or the individual an expect a larger lending from the lender. Keep the credit report for business credit cards as strong as possible before you get them. Have a look over the report and examine it completely. If there are any issues or if there are any errors then work with the lender and keep them rectified. If the credit report for business is strong, the interest rates can be low.

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Choosing the right credit card for processing

Suppose a business can qualify for a low or less interest rate then one need not accept credit card with high rate of interest. Creditor can provide the applicant with the lowest rate for which he qualifies. Many issuers of these business credit cards provide low introductory rates. Any business can gain low interest rates with these cards.

Note the introductory interest rates for the credit card but do not try to switch from one introductory phase to the other. If trying to access multiple business credit cards then this can lower the credit score for the applicant. If there is a smooth relationship with a bank then the business credit card can get much lower interest rate.  One must be aware about all the options available for the business credit card with the lowest interest rate and should not accept any first proposals to the business.

Timely payment can help to process the credit cards at ease

Terms and conditions specified in the credit card application process during a business proposal can help to figure out the issues that can be faced in case of late payments. At times, the penalty is usually payment of a small amount of late fee. However in most of the cases, the interest rate would increase dramatically for the business.Keep the borrowing less so that the credit score is not largely affected.

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Adhere and bound to the credit card limit

Each of the business credit card comes with a credit limit. Once the card is granted and the application is taken up, the business agrees to take up the limit. Never try to pay above the credit limit because this in turn can affect the fee and often leads to high rate of interest as penalty.

One must monitor the credit card carefully, in case more than one person uses the credit card for business.

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