When you first decide that you want to accept credit card payments on your web site the task of deciding what you need to do may be daunting. There are only a few key things that you need to be aware of to ensure you get started off on the right foot.
- Select a merchant account. You may want to check with your bank where you have your business account. Many banks now offer Internet merchant account. A merchant account is basically your account number to direct the flow of cash into your business account. A merchant account is necessary for every business to accept credit card transactions. This would include a local gas station restaurant or any other online merchant. Some online merchants use someone else's merchant account and gateway by using a service such as PayPal.
- Select an online payment gateway. This is the part of your e-commerce solution that will allow you to accept credit card transactions online. It is the equivalent of the machine that swipes your card at the grocery store or gas pump. Also keep in mind that if you are programming your own shopping cart that you'll be using the API of your payment gateway processor so make sure they have an API that you can work with. There are several services that offer the payment gateway and merchant services bundled in a package, such as CFDynamics partner authorize.net.
- Install an SSL certificate. Although an SSL certificate is not functionally necessary for you to take credit card transactions, many merchant accounts and financial institutions require that your credit card transactions be transmitted over SSL. They may also have several other restrictions that you'll need to be aware of such as displaying of privacy policies, refund policies, etc. CFDynamics offers a variety of SSL products which can be found in e-commerce section of our web site.
- Lastly you will want a way for your customers to order the product or service you are selling. This may be a simple link or an intricate shopping cart solution.
These are four basic things you'll need to accept credit card payments. There are several other things that you can use credit card payments for such as charging your customer on a regular basis for subscriptions, etc. also there are many enhancements that you can add to increase the usability of your e-commerce solution.
Please feel free to contact one or customer service representatives for additional information on how you can make the most of your e-commerce solution.