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Ecommerce is no longer new technology. Online payments are already part of the internet furniture. With over 83% of the UK population online and over £58 billion pounds spent via ecommerce in 2010, can any business afford not to be part of this rapidly expanding marketplace? Consumer oriented businesses in particular can open up their doors to millions of new prospective customers by becoming online merchants.
Online merchant services provide the means for taking payments securely via a website and are an essential part of setting up your online empire. Finding the right supplier is critical to providing a feeling of security to your customers, managing your cash-flow, preventing credit/debit card fraud and complying with data protection legislation.
Online Merchant Services: The Basics
Online merchant services consist of two main components: the merchant account and the payment gateway.
If you’re already an established business and take credit/debit card payments via a chip and PIN or virtual terminal you will probably already have a merchant account. These accounts, provided by banks or merchant services specialists, are accounts capable of accepting funds arising from credit/debit card transactions from the card issuer.
A payment gateway is the means of communication between your website, the card association (e.g. Visa, MasterCard) which authorises the transaction, the card issuer which authorises the payment and your merchant account provider. The communication is all encrypted to prevent interception and fraud and takes place in just a few seconds.
Often the merchant account and payment gateway will both be provided by a single online merchant services company.
Online Merchant Services: Checklist
When comparing online merchant services providers there are a number of factors to consider which vary considerably between different companies:
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Turnaround time: The time between the approval of a transaction and the release of the money from the merchant account to your business bank account. This can vary from a couple of days to a couple of weeks and could have large ramifications for the cash-flow of a small business.
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Compliance and security: The industry standard for data protection is PCI DSS which ensures that customer credit card data is protected. Enhanced security measures like 3D Secure (e.g. Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode) provide extra confidence to the customer and make it more likely that they’ll complete the transaction.
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Charges: Both fixed charges for the payment gateway and merchant account and variable transaction charges can differ wildly between different providers. If your business is classed as ‘high-risk’ i.e. there is a high chance that you’ll need to refund customers frequently or the type of business is one which has a high incidence of fraud, you may be charged higher rates. Get quotes from as many online merchant services companies as possible to make sure of finding the right deal.
Quotes for Online Merchant Services
Approved Merchant Services provides a fast, free method for comparing leading online merchant services providers based in the UK.
Just fill out one simple enquiry form to receive up to 4 no-obligation quotes from Online Merchant Services companies today.
Get Quotes for Online Merchant Services
