How to set it up

[WebDesignDatabase]

If I have a Merchant account and my shopping cart set up, what else do I need to start selling online. I have heard of a payment gateway, but everything seems sooo expensive.

[Corey Bryant]

What kind of merchant account do you have - brick & mortar (swiped) or internet/telephone (keyed)?

[WebDesignDatabase]

well, Im in the process of receiving one through my bank. So I am assuming it is brick & mortar

[Corey Bryant]

Well it could be. Did they get you a POS terminal? Or how are you processing the card (thru the POS terminal (swiping it) or are you entering information into a virtual terminal on the computer?

To integrate a cc processor into a website, you need a gateway like LinkPoint, authorizenet.com, Payflow, etc.

Usually an internet account's discount rates are a little more expensive than a brick & mortar because of more risks involved.

[WebDesignDatabase]

Yes, I have to swipe CC through. Does this mean I still need a gateway?

Thanks for all your help

[Corey Bryant]

Correct. You basically have the wrong type of merchant account.

There are two types - a brick & mortar to accept credit cards in your place of business, i.e. the gas station, the stationary store, etc. Then you have an internet / telephone / mail order which allows you to accept credit cards without seeing the person or getting a wet signature. You are probably paying something like 1.55% for the discount rate. You could possibly take the CC over the phone & key it in - but without knowing what your merchant application says, I cannot recommend that. Plus you might be charged as much as 2% or more in discount fees.

Contact your bank, ask them if they support internet accounts. A lot do not because they just do not understand e-commerce or they outsource it to another party. Once you find that out, see what type of internet gateway they support (if any).

[WebDesignDatabase]

Thank!!! I'm on my way.

BTW. Does it pay to have all this if I dont do a lot of transactions a month?

[Corey Bryant]

If you are processing over $1,000 a month, yes. if not, no.

[thusmann]

I always recommend Paypal for new sites, as there is no monthly fee, most shopping carts natively integrate with it, and it is easy to setup.

However, if you are intent on obtaining a merchant account and payment processor for direct credit card acceptance, I recommend Wells Fargo. The have merchant accounts that include an Authorize.net gateway account. In a sense, it's a one stop merchant provider shop.

[LindaW]

Here is another suggestion for a one-stop shop for merchant accounts and payment gateways - www.primerchant.com. Their set up is easy as well.

I usually recommend to my clients, to put their site up for a while before going to a lot of expense with merchant accounts and payment gateways. I agree with doing a trial with PayPal. Monitor your site popularity and if you are getting sales and/or good interest then go to the next step. There is not much sense of spending hundreds of dollars on a merchant account and gateway then not having any sales.

[Corey Bryant]

Usually Visa/Mastercard review your site to make sure it is compliant. If you submit your application with an URL on it, chances are it wil be placed on hold until the site is up. They want to make sure there are no links to banned sites / materials.

[sudhani]

To accept credit card payments online what you need is: "Internet Merchant Account."

Here is the tutorial from VeriSign : Internet Merchant Account FAQs (http://www.verisign.com/products/payflow/faq/merchant.html)

If you are a start up company, verisign could be a costlier option.

[TheWebDoctor(tm)]

Correy wrote:

Usually Visa/Mastercard review your site to make sure it is compliant. If you submit your application with an URL on it, chances are it wil be placed on hold until the site is up. They want to make sure there are no links to banned sites / materials.

Correy, who do you work with? MasterCard/Visa has never checked one of my client sites. However, the account provider such as Innovative Merchant Solutions, Card Services International and many others look.

They also look for the following information:
1> Is the site real?
2> Does the site provide contact information?
3> What is the product or service? Of course, this verifies that the applicant isn't selling drugs, babies, slaves or anything else that is illegal to sell.

Additionally, depending upon who the applicant is applying with the account provider may want to have pictures of the office or store. Obviously, this can be a deterent for some applicants. I just find it a pain in the sternside for homebased business owners.

[Corey Bryant]

I do work with CSI & First Data for the most part. They are diligent at checking the website.

We have had a few customers get reviewed as well by Visa - it was probably the SIC. Or it could possibly be other reasons (like the big lawsuit that is going on between FDR & Visa or another reason as well).

But never have I had any of them ask for a picture of the brick & mortar business (should I say yet? :) )

[TrafficProducer]

PayPal... No thanks.

Ref:- http://www.paypal.ukshoppers.com/index.html
PayPal Support Club. That is support for users of PayPal not support for PayPal.
Review and helpful links, coding examples, warnings, other shopping cart links, etc.
PayPal is a on-link banking system that allows website owners to integrate shopping cart technology into their site. Find out more, includes links to helpful site about PayPal shopping cart technology.

http://www.paypal.ukshoppers.com/index.html

[larry1]

I find the use of PayPal a very good way to start off as there is no monthly subscription; if your website don't work out initially, you don't pay a single cent. The only disadvantage is that it requires registration for first time users and some shoppers may just quit when they saw the need for registration. Transaction rate is 5%, much lower if you have a US business address. See my article ('http://www.newlook.com.sg/paypal.asp') regarding Paypal for shoppers.

I also uses Worldpay for credit card processing which offers both online and offline credit card processing. Both payments modes require an Internet connection. Yearly fee is S$395 (about US$250). The advantage is no user registration is required. Transaction fee is around 5%. See my article ('http://www.newlook.com.sg/worldpay.asp') regarding WorldPay for shoppers.

My idea of having both Paypal and Worldpay is to capture the 2 major groups of users; registered Paypal users would probably prefer Paypal and non-paypal users may like Worldpay without the hassle of registration.

Larry Chang,
Newlook Marketing

[TheWebDoctor(tm)]

When approved for the latest application, this will be the third merchant account I've had. The previous two accounts wanted pictures, but backed off when I told them I work out of my home office. This one will be through FDR and they won't back off on the picture.

I actually need to know how I can sell for FDR directly. I hate going through agents for my clients. Currently, I'm an agent for EXS. If you have any ideas or advice, I'd like to know.