In this digital age, being able to accept online payments from debit and credit cards is essential. Forrester research believes that in 2013, about $262 billion will be spent by online shoppers, and by 2017, eCommerce will account for approximately $370 billion. If your company wants to be a part of that market, then you must have the right technology, and you must work with an online payment processor that can guide you in using it. The following information can get you started if you want to know how to accept credit cards online.
First, decide which electronic payment solutions you truly need.
Do you need to accept debit and credit cards online so that customers can purchase products, or do you need to provide other businesses with the option of paying their invoices online? Or do you need both? While similar technologies will be behind both options, if you are offering products and services to consumers online, then you will want a customer portal with a shopping cart setup. Offering your clients a place to pay their bills online will require a slightly different interface. Furthermore, the way that information from those transactions is collected and communicated to you will be slightly different in both cases.
Second, evaluate and modify your technology if necessary.
If you are allowing for eCommerce shopping carts online, then you must have a secured site on which to accept debit and credit cards. A payment processing company can help you to understand which technologies you will need to be able to accept payments online. Security, and fighting fraud is an important aspect of accepting payments online, as there is no way for you personally to verify the validity of a card or its holder. The system that you use will have to accurately do that for you. Other features that you may want to incorporate include billing recurrence, and having the ability to accept payments in more than one currency. Talking to your payment processor will be essential to determining which technologies you may need to upgrade, and what new features can be provided to you through their services.
Accepting debit and credit cards online may be a big step for your business, but it does not need to come with unnecessary growing pains. A state-of-the-art payment processor can counsel you on how to smoothly transition into accepting payments online, and you will be able to see for yourself the difference that it makes for your business or consumer relationships. Remember to take a good inventory of your needs, and consider that your technologies may need to be upgraded or altered to accommodate the new systems. Good refereneces: www.bnasmartpayment.com