Helpful Points On Making The Most Of Payment Gateways

June 30, 2010

When customers see your virtual website development storefront, you want them to be truly inspired to buy. When they choose to buy, they need a way to make their payment efficiently. This is where payment gateways come into play.

A gateway is simply a way of getting from one position to another. With eCommerce, a gateway allows for the verification and transaction of business via credit cards. A payment gateway is necessary if your online business plans to accept payments.

Any internet business consulting firm will tell you that if you plan to deal with credit cards, you will need to refer to a merchant account. Select your bank, prior to opening a merchant account. This is where money will be transferred once a credit transaction has been verified through the gateway.

There are vast arrays of companies online that operate as payment gateways for merchants to accept credit card payments. Choose your payment gateway separately. Another option is selecting one of the many companies that offer more than just one service. For example, a number of shopping cart related packages will offer you merchant account and gateway elements in addition.

You need a merchant bank account and a payment gateway account to get you started. When choosing a bank for the merchant account, it is crucial to make sure that they accept payments from the gateway account you will be using. The payment gateway account is a service account that allows you to set up these payments between your website and your merchant account. If this seems at all complicated, consider the services of an elite internet business consulting firm, to help you get started.

Business owners selling online and accepting credit cards also have an Internet merchant account. The funds are transferred here from the payment gateway, but they don’t stay here. The funds are transferred, sometimes on a daily basis, to another bank account that you, the merchant, designate for business.

This is how it all comes together.

Here is a basic representation of how this process works. While the steps may seem lengthy, everything happens in the space of several seconds.

1. When the client is ready, he or she goes to your site and selects the chosen product. When they are ready to checkout, they are taken to the payment page to verify their order and the type of payment they’ll be using.

2. You will have set up a system so that when a payment is made the production goes through to the payment gateway you have nominated. Through the payment gateway, the transaction is forwarded to your bank’s processor.

3. From there, the data goes to the credit card network. The network serves as a forwarder and the transaction now goes to the bank that gave the credit card to the customer in the first place.

4. If there is a sufficient amount of credit to make the purchase, the transaction is approved. From there, the transaction reverses its way through the system to the beginning.

5. The payment gateway receives the approval notice and forwards it to you, as the merchant and also to the waiting customer on your website.

Payment gateways take the work out of processing credit card payments. Now, you can focus on other aspects of your eCommerce business. Choosing the right payment gateway can make all the difference between achieving your wildest dreams, and “not quite making it.”

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Posted by Virtual Miss Friday | Filed Under **eBusiness**