1. You first need to have the Visa/MasterCard logos readily displayed for customers to see. This means if you are using a virtual online store, you should ensure the logos are displayed in a location where all customers will see them.

Additionally, if you have a traditional brick and mortar store you should ensure that you have the logos displayed by the cash register and also consider placing the logos on the door.

2. You also should always check the expiration dates on the card before accepting it. If the card is out of date, even by only one day do not accept it. Instead ask for an alternate form of payment and nicely explain to the customer that the card has expired. It is likely just an honest mistake the cardholder has made.

3. If you suspect that a card is a fraud, or that the cardholder is acting very suspicious and you do not feel comfortable with the transaction then call the authorization center and tell them you have a Code 10. The center personnel will then give you detailed instructions.

4. Ensure for all online sales you request the code on the back of the card. This should be a 3-digit number; this must be included for payment processing.

5. Ensure that all cardholder information as well as copies of all receipts for credit card transactions are on file for at least 3 years. Once the 3-year period is over, you can feel free to destroy safely all of the documents. Use of a shredder or a document destroying service is best for this purpose.

It is a point in the network or a service provider that allows internet users to enter into other networks and pay online for their purchases from online stores via websites.

It is similar to POS as presented in the physical shops. POS is Point Of Sale which is a terminal being found at each and every retail shop made up of bricks. This service is provided by various banks like Citibank etc.

The main issue concerned with Payment Gateway is Security i.e. encrypting the crucial and sensitive credit card details like credit card numbers of the shopper and sending the same from shopper to merchant and from merchant to payment processor.

The linking of an online shopping store with gateway is called Payment Gateway Integration.

Procedure of Payment Gateway:

• The customer after shopping submits the order and the same is sent in an encrypted form to the merchant’s web server. The SSL encryption takes place in which there is assurance of secure data transmission.
• The same is then sent to Gateway.
• These transaction details are then passed to merchant’s acquiring bank.
• The acquiring banks then send the details to issuing bank i.e. the bank that has issued credit card to the customer.
• After receiving the details, issuing bank sends the response to the online gateway that whether the payment has been accepted or not. If not accepted, the reason is also sent in the response.
• The same is then passed to gateway and hence to the merchant’s server.
• The response is finally sent to customer in an encrypted form to intimate the customer whether his order has been placed successfully or not.
• At the end, the issuing bank deposits the money in the account of merchant.

Why Online Payment Gateway is needed?

• It is an essential part as without this, payment of goods and services purchased online cannot be made.
• It augments the use of E-Commerce i.e. buying and selling of goods via internet.

Advantages:

• Save in time and effort spent while standing in queues for making payment.
• The person can do the online payment anytime and from anywhere. There is the requirement of computer, internet connection and the credit card.
• Automatic tax calculation before making the transaction.

Disadvantages:

• Security threats by hackers.
• Breakdown of internet connection or computer.

No Hidden Cost Involved

Managing your monetary transactions with payment management software is an extremely cost-effective procedure. To use this online payment management solution, you don’t need to pay any extra money!

Accept Different Forms of Payment

This Cloud-based solution enables you to accept payments via credit cards, such as MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express, and so on. You can even allow your attendees to send you cash via different popular payment gateways, such as VeriSign, PayPal Payflow Pro, PayPal Express, CyberSource, and Authorize.net.

Easy Credit Card Processing

Credit card processing can be made easy by using the Cloud-based payment management solution. Your event attendees can send you donations as well as registration fees in real time by simply using their credit cards. Easy credit card processing benefits both the parties – event planners can quickly receive money, while the registrants can easily send you ticket prices, registration fees, and donations.

Offers Easy and Secure Ways to Send and Receive Money

This PCI-compliant solution is highly secure, as it eliminates the chance of any form of financial fraud. Hence, your hard-earned money gets transferred to the organizer quite safely. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is formed to make sure all organizations that “process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment.”

Offers Merchant Accounting Service

Event organizers can utilize “Use Your Own Merchant Account” (UYOMA) service for gathering online credit card payments through their own online merchant account. The UYOMA service lets you effortlessly generate, activate, and uphold your own merchant accounts. When an event organizer uses this service, it means potential participants can deposit the required fees to the user’s account at their convenience. The UYOMA service also allows organizers to easily process cancellations and refunds, when needed.

Manages All Back-end Administrative Payment Functions

The payment management software will help you make changes to your different events ticket price, category, and such other features. You can also easily prepare a range of online reports concerning ticket sales, total amount of registration fees collected, payments reconciliation, and so on.

You may need a provider that offers a payment gateway, credit card processing, and fraud management tools. Find the solution that can meet all those needs and meet them well.

Considering the drastic increase of credit card fraud online, give yourself and your customers piece of mind by going with a payment services provider that offers a myriad of security features. From military-grade encryption to fraud detection, a payment provider should allow your customers to shop safely and securely on your website.

About customer service options before signing up with a provider. Do they offer customer support via telephone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? If something happens to your site on a Friday night that prevents payments from going through over the weekend, you don’t want to have to wait until Monday morning to get the problem fixed. A service is only as good as its technical support.

Competitive Rates – Look for service providers that offer competitive rates and make sure you inquire about upfront fees. There are often additional costs associated with the features and services you want that fall outside the rate quote. Discuss all costs upfront before you sign the dotted line!

Shopping Cart Compatibility – Before making any final decisions, talk with your IT department or web master to help pinpoint providers that are compatible with your site’s shopping cart. Most well-established, reputable payment service are compatible with the majority of shopping carts.

Your site should also have a privacy policy which clearly explains how your customers’ personal data and information is used.

A choice of payment methods

The last thing you want to do when selling products online is put up barriers to receiving payment. For example, accepting credit and debit cards is wise rather than one or the other. You may also want to have an option for people to pay via their PayPal account so they don’t have to enter their card details online when checking out.

Ease of use

Usability is another big consideration in choosing an online payment service provider. How easy will your customers find it to complete the checkout process? A complicated checkout can lead to high shopping cart abandonment rates and lost sales for your business. Make sure you have a look at other websites using your preferred payment service provider before committing yourself.

Fraud prevention measures

As an online retailer you’ll be liable for any fraudulent transactions that take place on your website. For example, if you receive a suspicious order for an unusually large quantity of one of your products you need to be on the ball and check that it’s genuine before sending it out.

Many payment service providers have in-built fraud prevention measures but you should be alert to the warning signs such as the delivery and billing address being different or unusual delivery instructions.

Choosing a reputable payment services provider will usually ensure some measures are in place but you shouldn’t rely solely on these. If you send out goods that have been bought fraudulently from your website, you will lose the goods as well as having to reimburse the genuine card holder.

A payment gateway is the online equivalent of a point-of-sale system (like a credit card machine) in a brick-and-mortar store. When an online shopper selects “Pay Now” on a website, their payment information is passed through your secure server to a gateway, which serves as a liaison between your bank and the customer’s bank.

The details of the transaction are then sent from the payment system to your account. Your merchant account bank requests authorization from the customer’s issuing bank to complete the payment. The issuing bank then will either authorize or reject the payment and send the details of the authorization through the payment gateway to your website and the customer.

Hybrid Solutions

There are a handful of services that offer hybrid solutions that combine a payment gateway and merchant account into an all-in-one service. The advantage of doing so is the entire process to authorize a transaction takes just a few seconds; however, the cost of using such a solution is often slightly higher than if you were to obtain a payment gateway and merchant account separately.

What to Look For

Whether you opt for a hybrid solution or a separate account and gateway, you should always research prospective options to find one that fits your needs. No matter what you choose, here are a few key features to look for:
Account Management
Compatibility with your shopping cart
Encryption capabilities
Fraud prevention and security features
Hidden fees and payments
Reporting features
Startup costs

A payment gateway allows your business to make payments transactions to a payment processing system electronically, which is through an automatic clearing house called an ACH. An ACH is a secure payment transfer system that connects all US financial institutions. The other payment processing system is through the credit card interchange, which in essence is the clearing process of credit card transactions. They also settle and manage these transactions.

If you are an online merchant your website should be set-up with an online catalog and a shopping cart. Consumers shop from the comfort of their home and at any hour of the night and day with a click of a button. If your store doors are not open after 5:00 p.m…. not to worry, your online shopping is open 24/7. An additional way to triple your business profits.

What is a shopping cart? A shopping cart allows consumers to purchase items from your business website via online and is connected to that payment gateway which is connected to your internet merchant account which is connected directly to your financial institution. Again, getting that money electronically in your account in seconds.

What is a virtual terminal? It is a virtual point of sale terminal, which is another secure method of processing payments using a computer. This method allows you to key in the consumers information, which is bundled with a payment gateway that enables you to process a credit card transactions over the internet. This process is necessary for a business that processes a majority of orders via phone, mail order or fax.

It is imperative for your business to be able to process payments in an array of different ways to accommodate each and every consumer. Plain and simple! In exchange for nonminal processing fees you get rewarded by the added profits. In this market you must be set-up correctly in order to make the most money from your business. If you are unable to process a payment via check the customer walks away, if you are unable to process a credit card payment that customer walks away, if you are unable to process a debit card, guess what? Your customer will walk out or go to another website that can accommodate that purchase. Each purchase whether is be for $5.00 or $500.00 adds up to money in your pocket. Get the picture? This is why you are in business to make money… bottom line, literally! So be sure your business is set-up efficiently in advance and you will be running smooth prior to your Grand Opening.

Music, videos, ringtones, online game subscription or items, wallapers and other digital goods.
Transportation fare (bus, subway or train), parking meters and other services
Books, magazines, tickets and other hard goods.

Mobile money provides a cashless, fast and easy way for your customers to deal with all their financial transactions, from home, office or while travelling around the globe. From phone banking to internet banking and now to mobile payment services, the constantly changing financial services landscape has stepped up to include total solutions to manage money from any location.

Mobile financial services are the future, bridging the distance between banks and telecommunications, integrating the sophisticated platforms of mobile phone networks and secure financial systems. Consequently, everyone who makes a payment via their mobile device wants 100% security and safety for each transaction.

You can watch out for reviews about such services before deciding on the right one. Portals like epionions.com or ConsumerSearch.com carry comments from consumers or do their own reviews about many services and service providers. If there is general acceptance of a particular payment service, you can assume that it will be safe for you too.

If you have queries about certain aspects of their working procedure or seek more details about the reliability of a particular service provider, you can compile a list of such questions and speak to its customer service department to get the queries addressed to your satisfaction. If you are dissatisfied with their answers or get an impression that they are skirting the issues with indirect and irrelevant responses, stay away from such companies.

One of the best ways to know whether an online payment service is authentic and trustworthy is to look for the Web privacy seal on its website. Most of the established and reliable payment providers will display a privacy seal issued by independent online agencies that deal with such privacy and security issues.

TRUSTe is one of the biggest privacy seal programs worldwide. Better Business Bureau Online is another program that is highly regarded for its authenticity and reliability. These seals are authentic indicators that the service providers observe the mandatory guidelines on security and privacy as laid down by the federal authorities.

You must also find out the type of encryption technology that the payment service provider uses to protect your personal information from being used by unauthorized persons. The most commonly used encryption code is the military-grade encryption technology. It ensures that your data remains secure and your payment details are not leaked to outsiders.

Online businesses need online payment services to attract customers who find using other payment modes cumbersome. With an online payment service, all transactions are done in real time. Using an online payment service gives all parties concerned a greater sense of confidence, as it makes the business operate more efficiently at all levels.

If you are planning to start an online business, it is inevitable that you will need an online payment service to make and receive payments. Using the above guidelines can help you make the right decision and navigate the pitfalls better.

For firms intent on taking their business one stage further, there’s one requirement that they’re going to most certainly need: online payment processing services. A web-based payment processing service can offer sites with all the solutions they need to be able to function and operate fully on the world wide web.

Online payment solutions can transform any regular internet site to a virtual terminal that can handle the many different kinds of transactions that firms might have to deal with. There are numerous different services furnished by online payment services, each one handling very specific aspects of the business.

First, every business trying to be on the web must secure an internet merchant account. This permits any online business to be able to accept many kinds of payments. Internet merchant accounts commonly accepts debit and credit card payments, which are the payment modes that numerous online shoppers choose for online purchases nowadays.

Electronic checks may also be occasionally made available from a few of the better online payment processing service providers. An electronic check helps you to make payments straight from accounts, much like how regular checks work. Transactions via electronic checks also take approximately three to five business days, like regular checks, before the money is cleared and gets shown on its recipient’s account.

Virtual terminals may also be required for any business trying to achieve success online. A virtual terminal allows internet marketers to be able to input various credit cards for NCP (no card present) transactions. Systems used here are sensitive to any actions that may be interpreted as acts of fraud, thus keeping everything secure for both customers and service providers.

Using virtual terminals has made it really simple for most companies to broaden their business by permitting them to handle different options of payment. This could be especially beneficial to sites which may have recently started operating on the net.

There are many benefits that companies can get out of payment processing services. To start with, having other people create all the modes of payment that your internet site can accept presents a huge amount of convenience.

A lot of companies have funding as a way to bring their products to the internet, although not everyone is aware of the best way to execute it properly. Online payment processing services can help guide these new online purveyors in working with online clients and closing transactions properly.