The decision to accept credit card payments and so increase revenue to your online business brings with it the difficulty in choosing a payment gateway to process sales.
In very simple terms, the gateway processes online payments by connecting your websites order form with the merchant account and returning the answer to the merchant and customer, either approved or declined. Although the gateway itself actually only connects the website to the merchant account, larger payment gateway providers offer additional services, such as merchant accounts and shopping carts.
All payment gateways have standard fees to be aware of. The first of these are setup fees, charged when the gateway is initially established and often non-returnable. There will also be monthly fees to pay for the service and charges for every transaction processed, regardless of whether the transaction has been accepted or denied. Nowadays, when searching the internet we want everything to be processed quickly and get annoyed if this isn’t the case.
If transactions are slow when purchasing or during check out, the customer is likely to leave your website and find another that can process the sale much quicker. You need a reliable gateway provider who can promise a quick efficient service. Gateways offer a range of features that will increase security and revenue. Listed below are several of the more common features to expect.
