Make Money Online at Natespost.com

   How do you accept credit cards online? If you want to build a website that sells products or information, or even simply ask for donations, you need a method of payment. There are many different options to choose from, so you need to make the most educated decision possible because when it comes to accepting credit cards it comes down to 1) lower fees paid by you and 2) customer service. Let’s start with lower fees.

   To accept credit cards, it will cost you money in the form of application fees, discount rates, and fees per transaction. Understand that a credit card processor is a middleman that makes money by providing you a service. Its the same when you go to Wal-Mart to buy that new pair of neon camoflauged pants you’ve been looking at. When you swipe your card through the machine, Walmart gets the bulk of the sale amount, but they also pay a percentage to their credit card processor. Now folks like you and me that want to accept credit cards online won’t be able to get the sweet deal that Wal-Mart gets with their credit card processor, but we can make an informed decision that will maximize profits for us. The first thing you need to stay away from is a flat discount rate. Without getting too technical, there is something called an interchange rate (the small percentage that the issuing bank gets paid), and it varies by the type of card used, say debit vs credit, or corporate vs individual. You will get the better discount rate by going with a company that charges “interchange +” as opposed to a flat rate.  Think about it…a credit card processor that gives the merchant a flat rate has to make damn sure that they don’t get shorted. They do this by charging a rate that is above the mean, which covers their butt and equals a higher fee paid by you. There is also a “per transaction” fee that you will be charged when accepting credit cards. This can range anywhere from .30 to .50 per transaction.

   The other thing to look for when deciding on a credit card processor is customer service. How long does it take to setup the account? Do they provide people to help you set it up and answer questions/solve problems? Can they help you with a shopping cart for your site?

   While researching this topic so I could accept credit cards online, I decided on Cardaccept. First of all, there is $0 setup fee, same day setup, 24/7 customer support, and free shopping cart software. Their biggest competitor to accept credit cards online is paypal, so you need to look at the differences. Let’s say you will be making $3000 or less a month by accepting credit cards on your site. With paypal, you will be paying a discount rate of 2.9% of every transaction for their processing service. With Cardaccept, you will pay the lower discount rate + .25%. That’s a quarter of one percent. With paypal you will also pay an additional 30 cents per transaction as opposed to 25 cents per transaction with Cardaccept. Plus, Cardaccept is also compatible with Ebay and you can even accept payments by phone or fax.

   I hope all the technical stuff didn’t bore you or make you think it’s too big of a deal to accept credit cards. Cardaccept is simple with $0 cost to set up, excellent customer service and will save you money in the long run. Just fill out their short form and you’re up and running.