Why Should I Accept Credit Card Payments for My Business?
Contributed by Melanie Vannuys
Why Should I Accept Credit Card Payments For My Business?
If you own and operate a business and plan on having a website, the truth is you can't afford NOT to accept credit card payments. You're probably asking yourself why should I accept credit card payments? The reason is you will be taking advantage of two particular types of customers: impulse buyers and international buyers.
Impulse buyers are the ones who visit your site, read through all of your information and buy without a second thought. If you only offer checks or money orders as a form of payment, this will give them the time to think about their purchase and quite possibly change their minds.
As for international buyers, credit card payments are the most logical choice for a few reasons. One, by allowing your customers from overseas to use their credit card to buy from your website, you are taking the guesswork out of the currency exchange dilemma. The credit card company takes care of that for you. Furthermore, by only offering checks as a form of payment, it can take considerably longer for a check to be mailed internationally. Credit card payments are usually deposited into your bank account within 48 hours.
What Are Some Methods For Accepting Credit Card Payments?
There are two ways available to help you accept credit card payments on your website: your own merchant account or a third party merchant.
Many new companies have a shoestring start-up budget. For this reason it is sometimes difficult to justify the expense of your own merchant account. For this reason, you can use a third party merchant. There are many companies who are willing to accept credit card payments on your behalf in exchange for certain fees or percentages. Pay Pal is probably the most well known third party merchant. Anyone with a Pay Pal account can use a credit card as a form of payment.
