Third Party Online Credit Card Processing allows you to accept major credit cards on your website without a traditional merchant account, and without most of the monthly fees usually associated witha merchant account. Low cost third party processors offer online storefront software and integrated shopping cart as part of the service plan.
If you are going to do business online, you MUST be able to accept credit card payments. Traditionally, it has been very difficult and expensive for individuals and startups to get a merchant account set up, due to high monthly fees and lengthy contract requirements. You wind up paying $$ whether you sell anything or not.Now there are "third-party" online payment processors who can allow you to accept major credit cards online without spending thousands of dollars up front on software and terminal equipment, and without committing to lengthy service contracts usually required by banks.
Third-Party payment processors usually charge only a small one-time setup fee plus a small per-transaction fee. This way you only pay for the service when a sale is made, and don't get stuck with a monthly bill even when you have little or no sales activity.
Those featured below are the industry leaders in third-party processing. Some also offer package deals which include hosting for your site, "online storefront" builder software, integration with popular shopping cart software, and other helpful features.
2CHECKOUT SYSTEMS
Accept Major Credit Card Payments Online: 2Checkout Systems, the leading online third party credit card processor, offers the perfect solution for existing websites that only need a shopping cart and credit card processing.
Inexpensive one-time setup fee of $49, after that you only pay a percentage on each sale. There are no recurring monthly gateway fees, statement fees, etc. If you sell nothing in a given month, you pay nothing for that month.
2checkout also supports recurring billing for automatic scheduled payments.
PROS: No monthly fees; if your sales volume is low you don't get stuck with a bill.
CONS: ?
BOTTOM LINE: A great system and a good deal for those with existing websites who need to accept credit cards online.
GO-E-MERCHANT
Go E-Merchant, offers a complete e-commerce package deal which includes hosting, automatic online store building software, shopping cart, credit card processing, accept checks online (optional)
The online store builder is very easy to use. No programming skills are necessary; just type in your product info (name, stock #, price, etc.), upload photos if needed, and the online store builds by itself. The result is a very slick, attractive, and professional-looking online store.
PROS: The store builder is fabulous. The Cyber-Circular is a great sales tool.
CONS: Requires service contract.
BOTTOM LINE: Our highest recommendation. You get a lot for your money.
Paypal offers an easy-to-use shopping cart that can be easily integrated into existing websites. Some knowledge of HTML is required to do this.
There are no setup fees or monthly fees: you only pay a small per-transaction fee plus a small percentage of the sale.
PROS: Low cost (free); you can accept credit card payments online without any up-front investment.
CONS: Some customers may not want to spend 5 to 10 minutes for signup
BOTTOM LINE: Paypal is a very good service but you will lose some potential customers as everybody knows that PayPal is a "free" service and that may give them an "unproffessional" impression of your business. However, we recommend it highly if you do not expect enough sales volume to justify using a paid service.
COMPLETE E-COMMERCE
PACKAGE Includes online storefront, integrated shopping cart with online payment processing for major credit cards. No software or programming skills needed; just type in your product info and the storefront automatically builds itself! Start selling your Products online today!