You must take credit cards if you want your website to generate more sales. You could apply for a merchant account with your bank or another financial institution to handle credit cards. However, there are situations when using a credit card processor’s services may be more advantageous.
This is especially true when you start and have fewer resources. By doing this, you can handle credit card transactions without dealing with a merchant account’s exorbitant setup fees and regulations. The following are a few methods for accepting credit cards without a merchant account. I work with each of these vendors and have nothing but praise for them.
1. Clickbank
You might think about ClickBank.com if your goods can be downloaded, like electronic books or software. For a one-time fee of $49.95, you can process credit cards and online checks for $1 per transaction plus 7.5 percent of sales. You gain further exposure through a free listing on their website and the search functions on other websites, including CBMall.com. You also have your integrated affiliate program, which is a benefit. You choose the percentage of commission (ranging from 1 percent to 75 percent) you want to give your affiliates.
2. PayPal
There are no setup costs with PayPal.com. PayPal can be used to receive payments from friends, customers, internet sales, auctions, and other sources. You can accept money from anyone for just 2.9 percent of sales and $.30 each transaction (occasionally less). Additionally, you can pay someone else using a credit card or a checking account without giving them access to your personal credit information.
3. PaySystems
I suggested PaySystems.com (also known as MyPaySystems.com) previously. I wrote the following about them:
“PaySystems.com supports both tangible (shippable) and intangible (downloadable) products. You can accept online checks and all major credit cards for a one-time cost of $49.00. Just 3.95 percent of sales and $1 are charged in fees for each transaction. Alternatively, you can pay $5.5% of sales and $.35 for each transaction “a move.”
You get a shopping cart, integration with affiliate programs from third parties (like ClixGalore.com), fraud detection, support for many currencies, toll-free customer service, marketing tools, and more. Sadly, PaySystems.com has stopped offering “Internet Billing Accounts” to customers outside the US.
4. 2CheckOut
2CheckOut.com supports both tangible (physical products) and immaterial products (digital downloads). You can accept online checks and all major credit cards for a one-time cost of $49.00. Only $0.45 per transaction and 5.5 percent of sales are charged in fees. You get a shopping cart, fraud prevention, integration with affiliate programs from third parties, multi-currency transactions, free online assistance, and more.
By the way, 2CheckOut.com and ClickBank.com both adhere to the same sales tax regulation. Both businesses argue that they are the ones who buy your product from you and then resale it to the customer. They contend that you are exempt from paying sales taxes on such purchases.
