Is You Ecommerce Website Ready to Accept Payment?
A Home Business Article Contributed by Marsha Maung
Is You Ecommerce Website Ready to Accept Payment?
You've taken the first step: starting your own business and getting your ecommerce business running. The products and services that you offer is ready to go. But are you ready to accept payments from customers online? As an ecommerce business, you'll need to consider various online payment methods because your ecommerce business could potentially reach thousands of customers who do not live within your district or country.
Your ecommerce business can reach just about anyone anywhere with Internet connection. So, let's explore various online payment methods for your ecommerce store.
A Merchant Account for Your Ecommerce Store
So, let's start with one of the most common but more expensive methods. Registering for your own merchant account. Registering a merchant account for your ecommerce store means that you would have to apply directly to Visa or Mastercard or Diners card or Discovery. The credit card companies would then recognize your ecommerce business as a business that accepts online transactions through your ecommerce store.
Money transacted through our store would go directly into your bank account, resulting in a lower percentage of transaction fee. Wonderful for businesses planning to go big with the ecommerce structure. But rather expensive because the application fee can be hefty and application process can get lengthy. But for a large business, the savings can prove to make a big difference.
Merchant Solutions for Smaller Ecommerce Stores
If you're a smaller business just starting out on your ecommerce efforts through your website, then consider using alternative payment methods. We will outline it here for you one by one. They are more cost effective and could provide you reasonable and reliable means of accepting payments from your customers online easily and affordably.
Paypal.Com
Paypal.com is by far one of the largest and most well-known online payment methods for many merchants and buyers on the Internet. Paypal works like an online bank account. People send money into and out of the bank account to each other using email addresses. The email addresses are password protected and transactions from and to the account are controlled by the owner of the email address. So, how does it make online payment for your ecommerce work?
You can register for your business paypal.com account for free instantly with an email address. If your customers wishes to buy from you, they can make payments to you into the account. Money received into the account can be withdrawn into debit cards, credit cards, charge cards or US bank accounts. Paypal.com even have 'buy now' buttons for your ecommerce stores which means that you can configure the 'buy now' buttons so that your customers can buy stuff from your ecommerce store with just one click.
Paypal earns money through a percentage that they take from the amounts received to and from your ecommerce paypal account.
Ikobo the Ecommerce Friend
Ikobo is new in the market and many do not know and is unfamiliar with its services at this point in time - but ikobo is growing very rapidly. ikobo works like paypal. The difference is ikobo charges a lower transaction fee AND provides users (receivers) with an ikard that they can use to withdraw money from their bank accounts which is a wonderful tool for small ecommerce businesses! As an ikobo recipient of money, you don't even need to put your credit/debit card information online. ikobo issues you an ikard of your own that you can use to withdraw money from any ATM machines worldwide.
Indeed a wonderful tool for small ecommerce businesses anywhere! Of course, these are just some of the more popular methods. Explore the options like 2checkout.com and e-gold.com and others too. They all have various options and shopping cart options that enables your ecommerce business to sell online too.
