Merchant Account Providers
Merchant Account is an account a merchant has with a bank in order to accept credit card orders from customers. Here is some popular merchant account service providers, with more coming soon.
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Description |
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Charge Cardservice offers merchant accounts for internet, retail, wireless, mail order, and telephone credit card transactions. |
| Format |
Set Up Fee |
Cost |
| Terminal / Web-based |
$195-495 |
$10/month+1.65%/2.35%+$0.25/transaction |
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Description |
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Total Merchant Services offer merchant accounts for internet, retail, restaurant, hotel, wireless, mail order, telephone, and fax credit card transactions. |
| Format |
Set Up Fee |
Cost |
| Terminal / Web-based |
$299-399 |
$10/month+1.65%/2.29%+$0.25/0.30/transaction |
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Credit Card Processing Resources
Credit card processing lets you accept credit cards online, without a merchant account, for goods and services sold at your web site. Here are some popular credit card processing services, with more coming soon.
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Description |
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PayPal lets you accept credit card payments on your web site or online auction, and send payments to anyone with an email address, including affiliate program members. |
| Format |
Set Up Fee |
Cost |
| Web-based application |
Free |
0.7%-2.9%+$0.30/transaction |
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Description |
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Clickbank offers a credit card processing system, without the need for a merchant account, and an affiliate marketing system for digital products and services that are delivered entirely over the internet. |
| Format |
Set Up Fee |
Cost |
| Web-based application |
$49.95 |
7.5%+$1/transaction |
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Description |
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FlashPal Generator, by Armand Morin, is a software program that generates hacker-proof, Flash PayPal order buttons that encode PayPal download links and source inside a Flash file to protect digital products from online theft. |
| Format |
Free Trial |
Cost |
| Downloadable software |
N/A |
$67 |
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ClickBank.com
| Overview: |
ClickBank.com offers a credit card processing system, without the need for a merchant account, and an affiliate marketing system for digital products and services that are delivered entirely over the internet. |
| Last Update: |
Thursday, September 02, 2004. |
| Screenshot: |
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| Features: |
Credit card processing system, without the need for a merchant account.
Built-in affiliate marketing system.
Remotely hosted.
Accepts merchants worldwide.
Sell from multiple web sites with one account.
Up to 50 sales/product links per account.
Accept online checks and all major credit and debit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Eurocard, Bravo, Visa Debit, Mastercard Debit, and Novus.
Real-time sales reporting for you and your affiliates.
You can recruit new affiliates from their network of 100,000 affiliates.
You can promote 10,000 digital product and services offered by other ClickBank merchants.
Automatically sends you and your affiliates a paycheck twice a month.
Live phone and email support. |
| Benefits: |
Enables virtually anyone, anywhere in the world, to sell digital products and services.
No need for a merchant account to accept credit cards at your web site.
Easy set-up - no software or script installation required.
No need to set up an affiliate management system.
Easily recruit affiliates from their huge network of 100,000 affiliates.
Instant product line.
All customer payment and affiliate check processing is handled by ClickBank.
Low one-time set-up fee of $49.95 and no monthly fee.
Competitive payment processing fee of $1 + 7.5% per sale. |
| Review: |
ClickBank is the very best credit card processing and affiliate marketing system around.
They basically allow just about anyone to sell products and services over the internet. You don't need a merchant account to accept credit cards online.
ClickBank offer a built-in affiliate marketing system whereby you can recruit new affiliates from their network of 100,000 affiliates.
They also allow you to add up to 10,000 digital products and services offered by other ClickBank merchants to your product line.
Add it all up and you can see why ClickBank is so unique. If you're looking to sell digital product, and don't want to go through all the hassles of getting a merchant account, I highly recommend using ClickBank. |
| Accolades: |
"I just broke $10,000 in sales for the the first half of [this month]. I really appreciate everything you and your staff do there. You make it very easy to succeed in web commerce." - Wayne Yeager, Trafficology.
"The small percentage ClickBank charges is definitely worth all the trouble they must go through with phone calls, emails, etc. ClickBank handles all those headaches for me and I never see it anymore -- Thank goodness!" - Diane Hughes, ProBizTips.
"This has, by far, been the most successful advertising that we have ever done. It proved to me that the affiliates and merchants of ClickBank are certainly looking for new and exciting profits." - Armand Morin, Ebook Generator. |
| Format: |
Web-based application. |
| Require: |
Web site and internet connection. |
| Size: |
100,000 affiliates and 10,000 digital products and services. |
| Costs: |
One-time $49.95 activation fee.
No monthly fees.
$1 + 7.5% per sale. |
| Visit the ClickBank.com web site |
Alternatives to Accepting Credit Cards Online
By AllBusiness.com
Although accepting credit cards can greatly improve your business, there are many other ways to accept payments online. If you have had trouble finding the right merchant account, or you just prefer not to deal with credit cards, there are viable alternatives that will allow you to continue to sell online without accepting credit cards.
One of the main benefits of credit cards, for both buyer and seller, is that the transaction is instantaneous. Your customers do not need to complete any additional steps to finalize their purchases, and they can make spur-of-the-moment decisions. Keep this in mind when you look at alternatives to credit cards.
Electronic checks or funds transfers allow customers to purchase their items immediately. All your customers need to do is enter in some basic information about their checking account, such as the check number, their bank account number, and their bank's routing number. This transaction is then handled much like a credit card transaction. The customer's bank is notified electronically that a payment needs to be sent, and the money is electronically deposited into your bank account.
There are many different transaction processors that will let you integrate e-check and EFT capability directly into your e-commerce shopping cart. Some companies will even allow you to accept these orders by phone and fax as well.
COD, the old mail-order standby, is another alternative. Customers place their order with you and then pay the delivery company for the item when it arrives. The delivery company then remits the payment to you (less a processing fee).
CODs can be risky, however. The delivery company is only the bearer of the payment, and accepts no responsibility for it. If the check bounces, you don't get paid. The COD fee and the lag time in getting paid are two more distinct disadvantages.
Western Union offers a novel service: they allow your customers to pay for their purchases with a credit card, but Western Union then mails you a money order for the amount of the purchase. This saves the customer the trouble of purchasing and sending a money order, and lets you get around actually processing the credit card transaction.
PayPal also offers e-check and transfer options for businesses without merchant accounts. Your customers can pay by check, credit card, or from their PayPal balance. Once the payment is in your PayPal account, you can disburse it however you choose to.
Of course, just accepting credit cards would make your life as an e-business owner much easier. But if you are dead-set against credit cards, there are ways around it. But it will mean more work -- and possibly a smaller piece of the pie.
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