Ecommerce Credit Card Processing

Miva Merchant supports both manual and real-time ecommerce credit processing. Both require a merchant account, which is an account issued by a bank that allows a business to transfer funds from a customer credit card to a business checking account. Real-time ecommerce credit card processing also requires a payment gateway, which is software that works with the ecommerce software to utilize the internet merchant account.

Manual Credit Card Processing

If you already have and merchant account and terminal, you can use them to manually process your online orders. Miva Merchant provides a secure environment where you can print out your orders and customer credit card information and enter them in a store terminal. Sending credit card information by email is not secure.

This can save you some time and money by not having to get an internet merchant account. However, real-time ecommerce credit card processing has built in fraud and address verification that cannot be utilized by manual processing. Also because manual processing can be time consuming, it is recommended to use real-time processing if you process over 100 orders per month.

Real-Time Credit Card Processing

Real-time ecommerce credit card processing provides a seamless integration of the ecommerce software and your order processing. Online real-time processing requires a separate internet merchant account so a retail merchant account cannot be used. Internet transactions are seen as higher risk and are subject to a higher discount rate and transaction fee.

Internet merchant accounts can be acquired through traditional banking institutions but most out-source their internet merchant accounts to third-parties. Therefore, it is recommended to apply for an internet merchant account through a company that specializes in internet merchant accounts. Some internet merchant account providers include the payment gateway, where others allow you to choose your own. Fees can vary widely for both internet merchant accounts and payment gateways, so it is recommended to shop around before applying.

If you would like to utilize real-time credit card ecommerce credit card processing Matt Cotten & Associates can recommend a reliable and competitively priced merchant account provider. You can also choose a merchant account provider yourself, however not all payment gateways are compatible with Miva Merchant.

PayPal

PayPal is a payment service that can be an addition or an alternative to a merchant account. It was made popular by ebay as auctioneers needed an easy way to collect payments without having their own merchant account. PayPal works similar to a checking account where funds can be deposited and transferred. PayPal transactions have a discount rate and transaction fee similar to a merchant account. PayPal accounts are easy to setup and do not have any monthly fees however there are some disadvantages:

• To accept PayPal payments, the purchaser must also have a PayPal account. So if someone wants to make a purchase on your website and they do not already have a PayPal account, they must sign up for one.

• Transactions using PayPal appear as PayPal on the customer's credit card statement with an abbreviation of your account name. So unlike a traditional merchant account your full company name will not appear on your customers' credit card statement. This can lead to customer confusion.

• PayPal is not a traditional banking institution so they are not subject to the rules and regulations of merchant account providers. This means you are basically subject to PayPal's own business practices. Accounts can be frozen with little notice if any suspicious activity is suspected and customer service is completely automated with no live phone support.

• Accepting PayPal as the only payment method is an easy identifier that you are a new or small business. If you want to have the impression of a serious online merchant you will need your own merchant account.

Security

Online credit card processing requires the information from an ecommerce website to be sent in an encrypted format. This allows the sensitive data be sent securely and prevents it from being intercepted and read by outside parties. This requires a secure certificate. Secure certificates are purchased in terms of a year or more. We recommend GeoTrust secure certificates because they are reasonably priced and have a fairly short application and verification process.

If you need assistance in selecting the right ecommerce credit card processing solution contact us and we can help. For examples of our ecommerce website design projects please visit our Website Design Portfolio.