What is a
merchant account?
A merchant account is way for businesses to accept credit
cards both online and offline. Merchant account processor
companies provide credit card authorization and charges
in real-time. The merchant accounts DTL SYSTEMS LTD works
with provide a programming interface that allows for direct
integration between our Shopping Carts and their processing
services.
Why accept credit cards
80% of the world buys products and services on credit.
over 87% of all Internet customers use credit cards
and businesses loose sales over 60% of the time if
they don't accept credit card payments!
Credit cards are ecommerce and trying to do
business without them is like swimming
against the tide. You need 2 things to
accept credit cards, first a small business
merchant account and second a way to
process these transactions. At brick
and mortar stores the processing takes
place when your card is swiped through
the card reader. At online stores the
processing is done when a shopper types
in their credit card information and
it is verified by a merchant account
processor. DTL's partnerships with many
different merchant account providers
allow you to both have a merchant account
and process credit cards. We provide
a variety of merchant account provider
companies so that your company can find
the solution that is right for your business.
How does it work?
With most merchant accounts, during checkout
the shopper will be asked which method
of payment they prefer to use, if they
select a form of credit card payment
they will be redirected to a secure
page within the store to enter their
credit card information. After the
shopper selects submit, the credit
card information will be sent to the
correct merchant account where it will
be verified and either accepted or
denied by the merchant account service
provider. If the transaction is denied
the shopper will be alerted immediately
so that they may correct and continue
or cancel the transaction. The advantage
of this system is that the user has
never left your store and yet their
transaction has been either accepted
or denied and the goods can be immediately
sent. The disadvantage is that a monthly
fee that must be paid to the merchant
account service provider for this service.
Paypal works slightly different from other payment
processors. During a paypal checkout
the shopper will be asked which method
of payment they prefer to use, if they
select a form of credit card payment
they will be redirected to the paypal
login and/or signup page. If the shopper
already has an account they will login
and complete the transaction. If the
shopper does not already have an account
they will be asked to enter a variety
of information about themselves before
the transaction can be completed. Then
the shopper will be redirected to your
store. The advantage of this system is
a lower startup cost. The disadvantage
of this system is that a shopper must
leave your site to complete the transaction
and some shoppers will not be willing
to register with Paypal just to pay your
store. In addition Paypal's discount
rate is higher than most other merchant
account provider companies (discount
rate is percentage of each sale which
is deducted to cover merchant account
service provider processing fees).
Types of
merchant accounts
Merchant accounts come in 2 varieties, card present and
card not present. By law ecommerce stores are required
to use card not present transactions because the shopper
is not standing in front of them with a credit card. By
their nature, card not present transactions are more risky
and therefore are charged a higher discount rate. For companies
which already have a credit card processing terminal we
recommend talking with your bank before entering card not
present transactions. Many banks have policies regarding
the number of percentage of card not present transactions
when the account was setup only to authorize card present
transactions.
Credit Card
Fraud
Internet credit card fraud has always been a problem. All
of our merchant account provider companies do their best
to catch fraud. We have a variety of mechanisms in place
to checking shipping address against the credit card billing
address and to check card verification codes with visa
and mastercard. We recommend you use these features to
their fullest in order to lessen your companies liability.
The benefits of accepting credit cards far outweigh the
negatives but you should be aware and vigilant to lessen
the impact on your business.
Make the
move Now...
There
are many companies out there that offer credit card processing.
DTL has chosen to partner with some of the largest and
most well respected in their fields and we are confident
you will find a processor that meets your companies needs.
If you would like to use a small business merchant account
not mentioned here please contact us, we might be able
to integrate their services for you.
If you have any questions regarding payment
solutions, whether local internet sale
(Naira) or international (GBP or USD),
please feel free to contact us, we are here to
help.
   
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