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Credit Card Processing Information
A shopping cart is a means to collect credit card information.. not a payment processor. In order to accept credit card payments you will need to set up either a 3rd Party Processor OR a Merchant Account to accept credit card payments if you do not already have one. This page is here to explain a bit about the differences between the two so you can decide which would fit your business needs.
3rd Party Processors
PROPAY
We recommend starting out with Propay to accept Credit Cards. If you are not an established business and do not have the need to sign up for a Merchant Account to accept credit cards at this time, we recommend taking a look at www.propay.com to process payments. They offer an online terminal to process any type of CC payment (including those from your website OR orders from a craft show for example) Yearly fee is $35.00.
The per transaction fee is around 3.5% + .35cents
A few common questions about Propay...
How do I get my money? - After you charge a card, it usually takes about 2-3 days for that money to settle in your ProPay Account. Once money settles, you can transfer it to any checking account in the United States. Transfers take approx 4 business days.
How do I charge a credit card? - After you sign up with ProPay and log in to your ProPay Account, you'll see the Submit My Customer's Credit Card area follow the step by step.
The benefits of Propay are: No monthly fees, Easy to use, Customer does not need a Propay account, just a Mastercard or Visa that they enter securely on your cart check out page.
There is much more information on the Propay.com website under the Customer Service link.
PAYPAL.COM
Depending on your business.. alot of your clients may already be familiar with using PayPal. In this case it is a GREAT way to accept credit cards from your website. We can create a payment gateway right from your cart to PayPal so payments are processed automatically.
The fees for PayPal are approx. 2.9% of sale + 30¢ per transaction
The benefits of PayPal are: No monthly fees, Easy to use, Customers have the option of creating a Paypal account during the check out process in your cart or just entering their credit card for processing, low fees, TOTALLY SECURE for you and your customers.. the merchant does not even have access to your credit card info during a transaction.
There is much more information on the www.PayPal.com website under the Customer Service link. You will need a Premiere or Business Account (not Personal) to accept credit cart payments. Paypal also now offers a virtual terminal for a $20.00 a month fee (this is optional and you can use it to process a phoned in credit card order for example)
Alot of our clients use BOTH Propay and PayPal on their checkouts.
Merchant Accounts
As a general rule you do not need a merchant account until your website sales are steady each month and are at least $500 in sales to cover the monthly fees involved in having a merchant account. This is usually needed for an already established business or one that has been online for a while.
Have you considered a Merchant Account so you can process Credit Card Payments?
Why use a Merchant Account to process Credit Cards?
- Lower Percentage per Transaction
(more profit for you!)
- Lower Per Transaction Fees
- Your business name recognized
by your customers on their CC statement
- An online terminal to process
phoned in or craft fair orders.
- Accepting Credit Cards is a sign to your customers
that you are a legitimate business and not a hobby site!
You can also process credit card orders through 3rd parties, such as Propay.com or PayPal.com BUT check out the reasons to get your own merchant account!
Please note: Most Merchant accounts have a minimum monthly fee to you of $20.00 to $30.00 and monthly charge minimums you must meet also so please check all fees and minimums thoroughly before signing up with any merchant account.
Our cart can use the www.LinkPoint.com gateway, the www.Verisign.com gateway or the www.Authorize.net gateway for real time cc processing. We suggest checking with your local bank or visiting any of these three sites online to check out Merchant Account sign up fees and options.
PLEASE NOTE - a one time set up fee to Gone Country Graphics of $25.00 does apply to merchant account gateway additions to your shopping cart set up.
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