Ready to do business on the Internet? Just as in the physical world, a merchant on the Internet needs to establish a merchant account with a financial institution in order to accept credit cards. Even if a merchant already has a merchant account, they may not have the type of account required for accepting transactions over the Internet.

One of the most confusing aspects of accepting credit cards online is finding a merchant service that will properly manage your account. Further complicating matters, there are several types of companies offering credit card solutions, and each company has unique pricing guidelines. It appears as if you are comparing apples to oranges when shopping for a merchant account.

Authorize.Net

One of the largest and leading supplier of credit card processing services is Authorize.Net. The Authorize.Net Payment Gateway is a secure Internet bridge between merchant businesses and the credit card and electronic check payment processing networks. They provide merchants with fast, reliable and secure passage for transaction data via a 256-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Internet Protocol (IP) connection, and manage the routing of payment information to the appropriate credit card processors.They charge lower percentages than 3rd party processors but have a monthly gateway fee.

3rd Party Processors

Another alternative is to use a 3rd Party Processor, which are companies that accept credit card orders on behalf of other online businesses. They check the cards, process them and send you a monthly payment for the amount you are owed. They make their profits by taking a percentage of your transactions. If you sell nothing, you pay nothing. One of the top rated 3rd Party Processors are PayPal. Click on the link below to start accepting credit cards through Paypal today.