Monday, October 22, 2012

The Most Affordable Methods for Accepting Credit Card Payments

If your online business accepts credit card payments, you likely understand that there are an incredible number of fees involved in doing so. You will be charged transaction fees, interchange fees and authorization fees, among others. Accepting a credit card payment for a $100 invoice can easily cost you between $2.00 and $5.00, depending on the third-party processor you choose to use. If you are fed up with the fees associated with the acceptance of credit cards, you have options. Here are five online alternatives to traditional merchant accounts:
 
1. PayPal.com
 
PayPal is a great alternative to merchant accounts, provided you are selling is relatively inexpensive. If the items that you sell or the services that you provide cost less than $1,000, PayPal can be your best friend. The fees for accepting payments via Paypalare low enough to make it worth using instead of a traditional merchant account. PayPal is also convenient for your customers who can pay online or in person using their PayPal MasterCard debit card. Payments that you receive can then be transferred into your business checking account for free.
 
2. E-Junkie.com
 
If you have a website and sell your goods or services online, E-Junkie can provide you with a virtual shopping cart, buy now buttons and can help with inventory management. Rather than acting as a third-party, E-Junkie allows users to pay for your goods and services in a variety of ways, including PayPal, Google Checkout, ClickBank and 2CheckOut, among others. Plan levels with E-Junkie vary from $5 per month to $265 per month, depending on how many items you offer for sale. Free checkouts and unlimited sales are provided with all plans.
 
3. Google Checkout
 
Google Checkout works in a similar way to PayPal in that customers can purchase your goods through a simplified online payment platform. Google Checkout touts itself as one of the best online payment options with no setup, gateway or monthly fees charged to your business. Google Checkout operates on a tiered system where fees per transaction are concerned. If you have less than $3,000 in monthly sales, for instance, you will be charged 2.9 percent, plus $0.30, per transaction. Once you reach over $100,000 in sales per month, your transaction fees will fall to 1.9 percent plus $0.30.
 
4. Yahoo Merchant Services
 
Yahoo Merchant Services allows virtual store owners to accept PayPal payments, checks, POs, CODs, money orders, credit and debit cards. Payments are sent through the FDMS payment gateway at no charge to the business owner. Like E-Junkie, Yahoo features include those that keep track of inventory, manage shopping carts and orders, and even provide site statistics at a glance.
 
5. Bill Me Later
 
Bill Me Later is a service of PayPal that allows consumers to pay bills in installments. There are a number of options for merchants when it comes to credit card processing and more customers are turning toward the service as an option. While there are different fee levels for business owners, those who benefit most are merchants who sell high-dollar items.
 
Relying on technology as a means of receiving payment can be nerve-wracking at first, but if you want to keep your business on track, you must look for ways in which you can cut costs whenever possible. Go here to find ways to keep your business on the right path. Instead of paying the high fees associated with traditional merchant accounts, look to the five options above for your credit card processing needs. At the end of the day, even saving one percent on every transaction can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per year.

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