This post is all about taking online payments from customers.

This is an area which can cause a lot of confusion, so I hope to simply things a bit.

There are two different starting points:

1. You currently can process credit card transactions - you have a “merchant account” and a PDQ machine.
2. You havent got a “merchant account” (and cant, or dont want to endure the delay of getting one)

If you have a merchant account you can either:

1. Use it with a standalone ”payment service provider” or PSP,or
2. Ask your bank or whoever your merchant account is with, if they provide PSP software. One advantage of using a standalone service is that if you ever move banks, it makes life easier.Examples of PSP’s are Protx and SecPay

If you havent got a merchant account, you need a “bureau service” which will provide you with a merchant account and PSP functionality.
You choices (in the UK) are:

• NetBanx Bureau
• Worldpay WorldDirect
• Paypal (and Paypal Pro)
• Chronopay
• NoChex
• Metacharge

How do you choose which one to use?

Here’s a checklist:

• Will it integrate with the software on your website (easily)..check with your website supplier/designer?
• Do you want to be able to send email payment requests?
• Do you also want to be able to take payments over the phone - some do and some dont?
• Do you want to be able to set up recurring payments?
• Cost. Check this free online tool to see which will suit your turnover and transaction value

Other points.

Paypal is very competitively priced, but some people are reluctant to use it because:

• It used to insist that customers become a member. Thats no longer the case, but some customers may not buy at your store because they think its still that way
• It’s closely associated with ebay and often perceived as only being a tool for ebay buyers and sellers
• Although it does allow non-members to make payment by credit card, it still tries to persuade buyers to sign up for an account by making the “pay by credit card” options less prominent. That may put some people off.

Make your own mind up!

Heres a useful glossary of terms: http://www.tecknapay.com/tecknapay-worldpay-how-it-works.htm

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