"5 WAYS TO MAKE IT EASY
FOR ONLINE BUYERS
TO GIVE YOU THEIR MONEY"
It still amazes me how many bright online business owners will spend
countless hours working on their web sites and developing their offer
only to neglect one of the key elements of closing the sale...
Making it EASY for customers to buy.
The most popular online payment method, by far, is paying by credit card
and that's why, in this article, I am going to show you how you can quickly
get set up to automatically accept credit card purchases right on your
web site.
In addition, in response to the many questions I have received from readers
wanting to know about additional payment options, you will be learning
about the benefits of accepting:
- Online Checks
- Debit Cards
- Digital Cash
- Person-to-Person E-mail Payments
As you read this information, think of choosing those payment options
that will be just the right "fit" for your online business.
Offering one or more of these "extra" choices (in addition
to accepting payment by credit card) could become your SECRET WEAPON,
a competitive service advantage that you offer and your competitors don't.
Neglect these potential buyers, the ones who never pay by credit card
online, and it's the same as taking a 10% cut in pay!
So let's begin by looking at...
PAYMENT OPTION #1
ACCEPTING CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS
Since 90% of all Internet payments are made by credit card, your first
priority should be to get set up with this payment option as quickly as
possible. We've seen businesses increase their sales by as much as 400%
simply by giving their buyers this convenient way to pay.
Let's face it; the entire mentality of the Internet is "instant"
access to information, products, and services.
If your potential buyers have to stop surfing and free up their phone
lines, call in their orders or, even more time-consuming, hunt around
for their checkbooks, envelopes, and stamps... your order process will
discourage all but the most hardy shoppers.
For you, the merchant, accepting credit card payments:
- BUILDS CREDIBILITY in the minds of potential buyers since you look
like a "real" business, - Makes it easy for buyers to MAKE IMPULSE
PURCHASES,
- And provides you with a FULLY-AUTOMATED PAYMENT COLLECTION and tracking
system, which means no more trips to the bank, no more bounced checks
to deal with, and no more hours spent manually processing orders and paperwork.
The first step to being able to accept credit cards on your web site
is to become an authorized CREDIT CARD MERCHANT.
You can apply by contacting a MERCHANT ACCOUNT PROVIDER (also known as
an Independent Service Organization), which provides the hardware and
software you need to accept credit card payments right on your web site.
Merchant Account Providers fall into three main categories:
1) DIRECT PROCESSORS
Direct processors, such as banks, offer direct access to the credit card
processing centers. The completed order form is sent from your site through
a "PAYMENT GATEWAY," which is a secure server that takes the
credit card information and passes it along to the bank.
Banks are generally cautious about granting CREDIT CARD MERCHANT status
to any business that does not have the large majority of transaction slips
personally signed by the cardholders.
That's why many banks will charge a hefty deposit of several thousand
dollars in addition to a minimum monthly fee, whether you have any sales
that month or not.
2) BROKERS
A broker acts as an intermediary between you and the direct processors.
I recommend using a broker to match your needs and situation to the right
supplier.
I have found one who has a 98% APPROVAL RATE for online businesses, even
for applicants who have been bankrupt or reside outside the United States
and wish to get US merchant accounts. You should be able to get a discount
rate between 2% - 3%.
QUICK NOTE: The discount rate is the amount of each sale that you will
be charged by the supplier for providing a payment service. For example,
if you were to be charged a 5% discount rate, and your product sold for
$100, the merchant account provider would receive $5 of every sale you
made and you would keep $95.
If you would like to learn more about the broker I use, you can visit
http://www.marketingtips.com/creditcards and fill out a special form I've
set up to make sure my subscribers get the best rates.
3) THIRD PARTY PROCESSORS
Third party processors send the credit card payments through from your
web site's order page to a direct processor. They often provide "extra"
services (such as the ones listed below) beyond those offered by direct
processors and can be divided into two categories:
a) FULFILLMENT HOUSES
A fulfillment house will take orders for your products through their
1-800 number, provide a "live" operator for your buyers, package
your goods, and then ship them... all while providing you with a complete
online record of the transactions.
Many netrepreneurs start out doing all of the work themselves and then,
once their business is thriving and reaches a point where their time is
better spent focusing on the promotions rather than the chores, the order
processing is offloaded to a fulfillment house. Fulfillment houses typically
charge around a 5% discount rate.
b) SERVICE PROVIDERS
When you sign up with a service provider, the payments your buyers make
are actually being processed through the service provider's credit card
merchant account. In other words, you do not have to qualify for credit
card merchant status on your own since the service bureau is the legal
retail seller and you, the merchant, are their "agent."
These services are popular with small online businesses, especially those
just starting out. Yes, the transaction fees are usually higher than dealing
with a direct processor, but there is frequently no minimum monthly service
charge and no hefty deposit requirement so YOU ARE ONLY CHARGED ON THOSE
SALES YOU MAKE.
Since these services offer different packages, they may or may not include:
- A fraud control service - Online sales and transaction reporting -
Shopping cart functionality Service providers such as iBill can get you
set up to accept not just CREDIT CARD payments, but also ONLINE CHECKS
and PAYMENTS BY PHONE (http://www.marketingtips.com/ibill).
Choosing whether to go with a direct processor or a third party processor
primarily depends on your monthly sales volume. Since rates and services
are constantly changing, it will be a wise investment of your time to
compare current discount rates, monthly charges, and other fees.
As a very general guideline, if your monthly sales are under $750 to
$1,000, and you don't want to pay for a merchant account, then a third
party processor will probably best suit your needs.
Once you've reached $750 - $1,000 a month in sales, you may want to look
at switching to a direct processor that offers a lower discount rate,
reduced processing costs, and shorter payment delays.
ONE FINAL CAUTIONARY NOTE: Before you sign any long-term lease, I suggest
you wait until the profits from your business are in your hands and you
can accurately forecast future earnings.
PAYMENT OPTION #2
ACCEPTING CHECKS ONLINE
It's interesting to note that "traditional" checks are used
for 11% of all online purchases. Since these online shoppers are willing
to go through the hassle of mailing checks, offering them an option of
paying by online check through your web site should be an instant profit
booster for you, provided you...
Have a special section on your site explaining how online check payments
work and that buyers' personal information is secure.
ONLINE CHECKS (also called e-checks) are virtual checks that allow consumers
to pay by check through the Internet. The buyer fills out a form (that
looks like a check on the screen) with his or her banking information,
date, and amount, and then clicks the "send" button.
That information will then either go to your computer or to a transaction
service, depending on which of the following two ways you choose to accept
check payments:
a) THE "PRINT & PAY" METHOD
This method is called "Print & Pay" because you need to
buy software that allows you to print the checks, such as that offered
by CheckMan (http://www.checkman.com), and deposit the checks at your
bank to receive your "pay."
The checks are processed just like regular checks, so you have to wait
until each check clears to be sure that it is good for funds, etc.
This method is LESS EXPENSIVE but more labor-intensive and time-consuming
than...
b) A TRANSACTION SERVICE
Using a transaction service is similar to using the "print &
pay" method for the buyer in that they enter all of their check information
on an online form. That information is encrypted and transmitted directly
to a clearing house and generally settled within 48 hours.
The funds are then withdrawn from the purchaser's account and deposited
into the merchant's account with a receipt e-mailed to the buyer and an
online report available for the merchant.
Using a transaction service is faster than the "print & pay"
method since they confirm that all the required information is input online
by the customer right at the time of purchase and, for a fee, will guarantee
that the check is good for funds.
Most services such as XpressChexOnline:
http://www.xpresschex.com/XpressCheXonline.htm
... deal with US checks only and there is a set-up fee and a per-check
charge.
Both the "print & pay" method and transaction services
allow you to ACCEPT PAYMENTS ONLINE, by PHONE, or by FAX, since you can
take the buyer's checking information and manually input it yourself.
QUICK NOTE: Before you decide to go the "print & pay" route,
make sure your bank will accept these checks and find out if you need
to purchase any special paper for printing the checks on.
PAYMENT OPTION #3
ACCEPTING DEBIT CARDS
When a payment is made through a DEBIT CARD, the funds are immediately
withdrawn from the purchaser's bank account. The advantage to you, the
merchant, is that you know the buyer has the funds to make the purchase
and that it will not be charged back to you (like a check with insufficient
funds).
The advantage to consumers is that purchases are paid for right away,
so there is no "credit card shock" when the statement arrives
in the mail.
Contact your merchant account provider and ask them if you are able to
accept debit card payments as part of their service.
While debit cards are still not widely used by online shoppers, who prefer
to protect themselves with the $50 liability limit offered by most credit
cards, this payment method IS gaining popularity, so it's worth at least
being aware of.
PAYMENT OPTION #4
e-WALLETS (DIGITAL WALLETS)
Right now, there is disagreement on what exactly an "e-Wallet"
is. Many companies are calling their products e-Wallets, yet since there
is no standard, their interpretations vary widely.
However, with that said, e-Wallets can be placed into two broad categories
based on their capabilities:
a) e-WALLETS THAT STORE CARD NUMBERS
The easiest way to think of an e-Wallet is as a virtual wallet that can
store credit card and debit card information, passwords, membership cards,
health information, and all the numbers of cards that currently get stuffed
into your real wallet.
Some e-Wallets make it easier for consumers to buy from you since credit
card numbers, for example, can be copied from the e-Wallet and pasted
into the online order form.
To see an example of this kind of e-Wallet, check out Ilium's software
at: http://www.iliumsoft.com/wallet.htm
To accept payments from this type of digital wallet you do not need to
add any additional software or change your order form.
Other e-Wallets, such as Microsoft's Passport, automatically fill out
order forms with the consumer's credit card and contact information, saving
buyers time and hassle.
As a merchant, you can visit Microsoft's web site and download a version
of their Passport software so that you can accept payments from their
subscribers at:
http://www.microsoft.com/myservices/passport/default.asp
b) e-WALLETS THAT STORE CARD NUMBERS AND CASH
The second concept of a digital wallet has been around for several years
but has not really taken off with either merchants or consumers. In this
version, consumers store digital cash, which has been transferred from
a credit card, debit card, or virtual check inside their e-Wallets.
Digital cash is like having a virtual savings account where charges are
made for ongoing purchases, particularly micropayments -- small payments
from a penny to ten dollars that can be used to pay for access to digital
information such as newspaper articles or software.
e-Wallets that store digital cash require both the merchant and consumer
to download and use the same software. As a result, acceptance has been
poor, so there is no need for you to be concerned about accepting digital
cash at this time. I just wanted you to be aware of it since it could
become more widely accepted in the future.
PAYMENT OPTION #5
PERSON-TO-PERSON E-MAIL PAYMENTS
Person-to-person (P2P) e-mail payments allow individuals to use their
credit cards or bank accounts to pay through e-mail. This process is similar
to sending a greeting card over the `Net.
For example, when you send a greeting card, you select a card, add a
personal message, and then e-mail the link to the recipient to let them
know where the card can be viewed.
You don't actually send the card via e-mail. Likewise, with P2P, you
don't send the payment through e-mail; rather you send the link where
the recipient can redirect the funds to his or her bank account or credit
card.
To transfer money by e-mail, the sender:
1) Logs onto his or her financial institution's online account;
2) Clicks the e-mail payment feature;
3) Inserts the recipient's name, e-mail address, the amount, and the
credit card number or account where the funds are to be taken from;
and
4) Has the option of adding a personal note for the recipient.
The recipient then:
1) Receives notification that the funds have been sent;
2) Is given a hyperlink to accept the funds and then;
3) Chooses where the funds will be deposited (i.e. their bank account,
their credit card, etc.). Here's the big advantage of P2P...
NEITHER PARTY HAS TO REVEAL THEIR ACCOUNT INFORMATION TO THE OTHER PARTY,
nor is any money actually transferred through e-mail.
If you sell a service where your clients may WISH TO MAINTAIN THEIR PRIVACY
(such as for investment counseling), or if you sell a service where the
client pays after the work has been completed (such as freelance web design),
then this payment method might be especially attractive to your clients
since it's less expensive than wiring funds bank-to-bank.
Person-to-person e-mail payments are offered through Yahoo! (http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/paydirect/faq/faq-21.html),
the US Postal Service, and Citibank. For Canadian readers, this service
is available through CertaPay (http://www.certapay.com/en/personalPayments/index.cfm).
MasterCard offers P2P payments using a digital wallet to make payments
from a MasterCard credit or debit account to any person in the world,
in their local currency, directly into their bank account or as a check
mailed to that person.
To learn more visit: http://www.mastercardintl.com/spa/demo/details.html
FINAL THOUGHTS:
With 90% of all online purchases made with credit cards, you literally
cannot afford NOT to add this payment option to your web site.
If you have been hesitating to accept credit card payments online, the
good news is that as soon as you give your customers this option, you
should see a NOTICEABLE JUMP IN SALES.
However, that still leaves over 12 million U.S. households that do not
have a credit card and the many other potential buyers (approximately
10% of online purchasers) who would prefer an alternative payment method.
Making it easy for your potential customers to do business with you is
an essential ingredient of your online success.
You don't need to offer ALL of the payment options mentioned in this
article, but it's a good idea to match the payment choices you offer to
your type of online business and customers.
You will close more online sales and gain a real advantage over your
competitors by offering your buyers easy, simple, secure options for giving
you their money!
==========================================
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Corey Rudl is the owner of four highly successful online
businesses that attract more than 1.8 million visitors monthly and generate
over $6.6 million each year. He is also the author of the #1 best-selling
Internet Marketing course online.
To check out his site that's JAM-PACKED WITH THE EXACT INFORMATION YOU
NEED to start, build, and grow your very own profitable Internet business,
I highly recommend visiting http://www.marketingtips.com/tipsltr.html
This guy really knows what he's talking about!
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Copyright 1996-2002 by The Internet Marketing Center. All rights reserved.
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