Posts Tagged ‘Merchant’
Merchant Accounts to Sell Ebooks
Posted by admin in Merchant Accounts Saturday, 4 September 2010 06:19 No Comments
Selling digital products like ebooks are all the rage these days due to the duel factors that consumers are snapping them up like wildfire and that you as the merchant are able to make almost 100% profit on the deal.
Whereas a $20 product such as a physical book sold in a store may only make the author a dollar or even less in profit, selling the same prodyct online in a digital format will give you $18 or more of profit. It’s pretty simple math why so many people are choosing to market their ebooks online, isn’t it?!
The question of course from aspiring ebook authors is how to accept credit cards on their website so they can process orders smoothly and then allow their customers to effortlessly download the book they have just purchased.
In this artiel then we’re going to look at 3 popular merchant account providers used by ebook sellers so we can compare the various options and so, I hope, enable you to make an informed decision about the best provider for you.
Clickbank
Clickbank is currently the most popular processor used by ebook publishers. This is for a number of reasons though us helped by the fact that Clickbank focuses purely on sellers of digital products so understands the market and the needs of ebook sellers well.
One of the most popular features of Clickbank is that they run your affiliate program for you. Clickbank’s software records who sends each sale to you, then credits the respective affiliate with their commission, depositing the remainder into your account. Every two weeks, so long as you reach Clickbank’s payment threshold, Clickbank sends everyone out a check for the balance of their account without you having to lift a finger. This is incredibly powerful and helps you to recruit an army of affiliates to promote your ebook for you in exhcange for a commission.
Finally, Clickbank also has a massive marketplace where you can list your ebook for sale thus increasing the number of potential affiliates and direct customers who visit your site.
Paypal
Paypal is another popular option with ebook sellers. Unfortunately in contrast to Clickbank, Paypal won’t run your affiliate program for you, though this can be got around using a variety of third-party software designed specially for the task.
However Paypal does have two benefits over Clickbank that are enough for some people to use them instead.
Firstly the transaction fees that Paypal charges you to accept credit cards are considerably lower meaning more profit for you.
Seciondly, whilst Clickbank pays you your earnings every two weeks, you can request payment from Paypal straight into your bank account at any time allowing you to access your money faster.
Your Own Merchant Account
The final option I’d like to investigate here is that of having your own merchant account.
Arguably the least popular of the 3 options for ebook sellers there are a few things you need to be aware of.
Paypal and Clickbank are both third party processors which means essentially that you’re using someone else’s merchant account. The result of this is that you hve less control over your business. As an example, stories are rife on the Internet about Paypal “locking” people’s accounts for no obvious reason meaning that they are then unable to access the funds that are legitimately theirs. To me, if someone prevented me from accessing hundreds, even thousands of dollars that are rightfully mine, I’d be pretty angry.
As well as giving your business more control, your own proper merchant account may well work out more cost effective over the long term. They may charge a small monthly fee, but the per-transaction fees can be so much cheaper that you can actually make a considerable saving in lot of cases.
In the end, the decision really is yours. Clickbank for simplicity, Paypal for speed of payment or your own merchant account for flexibility and cost effectiveness.
The most visited site for free merchant account advice is http://www.MerchantAccountForum.com and they have also produced a free ebook marketing guide available at http://www.EbookSalesAssistant.com
Setting Up a Merchant Account
Posted by admin in Merchant Accounts Friday, 3 September 2010 06:19 No Comments
Simply explained, a merchant account is the way to accept credit cards as a form of payment for products and/or services on your website, online store (like Ebay), or brick and mortar retail establishment. That’s it; so any stressing over the need for credit card services for your ecommerce or other business has just come to a screeching halt. Long gone are the days of major corporations and retailers being the only ones who could set up such accounts, so there are no excuses. All you and your business require now is a gateway to get you set up with the right type of service for your needs.
If you’re setting up a website that will benefit from credit card processing, you might need a shopping cart if your website offers such products and services. Most companies who offer merchant accounts don’t have the necessary software to place a shopping cart on your site, but the better services will set you in the right direction by having links to websites with such the necessary products to get you up and running. Other than that, you’ll just need to know a few things about a merchant account.
First, just about every merchant account service grants you the ability to accept both Visa and MasterCard, with the option to take Discover and/or American Express. All monies accepted will be deposited into your personal or business checking or savings account, usually by days end. Fees do apply to all services including a low percentage rate and nominal fee per credit card accepted by your business. Discover and American Express fees are higher than Visa and MasterCard.
If you’re an online retailer as well as a brick and mortar one, you’ll need a different type of account for each. Ecommerce accounts are used for Internet website processing and Card Swipe for the physical store. The primary difference lies in the 3 or 4 digit code on the card that is needed when the physical card isn’t present to check the signature. This security feature is for the benefit of your customers as well as the protection of you and your business.
After choosing the right service for you and your business, you’ll need to submit an online application. When received, your service will send you a Cardholder Electronic Data Storage compliance form that you will need to initial/sign before faxing or sending in and a page with your schedule of fees, Merchant ID Number and the directions for proceeding. You will also need to send in a voided check or deposit slip to the account you wish to have your funds deposited into. If you process transactions before your service receives your voided check/deposit slip, any accumulated funds will be held until the necessary paperwork has been received.
John Tillman recommends that you visit http://www.gatewayonly.com/ for more information on Merchant Account.
High Risk Merchant Account Tips on Ip Detection
Posted by admin in Merchant Accounts Thursday, 2 September 2010 06:20 No Comments
Any high risk merchant should be aware, if not become thoroughly an expert, of all the technical aspects of credit card transactions. Let’s face it, doing business online is taking risk a hundred times more dangerous than doing business the brick and mortar fashion. Smart merchants would never plunge headlong into online ventures without a good, working knowledge of the loopholes of the billing process via credit cards.
High risk merchant account providers employ various tactics to mitigate the frequency of chargebacks such as restriction on the use of anonymous e-mail addresses, credit card validation, IP address detection, and proxy server identification.
Anonymous E-mail Addresses
They would make sure email address, phone number, zip code, credit card, mailing /shipping address and other forms of identification are valid. It’s rather commonplace to hear that if you were dealing with credit cards, it would be unwise to accept credit card owners that provide anonymous or free e-mail addresses such as @yahoo.com, @hotmail.com, or @gmail.com.
Credit Card Validation and Other Issues
All low risk and high risk merchants are required to integrate a credit card validation system with the customer’s issuing bank.
To make it even foolproof, merchants would double check for phone number and zip code authenticity, as well as compatibility with the customer’s billing address and issuing bank’s country. Some would even make sure they are not doing transactions with customers that originate from high risk countries.
How IP Address Detection Works
Merchants, however, will find even better benefit in taking advantage of detecting the IP addresses of their customers. Security is a tall order when it comes to buying and selling online.
As a matter of fact, legitimate buyers would most welcome security measures such as IP geolocation from high risk merchant account providers to protect them from credit card fraud. Scammers would hide behind anonymous e-mail addresses and proxy servers. The most that high risk merchants can do is to filter suspicious IP addresses. The process goes as following:
1. Merchants detect IP address using geolocation technology and IP validation technology. It may be categorized by country, zip code, area code or billing address.
2. The geolocation/IP validation technology identifies where the user is located spot-on and compares where the person making order is located and his actual billing address.
3. Merchants analyze, double check transactions, and filter legitimate and illegitimate transactions. They may also block transactions considered as possible frauds, or transactions originating from fraud-prone high risk countries.
Proxy Server Identification
IP address detection also goes hand in hand with proxy server identification. Merchants may find difficulty in detecting IP addresses if customers hide behind anonymous proxy servers.
What is a Proxy Server?
A proxy server facilitates network performance by making use of a caching system. The cache is a temporary storage for data that have been viewed recently (like a brain’s short term memory). The purpose is to prevent data such as web pages and images from being downloaded repeatedly, thus saving time on accessing them online. Another is to help network administrators filter sites that they deem other users of the network must not access.
Detecting IP addresses and proxy servers can be tricky. A strong support from a high risk merchant account providers that employs strong IP and proxy server detection technology will help your e-commerce store counteract frauds. This is because anonymous proxy servers cannot be detected consistently. With the help of a reliable IP and proxy server detection technology, a merchant will have less time for worries and more time for finding more solutions to increase profit for his business.
Gerri Bryce is a versatile technical writer specializing in general web content copywriting and consultancy for finance and
high risk merchant account providers. She has contributed a massive number of articles for today’s most popular technology, gadget, gaming, business, finance, and science news websites. She participates in a number of top webmaster, finance and merchant account forums. Currently, Ms. Bryce lives in Marin County, California. She keeps herself abreast with Web 2.0 and cutting edge Internet trends by attending business workshops, online meet-ups, and conferences for merchant account professionals. She also travels extensively throughout the United States and Asia. e-mail:
gerri.bryce@gmail.com
Internet Merchant Accounts – Accept Credit Payments Online
Posted by admin in Merchant Accounts Wednesday, 1 September 2010 06:21 No Comments
If you have ever tried surfing Google, using the phrase “Internet merchant accounts” you must have been astounded by the results. Over four hundred thousand merchant service providers vying for your account, is likely to leave anyone dumbfounded. Some of these service providers provide services for all businesses irrespective of their domain of specialization. Whether you own a retail store, take order through phone or have a website based business, they process all types of payments. Then there are some that process payments, for any one of these of these three types of businesses. It’s however better, to go for those providers that provide all round payment processing services. It’s also important to check out with the service providers whether they process international payments in addition to domestic payments. These are some of the most basic things you need to be aware of, while deciding upon a merchant service provider.
In addition to above mentioned considerations, you also need to understand the three tier structure of merchant services. First there is the payment gateway which is the secret code that transmits a customer’s order to internet merchant account provider. Then comes the merchant accounts, which is an account with a financial institution that basically enables you capture funds from the credit cards of your customers. The funds captured are transferred to your personal account within two to three business days. Then there’s your website, which you would need to integrate with your service providers. Most Internet merchant accounts service providers have detailed web integration instructions.
Then third part of your quest to the perfect Internet merchant service provider involves discovering the cost factor. There are a number of fees that are charged by merchant service providers. Some of them have no valid justification and are a part of the service providers money making scheme. Fee charges like termination fees and miscellaneous fees should be negotiated with the service provider. However, you can save yourself all this trouble by simply logging to Advanced Merchant Services.
Advanced Merchant Services (AMS), is one of the premier merchant service providers operating in the United States. We are a 360 degree service provider and are backed by the most powerful conglomeration of banks in the United States. More importantly, the unique advantages we offer can’t be aped any other site. Our position of absolute superiority in the field is reflected by the Price Bust option. Moreover, we are also providing a free credit card terminal with every new merchant account. To find out more about our services, do visit us at www.merchant-accounts.com.
Steve Depraida is a well known author who writes articles on Merchant Accounts like Merchant Services, Merchant Service, Accept Credit Cards, Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Machine, Internet Merchant Accounts etc. For further details, please visit the site www.merchant-accounts.com.
5 Tips to Secure your Merchant Account From Frauds
Posted by admin in Merchant Accounts Tuesday, 31 August 2010 06:20 No Comments
Where money is being generated there are thieves. Money and goods draw unscrupulous people like bees to honey. And the popular marketplace for thieves today is the World Wide Web. Cyber thieves can carry on their robbery without being policed or leaving traces of their activities. So, it is important for ecommerce websites to protect their merchant accounts from frauds and stay one-step ahead of cyber fraudsters. Its not just money but goods that are stolen from the cyber marketplace.
The statistics regarding credit card fraud and chargeback fees to merchants is frightening. According to research the estimated online fraud in 2007 in the US alone is projected ar 3.2 billion USD. Online fraud has been on the rise, in 2003 it was 2.3 billion USD; 2005 it was 2.7 billion USD and in 2006 it reached 3.0 billion USD.
It is important for cyber business to stay one step ahead of criminals to secure their online payment systems optimally:
1. It is important to ensure that you ask the gateway provider about screening features and the functions of each. Screening features must precede credit card payment processing. Many payment gateways have in place an address verification system, AVS. This checks the address given on the billing details with the address in the credit card issuer’s records. Use the AVS system as an indicator of internet fraud.
2. Always use the CVV2 as an indicator the CVV2 is the three digit identifying number located on the back of a credit card. Although this check helps minimize fraud some thieves even use the correct CVV2 number while thieving.
3. Use a quick verification process that goes a little beyond asking for the customer’s name, credit card number, and CCV2. Devise simple questions that will help you check the identity of the customer. Check e-mail account details to verify whether the customer is genuine. Frauds hardly ever use their own email addresses.
4. Check whether the shipping address and billing address are the same. And request for a contact number if a customer hesitates then refuse to process the order. Fraudsters hardly ever give their own phone numbers and more often than not request for goods to be shipped to addresses other than the credit card billing addresses.
5. Install traffic tracking software on your website. This creates demographic data that will pinpoint origins of orders. For this method to be effective use a “time stamp” on each submitted order. If a order originates from Siberia with a billing address in London then make all efforts to verify he order stringently.
When in doubt always make enquires with the bank or credit card company and do not ship the order unless you confirm it is genuine. Suspect large orders that request express delivery. Trust is important in any business so it is important for you to also rely on your instincts, if any order seems “odd” take the time to make thorough checks. Many e-commerce merchants have a system in place that verifies customers by calling the telephone number of the person placing the order.
Be a savvy e-commerce merchant and keep up-to-date with e-commerce security developments and innovations. Read articles and reviews on the World Wide Web with regularity. Sites like http://www.merchant911.org/fraud-trends.html are devoted to helping online merchants conduct their business safely.
Alex Ahlersmeyer is a retired Merchant Account Agent and a writer for Online Merchant Accounts , the premier website to find free search for Merchant Account, Offshore Merchant Accounts, Instant Merchant Account, Internet Merchant Account, Merchant Accounts Services and many more.
