Easy Steps for Getting Paid Online

Launching your own business on the internet is an exciting venture; but it also takes a lot of planning. There are many steps you must take to get your business up and running, from coming up with a unique name for your company to creating an attractive, user-friendly website. You also need to find a way to accept payments over the web. Customers are searching for a fast and easy way to pay for your products online, and this means have the option to pay via credit card and debit card.

Ideally, you want to provide your customers with a fast and convenient way to pay for your products and/or services on the web. But how do you start accepting payments online? Will it cost you a lot of money to accept credit cards? What if your client wants to pay via check? And, how do you open a merchant account? Instead of getting overwhelmed, follow a few easy steps for getting paid online.

Get a business account

Before you can accept checks, credit cards, or cash from your customers you will need to go to the bank and open a business account. This is especially important if you’ve opened a business under a name other than your own name. With a new business account, you can easily cash checks made out to your business.

Open a merchant account

This step requires a lot of research. You don’t want to be stuck with the wrong merchant account provider. Without taking your time to find the right merchant account provider, you will end up with a provider that is expensive and/or does not offer the right type of services you need for your business.

Before you open a merchant account, ask about the company’s fee structure. You want to find a company with low rates. You also want to find a company that doesn’t charge an arm and a leg for processing applications. Ideally, you want a merchant account provider that offers free setup, free application processing, and a pay-as-you-go contract. Finding a company with these qualifications will ensure you receive quality services without paying too much.

Setup an online payment system

Accepting payments online requires an online payment system, such as PayPal. You can use PayPal, or ask your merchant account provider if they already have a system you can utilize. The right merchant account provider will have a web-based, credit card processing terminal. You can use the web-based system to accept every major credit card, from Visa to American Express.

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