Electronic commerce or eCommerce consists of selling goods or services online. Widespread usage of the Internet has made its mark on businesses worldwide. Internet commerce growth includes many innovations such as electronic funds transfer, Internet marketing, inventory management systems, and online credit processing. The World Wide Web is now used by almost every business in a portion or all of the consumer payment cycle. Many ecommerce transactions occur for goods such as website content or actual retail products. More and more companies are beginning to manage their own websites to advertise their consumer goods. Online merchant account services are necessary to accept and process transactions for these items. If your company has a site which displays products for purchase, then you are an online merchant. Customers must have a way to buy these items when visiting your website. The typical setup includes a shopping cart combined with a payment gateway. A business which accepts payments for services can use this method or decide to take transactions by phone. The account services utilized greatly depend on how you want customers to be able to make a payment. These companies offer a large variety of online processing methods which can be beneficial when you want to advance to include a web customer base.
Summarizing Available Online Merchant Services
Internet commerce can occur between businesses or a business and consumer. Business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions involve the customer buying items directly from a website. Purchases are completed in real time with the help of online merchant services. Your business most likely falls into the B2C commerce category. Selling of a manufactured product to a retailer is a business-to-business transaction. The customer purchase of the product from your retail business is a B2C transaction. A variety of choices are available to your business. They include:
- Credit Card Processing
- Debit Card Processing
- Check Conversions
- Automated Check Drafting
- Gift Card Programs
- Payment Gateways
- Email and Direct Mail Marketing
- Cash Advances
The above listed are the most common forms of internet transaction assistance. Processing and conversion services can be seen in various retail settings such as gas stations, grocery stores, and national company locations. These transactions are processed through a terminal or other device. Website purchase processing occurs by combining online merchant services such as an account and a payment gateway. Your business can add automated check drafting as another online payment option. This method requires the customer to enter their banking information for an automatic withdrawal. Gift card programs make it easy to offer an additional payment method dedicated to your business. Online merchant account services can add funds, subtract funds, and keep track of the consumer balance. Some providers also offer marketing or other business assistance. Smaller businesses can choose a cash advance approach to assist with initially low credit purchases. Providers also supply alternatives when your credit is not perfect or the business is considered high risk. The amount of assistance received will greatly depend on the processing services offered by the selected provider.