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Payment Processing (The mechanics)
In order for your shopping cart system to interact with it's customers and enable them to pay for their purchases you need to employ various checkout options in your online shop. The option to pay by cheque is an immediate and obvious solution, but most internet shoppers generally want to get their order placed and receive their goods within days of visiting your website. The very idea of writing out a cheque, and posting it will be a complete anathema to them! No, they'll want to pay immediately online, there and then, or they will most likely abandon their shopping cart and shop elsewhere.
Cheque Payments
Cheque payments are worthwhile including in your online shop as a payment option for buyers who don't want to use any other payment method, but treat it as a 'bottom line' option only. Statistically, cheque payments will only account for around 1% of the orders placed on your site.
Credit Card Payments
Payment by Credit or Debit Card will account for 99% of your online sales.
If you already have a Merchant Account, then you will be able to set up your online shopping cart to accept direct Credit Card payments, and then process them via your PDQ machine (Non Customer Facing Transactions), providing that you have implemented the following 3 elements...
- You MUST obtain or have your card processing bank's permission to use your Merchant Account terminal for processing online, internet derived order payments, or you may be in breach of the terms and conditions of your contract with your bank.
- It is essential that your website has a valid SSL (Secure Server) certificate, and SSL is implemented, and data is encrypted whenever a customer is exchanging sensitive and personal information with your website. SSL certificates cost around £30 - £100 depending on the provider.
With a UKTnet eCommerce Pro Hosting account, we provide a domain validated SSL certificate in your domain name FREE and inclusive with your domain hosting.
- You MUST ensure that any customer data, particularly credit/debit card data, you store is held safely (preferably encrypted), and you MUST NOT store the customers security (CV2) number, but should delete that information after you have completed the transaction.
Failing to observe these rules could land you in a situation where if a customer's credit card gets used fraudulently after you have done business with them, the trail of how and where the fraudster got hold of the card details will lead back to you, and you would need to demonstrate that you took adequate care to prevent theft of those details.
PSP (Payment Solution Providers)
Payment Solution Providers are banks and businesses providing 'live' online Credit/Debit card processing via their payment gateways, and are the commonest method used by online shops to process online payments. PayPal for example, is well known online payment gateway.
We recommend that you provide PayPal in your checkout process as your secondary gateway rather than your primary payment gateway.
In addition to PayPal you should ideally have your own Merchant Account and Merchant ID, and provide your customers with a direct payment option because having this element will show that you and your online business have been vetted by a bank, so you and your business is bona-fide and can be fully trusted as an online trader.
We recommend that you apply to SecureTrading for your online Merchant Account.
 SecureTrading
Setup Fees: £100.00
Monthly Fees: £15.00
Transaction Fees: 3.29% per transaction
A SecureTrading account enables your business with your own easily re-branded checkout pages, engenders loyalty and trust from buyers, and combines both an Internet Merchant Account (IMA) and payment gateway service required to trade online. As a bonus, you also get an inclusive online 'Virtual Terminal' where you can process telephone or mail order payments. Settlement from processed transactions are paid into your bank within 5-7 days.
If you want to create a trusted business image, and are interested in obtaining your own Internet Merchant Account (IMA) for your business, and process card payments 'live' and in real-time, then please contact us for an information pack, and application form. Contact Us
UKTnet (UK Trading) are a partner business of SecureTrading, and for businesses who expect to trade in expensive items (sales in excess of around £500 per sale), or turn over £5,000 a month or more, then please contact us, and we can negotiate lower transaction fees, and a reduced setup fee for you. Contact Us
 PayPal
Monthly Subscription: FREE
PayPal is probably one of the best known payment gateways on the net, and is supported in virtually all online shopping cart payment modules as standard. Transactions made via PayPal cost 3.4% of the sale value + 0.20p transaction fee where sales are £1,500 monthly or less, 2.9% + 0.20p where sales are between £1,500 and £6,000 monthly, and 2.4% + 0.20p where sales are between £6,000 and £16,000.
Setting up a PayPal account is done online, is virtually immediate, and you do not need to provide any formal accounting figures or sales projections in order to get an account.
Initially, upon setup your PayPal account is a 'personal' account. You can instantly upgrade the account to a standard business account via your account management area quickly and simply. PayPal standard business accounts are still free, and do not incur monthly fees to operate.
Set up a PayPal account Now! Click Here
 WorldPay
Setup Fees: £200.00
Monthly Fees: £30.00
Transaction Fees 4.5% per transaction + 0.06p fraud detection fee
WorldDirect combines both an Internet Merchant Account (IMA) and payment gateway service required to trade online.
The WorldDirect package enables you to accept a wide range of payments over the Internet. It opens up new markets, allowing you to trade in most global currencies. And because it combines the services you would traditionally find through several card schemes, payment processors and banks, it also saves you time and hassle.
note: Transactions made via WorldPay are held for 30 days before funds are transferred to your bank account. Businesses who require more immediate cash flow might also look at SecureTrading where transaction fees are lower, and funds are transferred to your bank within 5-7 days.
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UKTnet are ecommerce specialists and one of their advisors can offer you a complete 1-2-1 analysis for your proposed business, and provide you with reams of useful information and advice, as well as help you get set up and started with online trading.
The cost for this service is just £499.00 which represents extremely good value, could save you hundreds in 'mistakes', and would also be tax deductible for your new business venture.
Click Here To Book an Advisor |
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