If your home based business involves selling a product online you may very well want to add the capability to accept credit card payments so that you can sell your product(s) directly from your website.
By offering an instant purchase option you will be able to take advantage of the customer that any retail business loves the most – the impulse buyer.
But it is the unfortunate experience of many home based business owners that their local bank is not helpful when it comes to setting up a merchant account (even if you have been a loyal and reliable customer for years).
There are still ways however that you can easily and (most importantly of all) securely add credit card acceptance to your home business website. Most services will take a fee for each sale, usually a percentage of the total amount being charged, but such things are a small price to pay for the extra business you will be able to do.
Probably one of the easiest ways to begin accepting online payments right away is creating a PayPal merchant account. PayPal has some of the strictest security measures that protect both customer and retailer and their once substandard customer service has greatly improved in recent years. There are no fees associated with opening a PayPal Merchant Account and their transaction fees are usually lower than other online payment clearing houses. One in three online buyers has a PayPal account, so this is a perfect first time payment option.
If you want the capability to take credit cards directly CCBill is one option for the home based business owner. Again, there is no set up fee, and no monthly minimums. Another company to check out: Authorize.net. The process is a little harder to implement than PayPal but you should still be up, running and taking credit card payments on your website within 48 hours.
