What's the best way to accept credit cards?

[rus3439]

Hi,

I have not installed payment modules yet, since i can't decide what is the best option for accepting credit cards automatically. Seems like Paypal is not very good way since it makes a customer enter info twice (correct me if i am wrong). Plus what if a person does not have a Palpal account? Is there a good way to combine those two ways without going much into coding?

 

Thanks,

Ruslan

[tina_boots]

Hi,

I have not installed payment modules yet, since i can't decide what is the best option for accepting credit cards automatically.  Seems like Paypal is not very good way since it makes a customer enter info twice (correct me if i am wrong).  Plus what if a person does not have a Palpal account?  Is there a good way to combine those two ways without going much into coding?

 

Thanks,

Ruslan

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hi,

 

For most people just starting out a service like Paypal is a reasonable option. To step it up to the next level means acquiring a merchant account. This usually involves submitting an application. The more legitimate of these, those who charge the lower discount rates will also require a credit check.

 

I have a lot of experience dealing with various payment processors. It's something where its a very good idea to do some research. I've seen the discomfort that occured when a close associate lost a whole lot of money when a payment processor suddenly decided to close up shop. So its a very important decision to make.

 

Also another thing not to be taken lightly is that when a merchant accepts credit cards online, that merchant assumes almost all of the risk. There is fraud to deal with and even legitimate transactions where for whatever reason the customer decides they aren't happy with the item you sold them, their word always wins over yours as far as the credit card companies are concerned.

 

The point is, having a merchant account can be a very good thing for your business, however its not something to be taken lightly and something you need to always stay on top of.

 

Once you are set up with the payment processor, then the easy part is finding the related contribution for OSC, installing, testing, and then going live.

 

Regards,

 

Tina

[greykher]

And PayPal's documentation has a setting where a customer can checkout and pay with a credit card without signing up for a paypal account. I've been unable to test this feature, however, using their development sandbox.