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How to accept credit cards online

Accepting credit cards is a must if you want to make a sale online, but in order to accept credit cards you will need a credit card merchant account. If you don't already have a merchant facility, you can apply for one through the major Australian banks. If approved, you can then accept Bankcard, VISA and MasterCard.

You will have to deal separately American Express and Diners Club to accept those cards. You will need to pass on your merchant account number from these companies to your bank so it can also process transactions from those institutions for you.

You will need special approval from both your bank, American Express and Diners Club to process transactions over the internet. In fact, you will need to complete a separate application for this activity and provide very specific information about your business and internet activities.

As a merchant you will be charged fees for processing credit cards (called merchant fees). This is usually a set fee per transaction, plus a small percentage of the transaction value. Your bank, American Express and Diners Club will let you know how much they will charge you.

Things you should remember

Credit card details need to be stored securely. It is worthwhile to consider storing them on a separate computer not connected to the internet.

If you plan to process the credit card details yourself, then you need to make sure there is a secure way to get the card details from the server.

An alternative to accepting payments via your website is "real-time" payment processing. This allows you the speed of processing card transactions via the internet, without the need to accept payments online.

Things you should remember

Once you have your merchant facilities approved and have decided to accept payments online, you will need to get the funds processed and transferred into your bank account through a payment portal. There are numerous companies and banks that will do this for you – for a price.

 

Web Splash can assist you to choose a payment portal and can connect the portal to your new or existing website.

 

Contact us about processing credit cards online now.