Payment processing

In the last couple of years online payment processing has gained popularity worldwide. There are many merchant account providers who offer international payment processing services to offshore and international merchants. That is why, while looking for a merchant account provider remember to look into the kinds of payment processing services they offer.

There are generally two kinds of payment processing services that are offered by merchant account providers, these being manual and real-time payment processing. Manual payment processing requires you to deliver the credit card number via phone, fax or by an online form. As compared to the real-time payment processing that allows merchants to process credit cards online in no time at all.

Online business offers secure and cost effective ways for merchants to process transactions. If you can get online payment processing services with a merchant account provider who will be able to provide you and your renters with online payment processing services worldwide then you would not have to worry about getting a U.S bank account, like most holiday home owners who think that they need a U.S bank account to process online transactions worldwide. With the right merchant account providers online payment processing services normally includes being able to accept various credit cards and multi currency options.

Some processors might have special requirements for online payment processing services for international customers as there can be various limitations when it comes to worldwide services.

A real-time payment processor helps save time and eliminates the need of processing credit cards manually, reducing risk and offering greater protection against credit card fraud than manual payment processing can. A good payment processor offers the major benefit of conducting online transactions in real-time. Holiday home owners tend to select the payment processing methods considering the volume of online transactions they would be processing for their e-commerce business.

Generally, in order to provide real-time payment processing services to customers holiday owners can either have a connection made from their site to the acquirer for connecting to a card processing network or outsource to a payment service provider. Having a merchant account that provides online payment processing offers a great flexibility.

There are two ways you can add e-commerce capabilities to your website:

1. Having your own merchant account

2. Using third party processors

3. Receive Cheque

A merchant account is a special kind of bank account where funds received from credit card transactions are first routed to the special account and held there before being remitted to your business account. You as an holiday home owner will need an account called “Card Not Present Merchant Account”.

Having the merchant account is, actually, the first step in processing credit cards online. You will also need a payment gateway. A payment gateway is a service provided by billing processor which allows real time authorization of online transactions. The payment gateway you choose to work with has to be compatible with your shopping cart. Three top payment Gateway providers are AuthorizeNet (http://www.authorizenet.com/), Verisign (http://www.verisign.com/) and USAePay (http://www.usaepay.com/). All payment gateway providers have their own merchant solutions. Most banks, today, work with partner payment gateway providers and are fully capable of furnishing with a merchant solution.

If you are just starting your business you will be better of with a third party processor.

PayPal

With 72 million accounts worldwide and payment volume which is growing at a rate of 44 percent each year, PayPal by far is the most popular third party processor on the Internet.

PayPal is a simple and affordable payment solution for those holiday home owners who are unable to or don’t want to go through the complex process of setting up a bank merchant account.

At present, PayPal has four unique solutions for merchants.

PayPal Website Payments Standard: This solution allows you to accept credit cards on your website. However, the transaction is processed on the PayPal secure server. The customer can choose to pay either by credit card or PayPal.

Cost: No monthly fee. No setup fees. No cancellation fees. Transaction Fees are 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 US$.

PayPal Website Payments Pro: This solution is virtually same as having your own merchant account. If a customer pays by a credit card, PayPal works as a payment gateway for you. The customer does not leave your website at anytime if she pays you by a credit card.

Cost: $20.00 US$ monthly fee. No setup fees. No cancellation fees. Transaction Fees are 2.2% to 2.9% + $0.30 US$.

PayPal Email Payments: This is the payment system PayPal started with. You send invoice to your customers by email and get paid on PayPal.

Cost: No monthly fee. No setup fees. No cancellation fees. Transaction Fees are 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 US$.

PayPal as an Additional Payment Option: If you already have a merchant account and you would like to add PayPal to your existing payment solutions, you can use this option.

If you are planning to sell products through eBay, you definitely should have PayPal option. According to eBay, three out of four eBay customers choose to pay by PayPal.

When you use PayPal as your primary processor, make sure that you have at least one more alternative payment solution handy. The reason is many disgruntled former users of PayPal claim that PayPal might freeze your account anytime without any apparent reason. Read http://www.PayPalsucks.com for more information.

However, According to a new report, Merchant losses from fraud on PayPal are now only 0.17% of revenues, vs. 1.8% for online merchants that accept credit cards through merchant accounts. This gives one more reason to use PayPal.

WorldPay

If you are facing problems to get a merchant account due to the factor that you are not located in the US, WorldPay could be the solution for you. WorldPay is a one-stop solution for your merchant account. The payment option comes with fraud protection and risk management applications to safeguard your business. Based in England, WorldPay is a division of Royal Bank of Scotland.

Cost: If you compare with PayPal, WorldPay’s fees are pretty stiff. 50 US$ monthly fee. 400 US$ setup fee. Transaction Fees are 3.25% + $0.40 US$. The charge for multicurrency processing is 5.25% per transaction.

2Checkout

2checkout.com works as an online distribution center. When holidaymaker book from your website through 2checkout, you actually make your sale to 2checkout for immediate resale to your renter. Renters are billed by 2checkout not you. 2checkout accepts vendors from virtually all over the world. You can also set up recurring billing through 2checkout.

Cost: No monthly fee. 49 US$ setup fee. Transaction Fee: 5.5% + $0.30 US$.