To accept credit card payments you need to set up a “Merchant Account.” This is a credit card processing account that you establish, that makes it possible for you (your photography business) to accept all major credit cards for payment. This account is not the same as your checking account or savings account, but it allows you to accept credit card payments from your customers, and for the money to get deposited into your existing bank account.
There are two types of accounts a merchant can use. Unless you are a brick-and-mortar studio or stock photo agency, you probably won’t be interested in the first type, which is the over-the-counter type of account, where the credit card is physically swiped through a machine at the time of purchase.
The account that likely would fit you best is the Mail-Order/Telephone Order merchant account. Your client, photobuyer or print order customer, enters their credit card information onto a form on a website, or by email, or by phone. You then process the merchant account transaction, which goes to a verification provider. Once the card is verified and approved (done electronically), your client’s payment is deposited into your bank account.
Can you afford to accept credit card payments? Some banks may charge you an annual fee in addition to a ‘per transaction fee’ — but there are many other providers that charge only a small percentage of the sale amount at each transaction, when you process a credit card (you pay an average of 2-3% per transaction to such a merchant account provider). These merchant account providers are ideal for small business owners and online businesses that may need to process only a handful of sales each week.
There are several credit card processing providers to choose from, each offering different features and fees. Figuring which one of these would work best for you, to process your customer’s credit card payments, can be a daunting task.
A local bank, because they are not familiar with the stock photo industry, may deny your business application for a merchant account because they don’t want to take the risk. Most small businesses end up going through third party providers who are willing to take the risk, and actually get the merchant account on your behalf; then apply their own rate structure to your transactions.
To move ahead with your merchant account, you’ll need a shopping cart program of some kind, which must work with the system you use to process credit cards online. Unfortunately, if you go with a third party shopping cart rather than a custom written one, it may not work with all credit card processing gateways. Be sure that whatever shopping cart program you use on your website, works with the merchant account you ultimately end up using to process customer payments.
What’s the charge to get involved? You pay fees to the third party merchant account provider (or the bank if you are able to secure your own account directly with a bank that provides it) in exchange for the ability to accept credit card payments. The fees and rates you pay will vary depending on many factors, including how long you’ve been in business, the type of business you operate, your credit score, how much of your sales are processed by phone versus online, and the amount of credit card sales you process each month.
As mentioned, some providers charge an annual fee in addition to a fee per transaction, while other providers charge only a percentage of each transaction processed. Typical rates for small businesses accepting phone and mail order payments are $0.10 to $0.30 per transaction, plus 2 to 3% of the transaction amount. If the merchant account provider you are considering wants to charge more than this percentage, be sure to check out a few others to see if you can get a lower rate. Sometimes, your credit rating will result in your having to pay higher fees — but it’s worth shopping around a little to see if you can get a lower percentage rate per transaction.
When you’re shopping companies, looking for the best merchant account provider, make sure to compare all of the fees to see how much you’re going to end up spending per each sale. You should also take into consideration what the application fee is (if any), how much you pay annually, how much you must spend on equipment needed to set up your account (in case you need a swiping machine), and whether or not you must maintain a monthly minimum of sales volume.
If you sign up for a merchant account with your local bank, you’ll be able to make direct deposits into your business account at the bank. If you outsource, study the terms for cancellation and under what conditions the provider can cancel your account, as well. Compare how each merchant account provider allows you to withdraw your money — can you do it whenever you want or do you have to do it at specific times of the month or year? How long will it take to receive your funds once you’ve requested a withdrawal or transfer of the money? How does the provider handle charge-backs? Read all of the forms and contracts associated with the merchant account before you sign anything.
The process for applying for a merchant account varies depending on the company. For example, some providers ask you to provide a photo of your driver’s license, and even of your home office or studio to verify you are in the location you say that you are. Some companies will want to send a representative to photograph your place of business. Occasionally, you’ll be asked to provide a DBA (“Doing Business As”) or business license, your tax returns, and profit and loss statements.
In our own case, here at PhotoSource International, about five years ago we did our homework and contacted a half a dozen providers. We determined that Total Merchant Services would be best for us. They have been consistent and quick, and I can highly recommend them. If you’re interested in checking them out:
http://www.photosourceprocessing.com/
Watch the video related to credit card online
You can quickly create your own shopping card website using Paypal buttons with PHP and Dreamweaver. It is fast and simple way to create a your own shopping website with an ability to let customer to pay by credit card or through Paypal account.
Help answer the question about credit card online
Charge not showing up in credit card online banking?I used my credit card for a purchase the wednesday after last and it has yet to show up in the transactions list on my online banking. Everything else is there. This has not happened before. Does anyone know what is going on? Surely the charge went through because they gave me a receipt.
Sorry, the Wednesday BEFORE last. Some little nitpicks don't seem to know what I mean.
It depends on the website that you give your number too. If it is a secure site then you are 99.9% not going to have any trouble. If it's not a secure site then you shouldn't give them anything. To know if it is secure or not, the web address should begin with "https://", the s means secure, or there should be a little picture of a lock in the bottom right corner of IE. Most secure sites also tell you they are certified by VeriSign or some other company. When you give them your number it is encoded and transmitted to their server, and then is transmitted to the credit card company for verification.
Go through Quidco.com, you'll get paid cashback if your application is accepted =)
shot ships disappear? 0.0 thats all? no particals flying?
Will they kill Jack Bauer off at the end of the show? Just saw the latest episode at lastnightstvshows (.) com
watch?v=ZSS5dEeMX64
x)
All credit card companies have on line access to your account. Just log on to your credit card company's website and sign up for online access. You can look up recent activity in the account and look over old statements. Most of them have old statements for the past year available. You can even pay your bill online as well.
It may not be the very next day when purchases show up on your account. Sometimes it takes a few days.
It looks like you have to activate the card before you use it, so I think you have to receive it in the mail before you can do anything with it, or you can go to Wal-mart or somewhere and buy one and start using it right away.
this is what I found:
"Do I need to activate my Visa Reloadable Prepaid card?
Yes. Review the materials that came with your card for details. The activation process varies, depending on the provider that issued your card; however, all program providers are required to collect specific cardholder information prior to card activation."
http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/reloadable_prepaid_card_faq.html
First you need to inform your credit card company that you will use the card abroad. Otherwise, it might not work
Unfortunately, credit card companies tack on additional fees such as conversion fees for cards used abroad. But if it is an online transaction and the transaction is in dollars, then you'll have no problems. The fees kick in if you use foreign currency.
The best approach is to call your credit card and ask them fees that you might incur
Look before you buy:
"CallingID Toolbar"
is a toolbar for Internet Explorer and Firefox, that automatically displays owner information of the website you are currently visiting. It includes the physical address, company name and a risk assessment, based on a variety of verification tests.
Unlike regular "Whois" tools, that simply use the owner information provided by the registrar, "CallingID" verifies that the organization actually exists at the address it claims to, using external sources, like yellow pages, Dun and Bradstreet and several other databases. The program can protect you from phishing scams, and other online dangers.
Freeware.
http://www.snapfiles.com/Freeware/misctools/fwbrowson.html
Another security measure is to 'preview' the destination URL without actually clicking the link.
Firefox does this for you; when your cursor is over the link, @ the bottom of the FF window is the URL. By looking at this you can get an idea of it's domain, if it's a secure server, and possibly the filepath. No guarantee about it's security can be made however.
In IE, you'll need to enable the 'Status Bar' (Right click the top browser area, and tick 'Status Bar'). IE will now do the above 'preview' as described.
Secure servers (the 'https://….') are a good hedge on reliability, but it only means the connection goes to who they say they are & not related to how reliable, or secure or trustworthy the company itself is internally.
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Have separate accounts (banking and credit card) for on-line purchases only, and keep just enough in there to cover what you buy; that way you've limited your losses to whatever is in there. Monitor closely and make certain enough is in there to pay for genuine purchases.
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lol, drake ran out of ammo
WOW sucks EVE rules
end of storie
Lol, read below. He burned out his highslot when shooting the legion. After that he just flyed around and tried to make dps with drones
That was closer than the last match!!! I loved the splitscreen at the end that showed off how the pre-fight crew relax during these matches lol.
Only buy from reputable sites.
Use PayPal wherever possible.
Always make sure you are entering credit card information on a secure site. (look for a lock icon in the address bar or lower part of the window)
Never give personal or financial information via email.
Check your balance and bank statements often and report any discrepancies immediately to your bank or card company.
Check your credit reports at least once a year.
http://www.freeannualreport.com or transunion.com will give you a credit information ( only once a year) and you don't have to give you cc#.
I realize the British banking system is different from our Canadian one, but – I can specify any amount online if I choose 'Pay bills' – there are no set minimums here.
When you do pop in to the bank that's a good question to ask them! Also, check if you can also add utility bill accounts to be paid online as well (electric, phone, telly)
spoilers in comments
i bet the drake capt caught hell back at home