Features of a Reliable Merchant Account

Starting an e-commerce web site is quite a difficult task. There are many things that should be given due attention. Signing up for a credit card merchant account is one of the most important steps since about 80% of online customers prefer paying with their credit cards. Thus, customers naturally expect that an e-commerce web site accept credit card payments. It would be fair to say that without an online merchant account your e-commerce business is doomed to fail. Your web site will be easily beaten by competitors even if you manage to claim Google top positions on highly competitive keywords. Merchant accounts have many features you should be aware of before making your final choice.

Setting Up Your Merchant Account
To qualify for a merchant account you should fill out an application form and what is more important provider a merchant account provider proofs that your business is in a good condition and thus it is reliable. Some banks and processes would require your credit score ranking while others work only with companies that have been operating in the market for more than 2 years. If everything goes OK you will get a merchant account number which will be assigned to all transactions. Needless to say, that you have to choose the kind of merchant account that perfectly suits your business needs.

Your Shopping Cart

Shopping cart is one of the most important features at your web site (in case you sell products and services). Using a shopping cart, customers can select various products and services they want to purchase in order to complete an order. The convenience of using a shopping cart is that you can add several products and pay for them altogether. An electronic shopping cart is like a shopping cart in the nearby store – you can always put in new products and put out products that you do not want to buy anymore. The car shows total worth of all products and their quantity.

Payment and Checkout
These are very important features. If checkout and payment work perfectly you will have a higher rate of returning customers. If something goes wrong and the payment is delayed customers often do not know whether or not the transaction has been actually completed. In fact, the entire procedure should take about 30 seconds. When a transaction is processed a customer should be given transaction ID to be able to track the delivery process or solve problems in regards with shipment.

Prevention of Frauds
Online transactions are very vulnerable to frauds and scams. Indeed, it is easier to succeed in money laundry without showing up in person in banks and other financial institutions. Thus, when choosing a merchant account for your business, make sure it has security certificate. All the information provided by your customers need to be stored in such a way so that third parties cannot access it. Your merchant account provider should help you make your web site safe and protected against fraudulent transactions.