Offshore Credit Card Processing

Doing business online is like treading a razor sharp road. There is very little difference between a good and bad business situation. However, a secured, cost-effective and reliable method of payment collection through offshore credit card processing can make all the difference to the way you do business online. It can help you hold all information privacy, avail zero taxation and have protection from currency fluctuations

Offshore credit card processing enables you to effectively accept payments for the goods and services you sell online. You can accept payments in multiple currencies. Offshore credit card processing service can process various types of credit cards, be they Visa, MasterCard, Amex, JCB, Diners or Discover.

The order and payments processing procedure gets streamlined with an offshore credit card processing account. Your customers can make easy and quick purchases online through a secured server. Your card processing system is directly linked to your offshore merchant account. Therefore, you get excellent tax-reduction benefits.

Your business remains up 24/7. The transactions are authorized within a few seconds. Automated receipts are sent to you (the merchant) and the customers, instantly. The credit reserve is as low as 10%. Most of the offshore credit card processing services involve no hidden costs.

An offshore credit card processing service can reduce your charge back with active customer fraud screening and address verification systems (AVS). The transaction processing rates are 5% and upwards depending on the type and volume of your business. Add to it a small 0.75% transaction fee and 10% rolling reserve. However, with most of the offshore credit card processing accounts you do not have to pay gateway fees. There are no card processing dollar limits.

Offshore credit card processing provides comprehensive online credit card processing, rapid order processing, online merchant center, fraud and risk management and 24 hour dedicated support. Offshore credit card processing gives a turnkey payment processing solution. Such an account provides instantaneous online credit card processing. This helps in maximizing sales opportunities and customer satisfaction.

Offshore Merchant Accounts provides detailed information on Benefits of Offshore Merchant Accounts, Free Offshore Merchant Accounts, Offshore Bank Accounts, Offshore Credit Card Processing and more. Offshore Merchant Accounts is affiliated with Online Merchant Account Application.

Online Credit Card Processing

For individuals and businesses that wish to sell products and services online, one of the most important things that they need to consider is the mode by which customers would pay for the products or services they buy online. Among the different modes of payments, the preferred option for most consumers is through their credit card because in recent years, consumers have become very comfortable with using their credit cards to make online purchases. Given this, it is very important for online companies to make sure that their website are able to process credit card payments. The process of doing so involves businesses setting up an Internet merchant account with a credit card processor, which plays a major role in allowing businesses and individuals to accept credit card payments online.

Internet merchant accounts

Internet merchant accounts are set up by businesses for the sole purpose of receiving credit card payments from the credit card companies of their customers. Usually, the funds or the payments made by credit card companies only stay in these accounts for less than half a day before the funds are transferred to the bank account of the business. Moreover, Internet merchant accounts provide the credit card processor of a business with an automatic way of handling credit card payments that are made online.

However, before setting up an Internet merchant account, business owners first need to understand the different terms involved in using one. One of these includes knowing what a payment gateway is. This is an online credit card processor that provides a path between a customer’s credit card account and the Internet merchant account of the online business. Their primary role is to verify the customer’s account information and the online business’s request to have the funds transferred to their bank account. Another important term is funds capture, which is the process where a transaction deposit is made on a business’s Internet merchant account. On the other hand, the term settlement means that the funds from a customer’s credit card account has been transferred to the business’ Internet merchant account.

For online companies, it is essential that their websites are able to process credit card payments, which makes it very important for them to set up an Internet merchant account. However, before setting up such an account, business owners first need to understand the different terms involved in the process of accepting credit card payments online. This is because doing so allows them to fully appreciate how the whole process works.

Credit Card Processing provides detailed information on Credit Card Processing, Online Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Software, Wireless Credit Card Processing and more. Credit Card Processing is affiliated with Wireless Credit Card Terminals.

Genuineness of Credit Card Processing

According to buyerzone,consumers increasingly are turning to plastic over paper when they open their wallets. Yet many small businesses still don't accept credit cards. If you're one of the laggards, the entire transaction may retain the impression of a spiritual ritual swipe a card, input some numbers and money magically appears in the bank. In reality, though, credit card transactions involve coordination between multiple high-speed computer networks.

How the Process Works: when a merchant makes a sale and swipes a customer's credit card, the card number, the amount and the merchant ID travel over the credit card processor's computer network. The credit card processor can either be a bank or a company that does nothing but provide credit card processing services. From the processor's network the transaction goes to a credit card computer network. If the customer is using Visa, for example, the transaction will go to Visa's network. In turn, the electronic transaction goes to the bank that actually issued the card. The bank then checks the account and verifies the customer has adequate credit to cover the purchase. The bank then sends the merchant an authorization over the network. Now the sale is complete, but the transaction is not no money has changed hands yet. At the end of the business day, the merchant sends that day's charges, in a batch, to the credit card network for processing. The transactions travel via the merchant's credit card processor. Individual transactions are then stripped out and sent back to the individual cardholders' banks. Banks then debit cardholders' accounts and make appropriate payments to the merchant's credit card processor through the Federal Reserve Bank's Automated Clearing House. The credit card processing then includes credits the merchant's bank account for the transaction amount, minus its fees for the transaction. Those fees also go toward paying transaction fees to the issuing bank and the credit card network. Despite the use of computers, it can take two business days before the merchant's account is credited.

Opening a Merchant Account
In order to accept credit cards, you must open a merchant account with a bank. However, many banks have gotten out of the credit card processing business, and those that remain are often restless about servicing small businesses, particularly ones with limited operating histories. Many small businesses must therefore go through a specialized credit card processor or an independent sales organization, commonly referred to as an "ISO." Whether you use a bank or a credit card processor, you need a merchant account to receive credit card payments. Though businesses can contact credit card processors directly, banks unable or unwilling to process credit transactions often refer customers to an ISO to help them find a credit card processor and get the necessary equipment and training to begin accepting credit cards.

For more information on credit card processing,please visit http://www.paynetsystems.com

Online Credit Card Processing - How to Accept Credit Cards - Ecommerce 101

Back in 1998 (through 2000 or so), I worked for a small company (called PaymentNet / then Signio) that handled online transactions. Verisign later purchased this company, and the product team I led integrated the "client" - the portion that took the credit card information and sent it to our servers for processing. The product name is Payflow Pro - maybe you've heard of it?

I'm going to limit this discussion to Visa / MasterCard credit cards -- Amex and others operate slightly differently.

First, there is the bank that the consumer’s credit card is attached to. That bank is called the "acquiring institution" ... it handles the "credit" you have on your credit card.

Then, there is the merchant bank. That's where the business opens up a "merchant account" to be able to accept various forms of credit cards.

The merchant account is connected to another company called a "processor". This "hidden" layer is the company that actually moves the funds from the acquiring institution to the merchant account (that process is called "settlement"). The processor also handles talking to the acquiring institution to make sure that the customer has the funds available (a process known as authorization).

Some well-known credit card processors are First Data Merchant Services (FDMS), Nova and PaymentTech.

Sitting on top of the processor is one of two primary systems either a swipe-card terminal (like those you see in Wal-Mart) or a "gateway" company that does basically the same thing, but over the Internet - that's what Verisign Payment Services and Authorize.Net do.

Note that the waters are even muddier in many cases, for example, Wells Fargo can act as every piece of the puzzle in some circumstances.

So, what actually happens when you purchase something at Wal-Mart using a credit card?

a) You place your items from your "basket" onto the counter and scan them. the checkout system provides a total.

b) You swipe your card through a "terminal", which reads the # off the magnetic stripe.

c) Wal-Mart dials their processor, and asks if you have the funds available on your credit card. The processor talks to your bank (the acquiring institution). If funds are available on the card, they are marked as "held" in your account (an authorization) - if not, the transaction is declined (yuk). Authorizations that are never settled tie up your credit card funds for a period of time, usually 10 days or so.

d) At the end of the day, Wal-Mart marks all the transactions they want to receive funds for, and submits them to their processor in a "batch". The processor then contacts the acquiring institutions and transfers the funds to your merchant bank - which may make the funds available instantly (in a day or two), or may hold them for a while, or may hold the funds in a "rolling reserve" (keeping some funds held back in case a consumer fights the transaction, called a chargeback).

In the online world, replace the cash-register with an online shopping cart, and the electronic credit-card with terminal with called a "gateway" such as Payflow or Authorize.Net. the process is basically the same, with slightly more complexity.

Be careful going "a-la-carte" with ecommerce credit-card services: if the gateway you chose can't talk to the processor your bank uses, or your software can't talk to the gateway, you're hosed. That situation was MUCH more common (things not working together) back in the mid/late 90's than it is today. However, most "brick and mortar" banks (like your local branch) still don’t have a clue about online credit-card processing … if they attempt to sell you a "leased terminal", it’s best to run the other way and find a solution from reputable online source.

As an online merchant looking to accept credit cards, all you really need to know is that all services purchased through a single solution will usually work together seemlessly.

Nick Temple is a former engineer for what is now Verisign Payment Services. He can be reached at his website, http://www.nicktemple.com. He is part-owner of the CommerceStore.com; complete online credit card ecommerce solution.

My site, CommerceStore.com handles the entire "shopping cart" and storefront process, including talking to the gateway. It knows how to talk to every major gateway (online credit card terminal) available. In addition, we have direct relationships with various banks that can help you open a merchant account in the US or in Canada, and the system works with PayPal. There's a whole lot more, including AutoResponders, built-in affiliate system, etc.

Credit Card Processing: How to Legally Beat the System by Passing Processing Fees to Customers

Imposing surcharges on credit card transactions is illegal, and it will only lead to problems. The secret to beating the credit card processing system is not charging more for credit card sales, but instead is charging less for cash sales. It may sound like the same thing, but there is a big difference.
 

The increasing costs associated with accepting credit cards are leaving many merchants searching for ways to pass along at least a portion of processing expenses to their customers. Card originators such as VISA and MasterCard are becoming wary of this new trend and are enforcing strict regulations specifically designed to hinder any such efforts by merchants to impose surcharges on credit card purchases.

Discount fees, transaction costs, and other expenses associated with the acceptance of electronic bank cards (credit and debit cards) are putting a strangle hold on to the NET profits of businesses of all sizes. To help minimize the impact that processing costs are having on profits, many businesses are charging a surcharge to customers that choose to pay for products or services using a credit or debit card.

Card originators such as VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover have a lot to lose if the practice of imposing surcharges on credit card transactions becomes popular among merchants. When merchants impose surcharges on credit transactions, they make purchasing on credit a less appealing option to consumers, and many consumers choose to avoid the additional cost by simply paying with cash or a check. A decrease in the use of credit cards by consumers translates directly into lost revenue for processing banks. Not only do banks lose out on the processing fees that they would have collected from the merchant, but they lose any finance charges that would have been incurred by the customer as well.
 

You may wonder why so many businesses still choose to place a surcharge on credit transactions, even though it is strictly forbidden in the processing agreement they had to sign when opening their merchant account. Quite frankly, many business people choose to ignore this clause in their processing agreement and impose a surcharge anyway. This approach is not recommended. When and if these businesses are discovered, their merchant accounts will be terminated, and they may even be placed on the Terminated Merchant File (TMF) which will make it nearly impossible for them to acquire another merchant account.

Card originators and banks have control over credit card (bankcard) transactions, and they can legally ban a merchant from imposing surcharges. However, they do not have any legal control over other forms of payment such as cash and checks. The largest card originator (VISA) has even published information stating that, "You may, however, offer a discount for cash transactions, provided that the offer is clearly disclosed to customers and the cash piece is presented as a discount from the standard price charged for all other forms of payment".1

Most merchant accounts operate on a tiered discount pricing grid and, ironically, the secret to beating credit card processing fees is to impose tiered pricing on your products and services as well. The old saying, "if you can’t beat em', join em’" applies perfectly.

While you can’t charge extra for credit card sales, you can charge less for cash as long as all prices are clearly stated to customers, and the cash price is reflected as a discount from the original purchase price. For example: if the price tag on an item states that the item costs $10, the cash price must be represented as a discount from that price. The price tag for this particular item should look something like this:
 

Price: $10.00
5% discount for cash payment @ $9.50
5% Discount for Check Payment @ $9.50
 

By utilizing a tiered pricing grid, merchants can alleviate the cost of accepting credit cards, while still providing their customers with the freedom to choose their preferred method of payment.

1. Published by VISA in the Card Acceptance and Chargeback Management Guide for VISA Merchants,
Jack Lang is the senior contributor member at http://www.merchantcouncil.org. The Merchant Council is a free resource dedicated to assisting businesses obtain and manage credit card processing and merchant account services. A wealth of merchant account information can be found at MerchantCouncil.org.