The BannerView newsletter is a biweekly publication providing tips and advice for conducting E-Business (Business on the Internet). BannerView.com, a Cenicola-Helvin Enterprises brand, is a variety of e-business solutions ranging from Web site development to email marketing software, e-commerce systems, custom online database solutions to Web site hosting & maintenance. In each biweekly newsletter, you can depend on helpful tips and advice for conducting business online. As always, archived versions of previous newsletters can be found by visiting the newsletter archive.

THE RIGHT PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR YOUR E-COMMERCE CUSTOMERS

No matter how well your Web site is designed, if it's not easy for customers to pay for your goods and services, you can't have a successful e-commerce Web site. Offering your customers many convenient ways to pay makes it easy for them to do business with you.

The most popular type of online payments is the acceptance of credit cards. Other popular methods include the acceptance of online checks, debit cards and person to person payments such as Paypal.

Determining the correct payment types your business accepts is key to winning customer purchases. Put yourself in the shoes of your customers and ask "What is the easiest way for me to pay?" Offering one or more methods of payment, in addition to accepting credit card payments, could become your competitive advantage over your competitors. If you neglect potential buyers, such as those who never pay by credit card online, it's the same as taking a pay cut.

ACCEPTING CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS

Since the majority of all Internet payments are made by credit card, your first priority should be to get yourself set up with this payment option as quickly as possible. Many of our customers, including ourselves, have significantly increased sales right after providing buyers the ability to pay with credit cards. The increase in sales has far outweighed the cost of processing credit card transactions, making those additional fees a non-issue.

Since the Internet provides instant access to information, products and services your customers also want instant access to make purchases. If they have to stop surfing the Web, free up their phone lines, hunt around for their checkbooks, call in their orders or even print out order forms and mail envelopes, your order process will discourage all but the most resolute shoppers.

Accepting credit card payments builds credibility, makes it easy for buyers to make impulse purchases and provides you with an automated payment collection and tracking system.

ACCEPTING ONLINE CHECKS

Traditional checks are still used for a small percentage of all online purchases. Offering customers, who are willing to go through the hassle of mailing paper checks, an option of paying online by check through your Web site should be an instant profit booster. If you offer this type of payment be sure to provide a tutorial on your Web site explaining how online check payments work and reinforce the issue that their personal information will be secure.

The easiest method of processing checks online is to use a transaction service. Using a transaction service is similar accepting credit card information that gets sent to a payment gateway. After the transaction service receives the check information from your Web site it gets sent directly to a clearing house and is generally settled within 48 hours. The funds are withdrawn directly from the customer's account and deposited into your bank account.

ACCEPTING DEBIT CARD PAYMENTS

Accepting debit card payments is very similar to accepting credit card payments and, in fact, most merchant providers who set you up with the ability to accept credit card purchases will automatically allow you to accept debit cards with the Visa logo just as you would a Visa credit card.

ACCEPTING PAYPAL

Paypal lets you accept credit cards, bank transfers, debit cards, and more. Customers can also pay you instantly, even if they do not have a PayPal account. Paypal used to act as a barrier to accepting credit card payments online and was inferior to accepting credit cards directly via a merchant account since it required your customers to also have a Paypal account. However, now that Paypal has over 86 million accounts and no longer requires your customers to have Paypal accounts, its a good payment option to offer your customers. Paypal still doesn't bring the same credibility to your business as accepting credit card payments. So if you were to choose between a regular merchant account for credit card payments and only Paypal, your best choice is a regular merchant account.

With the majority of all online purchases made with credit cards, you cannot afford not to add this payment option to your Web site. If you've been hesitating to accept credit card payments online, the good news is that as soon as you give your customers this option, you should see a noticeable jump in sales. However, that still leaves a percentage of Internet shoppers out in the cold who do not use or have credit cards so examining other payment options is a way to boost your online sales.

Making it easy for your potential customers to do business with you is an essential ingredient to e-commerce success. Even if you don't want to offer all the payment options mentioned above, it's still a good idea to match the payment choices you offer to the type of online business you have and the purchasing habits of your customers. You will close more online sales and gain a real advantage over your competitors by offering your buyers easy, simple, secure options for giving you their money.

To learn more about the BannerView.com E-Business Solutions available for your business call us within Las Vegas at 702-312-9444 or outside of Las Vegas Toll Free at (888) 221-8640. More contact methods are available on our contact page.

BannerView.com E-Business Solutions are available Nationwide. See our Television commercial at BannerView.com.

Stay tuned to the BannerView newsletter, sent every other week on Wednesday, for helpful tips, thoughtful advice and answers to questions you may be asking about how to conduct business online.

Have a question about E-Business? Send us your questions and read the answers in upcoming newsletters!

Sincerely,

BannerView.com E-Business Solutions
A Cenicola-Helvin Enterprises Brand
http://www.BannerView.com

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