Alternative,Online,Payment,Sys ecommerce Alternative Online Payment Systems

I will be answering three main questions in this Emerald Passport Review for all of the tenacious Entrepreneurs that are seeking the ideal Home Based Business Opportunity. Internet Marketing has seen some tremendous growth in the "work at ho Wood handles are used in tools due to their ability to provide a good grip when holding the tool. Unlike many other types of handles; wooded handles are easy to grip do not transfer heat and are not an electrical conductor. Therefore, making

One of the most frequently asked questions I get as awebmaster is "can you setup an ecommerce system forour company?" For most businesses venturing into ecommerce, e-payment means accepting credit cards. This involves setting up a complex system including a SECURE order page/shopping cartsoftware, a merchant account (basically a bank account thatreceives the credit card proceeds), and a credit card processing service. Care has to be taken to ensure thatthe shopping cart is compatible with the authorization service.All the various elements need to be compatible and interfacewith each other.While the bulk of Internet ecommerce is still transacted usingcredit cards, there has been steady inroads being made byalternative methods of settling e-transactions. These Web Payment Services (WPS) have ingeniously utilized the most popularapplication on the internet "e-mail", to appeal to customers.By using an existing platform to launch their services, WPS providers have enjoyed wide appeal with customers worldwide. The largest of these, PAYPAL, has approximately 11 million users,processes 150,000 payments per day, and attracts over 20,000new users each day.But are there any advantages of using these alternative payment systems over credit card merchant systems? To helpyou decide the following criteria will be evaluated: (a) SetUp (b) Maintenance Costs(c) Ease of Use/Convenience(d) Cash Flow Effect(e) Customer PerceptionSETUPAs mentioned above the setup of a credit card merchant system iscomplex. The setup of a merchant account may take up to two weeksor more for final approval to be granted from the financial institition involved and verification of the integration of various components completed.WPS services on the other side of the scale, are incredibly easy to setup, almost laughably so. For example, Paypal, which is the largestWPS just requires a merchant to go to the Paypal site to registertheir account. This whole process may take 5 -10 minutes.There is no transaction processing software to install,and importantly, no shopping cart to rent or buy. Paypal simplygenerates a HTML code which you can place in your site next toyour inventory items. A click on these buttons takes the customer straight to Paypal'ssecure server. When customers want to make a payment they send a message to Paypal, and then Paypal, the middleman, does the rest.MAINTENANCE COSTSEstablishing your own merchant account for credit card processing and installing a shopping cart can easily run into hundreds ofdollars. In addition there are the ubiquitous monthly minimum feesand address verification fees (a proven anti-fraud strategy). WPS providers don't levy application setup or monthly charges, and the costs are competitive with Credit Card transaction processingcharges. These average at $0.35 and 2.5% per transaction.EASE OF USE / CONVENIENCEAlthough WPS providers intimate that their services are very user-friendly, the fact of the matter is that WPS services are not as easy to use as credit card systems. WPS services require the user/ customer to register with them, if they have not alreadydone so. Now this is a major disadvantage as it interruptsthe flow of "impulse" purchases. Potential customers have been known to abandon shopping carts for even less interuptivepurchasing hiccups.On the merchant side, payments received in WPS accounts are notautomatically lodged to your bank account. The merchant will have to manually claim and then transfer payments into their bank account.With credit card merchant accounts your account is automaticallyupdated.CASH FLOW EFFECTHaving your own merchant account will certainly increase theflow of funds to your bank book. While a merchant account providerwill hold your funds to prevent charge backs losses, the period oftime is usually relatively brief, about 48 hours. Expect to waitfor at least a week before money appears in the accountof WPS providers.CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONAt this point in time credit cards are the medium of choice and a business that uses only WPS providers as the means of receiving payments may appear to be amateurish and "small-fry". In the onlineworld, where site visors don't have a face to relate to, perception is critical, and the ability to accept credit cards has been heldas a mark of an established, feet on the ground firm.CONCLUSIONThere are definite advantages to using WPS providers. They should however be used as backup payment services or in conjunction withmerchant accounts. Its always to your advantage to present the customer with as much payment options as possible. The following is a list of WPS providers:http://www.paypal.comhttp://www.c2it.comhttp://www.westernunion.comhttp://www.billpoint.com Article Tags: Credit Card Merchant, Payment Systems, Credit Cards, Merchant Account, Credit Card, Shopping Cart, Card Merchant