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2CheckOut - Accept Credit Cards Online
The service screens payments for fraud, handles billing inquiries, and maintains the necessary secure payment systems. 2checkout also has a built-in shopping cart so your customers can order multiple items at one time. 2checkout Credit Card Transaction TypesUnlike many providers that help you accept credit cards online, 2checkout allows a wide variety of transactions. You can accept credit cards for online products, services, or digital downloads. You may also set up recurring charges (for subscriptions, etc.) and bill customers. As with other services that allow you to accept credit cards online, there is a list of restricted items (pyramid schemes, firearms, etc). Advantages to Using 2checkout to Accept Credit Cards OnlineAs mentioned above, 2checkout processes a wide variety of transactions. You can also accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards through 2checkout in twelve different currencies. Additionally, online credit card customers paying with US dollar have the option of paying with AMEX or Discover. 2checkout has a fraud screening system that throws up a "red flag" when an online credit card order has certain characteristics. The fraud team investigates each of these transactions individually, then notifies you of their findings. As with all third party providers, using 2checkout (as opposed to having your own merchant account) means less administrative work; no long term agreements; and lower overall cost to accept credit cards online for most low-volume credit card accounts. There is a demo mode in order to verify links are set up correctly. Note: When you are ready to go live, be sure to switch out of demo mode. Drawbacks to Using 2checkoutAs with all third party services that allow you to accept credit cards online, 2checkout has a higher fee per transaction (discount rate, etc.) than a merchant account. This means that at high dollar volumes, 2checkout may be more costly than a merchant account. The payment system is sometimes slow for customers placing orders. Also, the merchant payment system occasionally fails, resulting in delayed payments to merchants. As of this writing, 2checkout is investigating additional backup and contingency systems. You must mark each product order "shipped" before payment is released to you. On the plus side, marking an order as "shipped" can also generate an email to the customer notifying her/him order is on the way. While most set-up and administrative questions are answered somewhere on the site or in the forums, there is no single, comprehensive support manual that clearly explains how to accept credit cards online through 2checkout. FeesAs of this writing, there is no monthly fee or minimum monthly charge to accept credit cards online with 2checkout. There is a one-time $49 account set-up fee. The charge for each transaction is $.45 + 5.5%. How to Sign Up or Get More InformationTo learn more about 2checkout, go to the 2checkout overview page to read program highlights. From there, click on the "more info" button to read more about the program or to sign up. Merchant Accounts Are an Alternative to 2checkout.Deciding What's Best for YouThese ecommerce articles can help you through the decision of how to accept credit cards online. Each section of the site is devoted to a piece of the online payment "puzzle". You will find pros and cons associated with each choice, questions to ask before signing an agreement, and potential pitfalls. Whether you accept credit cards online through an Internet merchant account, through a third party payment processor such as 2checkout (or both), read all agreements carefully before committing. Do not hesitate to ask the provider questions if information is unclear or incomplete. Put together the "puzzle pieces" to accept credit cards online and your ecommerce Web sales will flourish!
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