When you go shopping and use your credit card, with just one swipe of your credit card through a point-of-sale terminal all your purchases are paid for ! Credit cards have allowed consumers to easily pay for practically anything from food to electronic devices and cars. Most retailers have expanded their business vastly by allowing credit card payments .

But what if you are an online business owner? How can internet merchants accept credit cards online? It would be too expensive to install a point-of-sale device in every home. It would be so time consuming if you would have to go to each customer’s house just so they can swipe their card – that would be too impractical.

The answer to the prayers of internet merchants worldwide – payment gateways. Payment gateways and merchant accounts allow online business owners to accept credit cards online without a physical point of sale terminal. Payment gateways are like the internet version of your point-of-sale terminals.

Payment gateways allow online merchants to accept credit card payments over the internet. They check to make sure that the cardholder has enough credit and cover the charges. They then place the amount on hold so that it doesn’t get spent before the money is transferred to the retailer’s business bank account.

People often think that a payment gateway is the same as a merchant account.   A payment gateway is not a merchant account although the work hand in hand When somebody purchases from your online store the payment gateway processes the credit card information and the money is transferred to the merchant account. It is the merchant account service provider that transfers the funds to the banks.

There are three things you need to consider when choosing a payment gateway. First make sure they are PCI compliant. This will be for your own safety. Second they should be easily contacted. Make sure there are many ways for you to get in touch with your payment gateway. Lastly check if the payment gateway can be integrated with your shopping cart and other third party solutions you are using. 

Using a payment gateway will allow you to gain more customers. It will also give your different security features so you will not be the victim of fraudulent purchases. Using payment gateways will make it easier for you to manage accepting credit card payments online it would also make running your business less stressful.