| 1. |
What
is a merchant account? Why do I need one?
A merchant account gives a business the ability
to accept credit cards as payment for the company's
goods and services. This provides your customers
with an extremely popular payment option, beyond
cash and checks.
Studies have shown that merchants can typically
increase their business by 30 - 70% or more -
sometimes even hundreds of percent! Plus, customers
are more willing to purchase higher cost goods
using a payment method that offers them repayment
flexibility. It is projected that by 2002, credit
card transactions
will account for 98% of Internet sales, equaling
$55.6 billion!
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| 2. |
How
does it work?
The merchant account provider authorizes the credit
card transfer from your customer and deposits
the funds for their purchases right into your
business checking account, typically within two
business days.
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| 3. |
How
do I get a merchant account?
Merchant accounts are available from some banks
and other independent providers such as Cardservice
International. Cardservice is a leading transaction
service provider. Last year the company serviced
over 125,000 merchants and processed over $8 billion
in bankcard volume.
Cardservice International offers small-to-mid-sized
business merchants a variety of services including
credit card, electronic check, Internet transaction
services, and more. Pegasus Web Technologies has
an exceptional merchant account program offer
available to its clients through Cardservice.
Just click on the hotlink above for more information.
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| 4. |
Would
it be easier to go to my local bank to get a merchant
account?
Many local banks do not set up merchant accounts,
but have relationships with companies like Cardservice
International. Also, in addition to offering outstanding
programs, Cardservice International works with
the kinds of businesses that most banks consider
risky and shy away from, such as new businesses,
Internet, phone and mail order businesses.
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| 5. |
How
long does it take to get a merchant account?
Application approval and set-up can be completed
in as little as 24 hours through the special Cardservice
program available to Pegasus Web Technologies
clients.
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| 6. |
Which
credit cards can I accept?
The most popular credit cards - MasterCard, Visa
and American Express.
Cardservice can also support all other major credit
cards, including Discover and Diners Club.
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| 7. |
What
kind of equipment do I need to process credit
cards?
A computer terminal / PC with Internet access
is used for Internet, mail and telephone orders.
In the retail environment, a specialized terminal/printer
designed to read the magnetic strip on the back
of the customer's credit card is used. This can
provide the customer with a paper receipt at the
time of purchase.
An imprinter, which takes a physical copy of the
customers credit card, may also be used.
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| 8. |
How
do I know that I'm getting a "good deal"?
The Cardservice program offers an outstanding
value across the board - functionality, security,
reporting, initial set-up and low residual costs.
It is important to consider all costs associated
with the merchant account when comparing programs.
For example, some programs offer low set-up costs,
but have very high fees (discount rates and per
transaction fees). Some processors even charge
annual fees! These programs result in significantly
higher costs to the merchant, particularly after
the first year. View the comparison chart with
one of our major competiors to see how we rank!
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| 9. |
Can
I use my merchant account to accept credit card
payment in my online store? Is it safe to process
credit cards over the Internet?
Is it safe to process credit cards over the Internet?
Yes, Cardservice International's Secure Socket
Layer Application Programming Interface (SSL API)
offers Internet Service Providers an encrypted
connection to its Secure Payment Engine. By using
the LinkPoint Secure Payment Gateway technology,
all Cardservice International merchants receive
fraud screening on
each transaction and real-time reporting via their
Web browser.
For the merchant who wants to get online fast
with a limited start-up budget, Cardservice International
is the best choice.
Using Cardservice International's SSL API, all
orders and payment information sent from the merchant's
Web site will be encrypted using industry standard
RC4 1024-bit encryption with SSL Version 3. This
encrypted and secure data is routed to Cardservice
International, decrypted and processed. All processed
information (Approved/Declined transactions) is
then re-encrypted and sent securely back to the
Web site. Once at the Web server, it is decrypted
and displayed to the consumer. Also, order confirmation
e-mails are sent to the consumer and to the merchant.
The Cardservice International SSL API guarantees
that the orders and payment information generated
by the merchant's Web site remains totally secure.
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| 10. |
The
fraud protection features sound great, but what
about other features?
Using the following e-commerce modules, Web customers
will be able to order products, pay for them and
arrange for shipment all in real-time.
These modules include real-time:
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Fraud
Protection |
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Shipping
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Tax
Calculation |
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Business
Reports |
Merchants also have the option of choosing auto-settlement
or merchant settlement. Taking advantage of the
Cardservice International Business Reporting module
allows the merchant to view critical ordering
and financial information all from a single source
- their Web browser. And, all of these modules
are included with your Cardservice merchant account.
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| 11. |
What
kind of payment solutions are available through
Cardservice?
What kind of payment solutions are available through
Cardservice?
Three unique and user-friendly payment solutions
are available to serve the e-commerce needs of
any merchant:
Virtual LinkPoint allows merchants to manually
enter credit card transactions on a PC through
a secure connection to the Internet. Virtual LinkPoint
is the Internet equivalent of a point-of-sale
(POS) terminal or PC-based transaction software
without the hardware/software and maintenance
expenses. Sales, returns, authorizations and real-time
reports are all provided by Virtual
LinkPoint.
LinkPoint HTML is a simple, yet sophisticated
product and requires a little hands-on work by
the merchant to use. It wraps around the merchant's
existing Web site, allowing shoppers to select
and order products and securely pay for them with
a credit card. All the same services provided
by the Virtual LinkPoint
are available with the LinkPoint HTML.
LinkPoint API is the most sophisticated level
of service, enabling software companies, Commerce
Service Providers (CSPs), Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) or cyber-wise merchants to add secure sockets
layer (SSL) payment capabilities to their products,
services or custom storefronts. Additional features,
such as tax and shipping calculations and electronic
softgood
download (ESD) - i.e., software, pictures or text
- are included.
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| 12. |
Will
the Cardservice LinkPoint Secure Payment Gateway
work with my shopping cart?
The Cardservice LinkPoint Secure Payment Gateway
works with a wide variety of shopping carts. Pegasus
Web Technologies offers a shopping cart that has
already been integrated with the Cardservice LinkPoint
Secure Payment Gateway and fully tested. It is
ready to go!
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| 13. |
Internet
technology changes so fast, will I be able to
use my merchant account with my Internet store
in the future??
Absolutely. As Cardservice upgrades its LinkPoint
products in the future, merchants will receive
free upgrades to keep them on the cutting edge.
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