When looking to accept cards you will find there are a wide range of options available. The key thing to bare in mind is whether your customers going to be present at point of sale. This will help you determine what type of service to choose from your merchant services provider, and which card processing product you will need.
Card Processing through a Website
If you are looking to start card processing online, you need an online payment gateway. This can come in many forms and it would be useful to think about how you operate your website. You may require an integrated checkout or a hosted PayPage. There are also many plug-in options from a range of different providers. The best thing to do if you are not sure is to speak to an advisor to determine which option is the best for you. In each of these mentioned products the customer will be processing their own payment online so it is important that you opt for a user friendly option to make the experience quick and easy.
Another method for processing online is a pay by link, which is an link to a pay page which you can place in an invoice email. The customer receives the email, and clicks through to a paypage to make a payment for goods or services.
Card Processing Over the Phone
If you intend to process card payments over the phone the most convenient option would be a virtual terminal. This a very simple interface through which you simply enter the card details given to you by a customer over the phone and process the payment. You can log into you virtual terminal from any web enabled device and process a payment. You can also store past transaction history via the merchant management centre which will keep a secure record of all transactions. This option for card processing is commonly used by take away restaurants who wish to take card payments over the phone. Find out more about Virtual Terminals here.
Card Payments in Person
The most common method used to process payments in person would be through a chip and pin machine. These are available as stationary counter-top machines, wireless machines for restaurants or even portable machines for tradesmen and those who operate their business on the go. Contactless payment options are also now available with CardSave chip and pin machines making processing card payments even quicker than paying with cash. Find out more about chip and pin machines.