Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Accept Payments Online - Without a Merchant Account!

By Ray Edwards

A lot of people starting their online business have a hurdle right out of the gate: They can't get a merchant account, or they're afraid they can't get a merchant account. For some people, this is the hardest part about starting their online business.

The good news is you don't need a merchant account to accept payments. There are at least two great options that will let you accept credit cards without actually having a merchant account.

I've added a third solution to this list. This is for those who really want to establish a merchant account, but may have problems because of a spotty credit history (or other reasons). This solution can help for almost everyone starting out in business.

Try one of these three solutions to your payment woes:

Clickbank. For a small sign-up fee (about $50, I think), you can accept payments for your digitally-delivered products using any major credit cards, or even e-checks. You don't handle the transaction, or even the payment. Clickbank does it all, takes a percentage and just sends you a check. How's that for convenient? Some people think that Clickbank's fees are a little high, but if you consider all the services they provide: taking the payment, handling refunds, handling your affiliate program, sending you checks, sending your affiliate's checks, doing all the bookkeepingI think it's a fair trade.

PayPal. It has been proven that having PayPal on your sales page boosts conversions. If you offer PayPal as a payment option, you will make more sales. Also, just like Clickbank, they handle the whole payment transaction for you. People can pay with any major credit card through PayPal. They don't even need to have a PayPal account! Many people don't realize that, but it's true!

PowerPay. If you don't want to use a work-around, like Clickbank or PayPal, and still think you would like to have a merchant account, but you have some spots on your credit record or you've been turned down in the past, I recommend you check out PowerPay. Judd Smith and the people at PowerPay are very experienced with online marketers and they are a lot more helpful at getting your merchant account set up. Here is their website: http://ipowerpay.com - The best Merchant Account for online Marketers.

So don't be intimidated by the prospect of setting up your merchant account. These are three simple solutions that can help you get set up for collecting payments fast!

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