Category

Payments

Our Payments category includes all aspects of accepting credit cards, including our 2-part “Primer on Merchant Accounts” and our 3-part “Credit Card Processing FAQs.” We also address cryptocurrencies, hosted payment apps, buy-now-pay-later, and more.

Payments
21 Bitcoin Currency Resources

August 17, 2011 • Sig Ueland

Bitcoin is the first decentralized digital currency. Unlike other virtual currencies—like Facebook credits, for instance—it is not run by a company or organization, nor pegged to another currency. Bitcoins are digital coins you can send through the Internet, without using a bank or cl...
Payments
Understanding Credit Card Fees, Part 4: The Merchant Statement – Per Item Fees

August 11, 2011 • Phil Hinke

This article is "Part 4" in a series where I help you understand your debit and credit card fees. In last month’s installment — "Understanding Credit Card Fees, Part 3: Punitive Interchange Rates" — I explained how to decode your merchant statement to distinguish the actual interchange...
Payments
Understanding Credit Card Fees, Part 3: Punitive Interchange Rates

July 14, 2011 • Phil Hinke

This is the third installment in a series where I help you understand your credit and debit card fees. In last month’s article, "Understanding Credit Card Fees, Part 2: Merchant Account Fees and Charges," I discussed the various monthly and annual fees charged by merchant account provid...
Payments
Understanding Credit Card Fees, Part 2: Merchant Account Fees and Charges

June 29, 2011 • Phil Hinke

In “Understanding Credit Card Fees, Part 1: The Basics,” I outlined the information you need to know to receive the best rates from your merchant account provider. This article is "Part 2" of that series where I help you understand your credit card fees. In this installment, I address...
Payments
Increase Conversions with Alternate Payment Methods

June 24, 2011 • Pamela Hazelton

Ten years ago, PayPal was the ideal solution for small businesses that couldn’t justify the high costs of a merchant account. In its infancy, the growth of PayPal user accounts came from smaller merchants. PayPal later became the norm for eBay and large etailers because it allowed peo...
Payments
Durbin Amendment May Foster Deceptive Credit, Debit Processing Fees

June 21, 2011 • Phil Hinke

The Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act takes effect on July 21, 2011. One of the key points in the Amendment requires large financial institutions to cap their debit card interchange fees. Currently, the scheduled cap is 12 cents per transaction. However, that ...
Payments
Google Wallet to Impact Ecommerce Merchants?

May 31, 2011 • Armando Roggio

Google has partnered with MasterCard, FirstData, Citi, and Sprint to demonstrate a new payment technology that could — in theory — change consumer payment behavior, payment security, and even PCI ...
Payments
Understanding Credit-Card Fees, Part 1: The Basics

May 10, 2011 • Phil Hinke

I had a few merchants contact me after my last article. They wanted my advice because they could not understand their merchant statements, much less know the best way to ...
Payments
SSL Certificates: Extended Validation Worth the Cost?

September 16, 2010 • Brendan Gibbons

Internet users interact with SSL certificates when they access a web page or transmit data over the web. These certificates help confirm the rightful owner of the site, and that payment and other information is encrypted and safely transmitted. However, one size of SSL certificates do...
Payments
Credit Card Veterans Focus on iPhone, Mobile Payments

May 26, 2010 • PEC Staff

The rise of mobile devices is affecting ecommerce. More consumers are using these devices to shop online and more merchants are using them to collect payments. Two experts in the ...
Payments
Visa to Acquire CyberSource, Authorize.Net

April 22, 2010 • Kerry Murdock

The proposed acquisition by Visa of Authorize.Net’s parent company is the latest evolution for the storied payment gateway. Visa announced on April 21 its agreement to purchase CyberSource, Authorize.Net’s parent, for $26 per common share, or roughly $2 billion in cash. The deal is exp...
Payments
Five Nifty Mobile-Banking Apps

April 13, 2010 • Brendan Gibbons

As mobile apps become more sophisticated, mobile banking is becoming a more convenient alternative to online banking. Some mobile banking apps simply replicate the tools available on their website, but others go further and offer functionality possible because of the device itself. Merc...
Payments
Mobile Payment Systems Are Adapting, Developing

January 28, 2010 • Brendan Gibbons

Mobile payment processing can help merchants take advantage of the one item people rarely leave home without: a cell phone or mobile device. Accepting payments by text verification has been in practice since 2006 when companies like PayPal began offering a mobile option that allows us...
Payments
The PeC Review: PayPal’s Website Payment Pro is a Good Value for Small Merchants

December 18, 2009 • Armando Roggio

Ecommerce is not possible without online payment processing. You might have the best products. You might have the best website. But, if customers cannot order and pay for products online, you’re not in the ecommerce business. PayPal’s Website Payments Pro is an all-in-one payment proc...
Payments
When a Shopping Cart is Not PCI Compliant: Three Options for Merchants

November 19, 2009 • Kevin Patrick Allen

Earlier this week, Practical eCommerce shared three important questions to ask about your shopping cart. Today, as part of our ongoing PCI compliance series, I’ll take a look at options for ecommerce merchants currently using a shopping cart that is not PA-DSS (payment application data...
Payments
PCI Compliance: Three Important Questions to Ask About Your Shopping Cart

November 17, 2009 • Kevin Patrick Allen

There are a number of matters an ecommerce business must address to become PCI compliant. For one, an online merchant’s shopping cart must be certified via the PCI's PA-DSS process. A merchant's web hosting environment and payment gateway have to be secure. And a merchant’s own inter...
Payments
Cross-Border Affiliate Payments: Banks, PayPal and Payoneer

September 18, 2009 • Michael E. Shatz

Affiliate marketing is one of the pillars of modern ecommerce. Hundreds of independent networks, such as buy.at, MediaWhiz, Convert2Media and Media Shakers, connect affiliates with merchants, which drives traffic to the merchant sites and earns referral fees for the affiliates. But, act...
Payments
The PeC Review: Braintree Payment Solutions Protects Merchants and Customers

September 17, 2009 • Armando Roggio

Without a safe, reliable means of processing payments, there would be no ecommerce. So it is not a surprise that managing payments and securing credit card and customer information is a major concern for online retailers. Braintree Payment Solutions offers merchants a complete electron...
Payments
Alternative Payment Methods Part 1: What Are They, How Do They Work

June 2, 2009 • Michael E. Shatz

Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series on alternative online payment methods. The author is Michael E. Shatz, a consultant and an expert on online payments. Part 1, below, defines alternative payment methods and explains the two major types. Part 2 will evaluate the claims m...
Payments
Credit Card Processing: Eleven Pointers to Save Money, Part 2

April 6, 2009 • Michael E. Shatz

Editor's Note: This is Part 2 in a two-part series on ideas for ecommerce merchants to save money on credit card processing. The author is Michael Shatz, a veteran of the credit card processing industry. He now owns The Merchant’s Guide, a Massachusetts-based consulting and publishing f...
Payments
Ecommerce Know-How: Understanding Your Payment Processing Statement

February 18, 2009 • Armando Roggio

While online shopkeepers are experts in their industries, they might not be expert at understanding their payment processing service or its statement, which can include adjustments, interchange charges, service charges, fees, and chargebacks. At its heart, ecommerce is about the exchan...
Payments
Amazon Payment Service Allows for Advanced Options

October 6, 2008 • Armando Roggio

Amazon.com has been offering a beta version of its Flexible Payment Service (FPS) to merchants for almost a year now. With many developer-friendly features, some sellers could benefit from adding Amazon FPS to their payment options, especially if they’re already using Amazon to sell the...
Payments
Credit Card Chargebacks

October 7, 2007 • Pamela Hazelton

It seems like only yesterday we were gearing up for a new holiday shopping season. Alas, a plethora of shoppers seeking competitive pricing, free shipping and prime customer service is here. We’ve struggled to work out all the kinks in our shopping cart solution and backend system, so w...
Payments
The Rising Tide of Alternative Payment Systems

September 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

Alternative-payment systems are flowing into the payment processing industry. During the last two years, many new options have been announced, re-announced, tested, trialed, released or re-released. Many others are in development. Marc Abbey, a Partner of First Annapolis Consulting, sa...

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