<p>At the end of the day your goal as an internet business owner is to make it as simple as possible for people to purchase and pay for things you are selling. While you almost certainly have an Internet merchant account set up, it is well worth considering adding a 3rd party processor to the mix to enable nearly every Internet user to pay for your merchandise.
The Big Boys
Three companies, Paypal, Amazon, and Google provide fairly safe 3rd party processing agreements. They accept payment on your behalf and charge you a percentage of the sale as well as a set transaction fee. For many people, the fact that they are doing business with a known entity generates a certain level of comfort. There are guarantees and protocols in place to protect the buyer with each of these services.
From your perspective, you have some protection also, but generally speaking, since these three processors answer to the credit card companies, they are going to pass any additional fees, such as those for a charge back, to you. As you have little control over or access to the transaction information or customer details, make sure you are completely clear about what kinds of protection you have in place.
Integration is Essential
No matter which of the three third party processors you choose, you need to have seamless integration with your website and payment system. None are quite as efficient, from your viewpoint, as having a regular gateway based merchant account payment acceptance, but each can offer some ease to the customers. If your goal is to increase your sales, you really should consider adding at least one alternative.
Take some time to compare services, not rates, since all of the Big Boys offer the same rates and fees. If you have a lot of micro transactions, there are only two to choose from, so take that into consideration.
As always, reputation is a huge factor in any online business, and Internet merchant accounts are no different.
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