How to Accept Credit Card Payments

Credit card payments are an important part of any business looking to sell a service or product.

There are a number of reasons why it is important for your business to accept credit card payments including:

• To increase sales
• Save you and your customer time
• Provides flexible payment options

But just how do you accept credit card payments?

There are two things to think about regarding card payments, online and in-person transactions. Most businesses will accept both variations of paying, although your business may benefit from only one, for example, if it is only based online.

Set up a merchant account

Firstly, to accept any sort of card payment, you need to set up a merchant account. Our team at Access Merchant Services can assist you with this. We will provide solutions that perfectly fit your business model.

How to accept credit card payments online

To allow online card payments to take place, you will need to integrate a payment gateway. This handles the transaction from the customer and checks if the money can be transferred to the merchant account via the payment gateway.

If you are interested in learning more about payment gateways, our team has provided information on them here!

How to accept in-person credit card payments

This is the more traditional form of credit card payment when the customer is physically there to pay for the item or service. To process this transaction, you will need a point of sale (POS) system which includes both the software and the physical hardware that is used to process the information of the credit card. This works in 3 simple steps:

• The customer uses the card on the hardware by inserting or tapping it
• The system checks if the transaction is approved or declined
• If approved, then you will receive the funds through your merchant account, into the business account

When arranging your merchant account, we use our established relationships with hundreds of reputable card processing banks to find the best match, best rates, and the right acquirer for your business. Contact the team at Axcess Merchant Services today to find out how we can help you!