Moving into the 21st Century in Business

So you have started your own business and have done everything you are supposed to do, right? But have you created a website to enhance your business? Have you implemented a payment gateway to compliment your website? If you want to take your business into the 21st Century, you need to be sure you have the right tools to accomplish the job.

A payment gateway is a necessary component to add to your website. Never heard of a payment gateway? Well simply put, a payment gateway is an application that can authorize payments for your online business. It is a lot like the terminal in your store where you swipe your credit and debit cards. Think of this gateway as a virtual terminal that will help you to protect credit card information by encrypting it as it travels through the Internet.

When someone decides to buy something from your website, they enter in personal information such as credit card info that is encrypted and send by SSL (secure socket layer) encryption. The gateway will send the information to the card association such as Visa/MasterCard for approval or to the issuing bank if American Express or Discover. Once approved or declined, a response code is sent back to the initial gateway. If approved, the merchant ships the product and sends in a batch statement usually at the end of the day. The payment gateway will send the information so that deposits are made to the merchant bank.

Payment gateways often offer other tools to help a business with fraud and to reduce the risk associated with credit card abuse. Some companies offer these tools for no additional charge while others offer them for a slightly higher rate. Check out the different companies that offer payment gateways to see which one best suit your payment solutions. Eventually you may be able to take advantage of other features like payroll processing. With a little research, you should be able to move your business into the 21st Century with the right payment gateway!