Save Tons of Money by Carefully Selecting Your Ecommerce Credit Card Processing Service

The right choice of the perfect ecommerce credit card processing service can save you lots of money by getting the lowest rate possible, especially if your Internet company processes a substantial amount online. The margins in the ecommerce credit card processing business are extremely thin (as low as two-tenths of one percent or 20 "basis points"). Therefore they have to make it up in volume. Careful negotiation for a discount rate, that recognizes the volume of your business, is of crucial importance, too.

First, your customer fills out a form on your web page or activates an electronic wallet that holds his credit card information. This information is transmitted to you (usually via secure Internet connection) and then forwarded to your ecommerce credit card processing company, which sends a secure message (via high-speed secure land telephone lines) to the bank that issued the card ("issuing bank") to the consumer/buyer.

The issuing bank verifies that sufficient credit is available on the consumer's card, that the account is active, and tries to detect (through a complex set of algorithms) potential fraudulent use of the card. (Usually - prior to the bank's screening - a reliable ecommerce credit card processing company runs the credit card info through a massive fraud detecton system, either in-house and/or outsourced).

Once, if the transaction passes these checks and the transaction is authorized, the sales amount is deducted from the remaining credit balance available for the customer's account.

After the order has been fulfilled by the merchant, the ecommerce credit card processing company "settles" the transaction overnight with the (customer's) bank processor. The bank's processor transfers the money ($100 in our particular case) from the customer's credit card account into the merchant's credit card account, and the money is now available to you.

Of course, there is a fee taken for this service of ecommerce credit card processing. It is often called a "discount fee," and typically is in the range of 1.5%-2.0%. By negotiating carefully, you may be able to save a lot of money by getting the lowest rate possible. These savings can add up to substantial amounts over time - so, don't neglect this!

There are other monies that pass hands, too. The ecommerce credit card processing service pays an association fee of about 0.08% to the MaterCard or Visa association for the use of their network. This is a set fee and not negotiable. The ecommerce credit card processing service also pays the card-issuing bank an "interchange fee" of about 1.4% of the purchased item's price (this varies according to the type of transaction).

In the above scenario, if the discount fee is 1.8%, the merchant's ecommerce credit card processing service retains 32 cents (1.8% of $100 minus 0.08% minus 1.4% = 32 cents). Internet credit card processing companies capture revenue according to the number of transactions they process for a given bank.

As stated above, it is of crucial importance - especially for online companies processing a considerable amount of money - to critically investigate the discount fee. You may be able to save a lot of money by getting the lowest rate possible. These savings can add up to substantial amounts over time - so (once again), don't neglect this!

Surefire Premium Processing, a highly accredited ecommerce credit card processing company, offers a truly reliable service at a REAL discount rate that recognizes your substantial volume of business. After all, price is critical. Every 10 basis points off your discount rate adds straight to your financial bottom line...

Click here to find out more about Surefire Premium Processing...

...a high end ecommerce credit card processing service provider, partner of The National Bank of Canada, Network Commerce, American Airlines, AOL Canada, Intuit and many other high profile companies...

Look to this newly revised resource for an up-to-date, in-depth examination of how payments are made electronically across the Internet. The second edition covers the very latest developments in this quickly expanding area, including new security techniques such as the advanced encryption standard (AES) and multi-application smart cards.