Payment Processing in E Commerce

Payment processing in ecommerce

For many prospective ecommerce business owners, setting up their payment processing service is one of the most challenging aspects of the business. As you'll soon find out, accepting and processing online payments is a different ball game from its brick and mortar counterparts. There is a wide variety of options available, but the competition in the ecommerce space is such that you have to meet your customers in their comfort zone and not the other way round. By implication, business owners have to integrate different methods for payment processing in ecommerce if they are to expand their reach.

How does payment processing in ecommerce work?

To the casual observer, payment processing couldn't be more straightforward: load your shopping cart, enter your credit card details, and authorize the payment. However, a lot is going on behind the scenes. If you're a prospective ecommerce business owner, you will benefit from having a more profound knowledge of the payment processing process as this will allow you to serve your customers better. Below is a summary of the payment process flow as it pertains to credit card payments:

Opening the gates

Once the shopper enters their card details and clicks to authorize the payment, the seller's payment gateway forwards the payment processor's transaction details.

Requesting issuer's authorization

Before payment can proceed, the payment processor has to get the permission of the card-issuing bank. The issuing bank verifies the transaction's legitimacy, and it has the right to stop the processor from proceeding with the payment.

Authorizing and advancing

At this stage, the card-issuing bank reviews the transaction. If the transaction is considered legitimate, the bank proceeds to deduct the sale amount from the credit card account. Otherwise, all the parties involved get notified that the transaction cannot proceed.

Approving the move

If the step above is successful, the company providing payment processing service in ecommerce notifies the seller. However, the money won't be in your account just yet. Crediting the merchant account may take a few days, and the transaction may still be reversed if any irregularity is detected.

Crediting the account

After this step, the funds from the sale will finally show up in the seller's merchant account, and the transaction can be declared done. The only thing that remains is transferring the money from your merchant account to the bank account.

From the steps highlighted above, you can agree that merchant service providers are at the heart of payment processing in ecommerce. Your merchant company is the link between your payment gateway and the credit card-issuing bank. To a large extent, they determine how fast the payment will be authorized and how soon you can withdraw to your bank account. This is the more reason why you need to work with an uber-reliable merchant company that boasts a track record of facilitating payments promptly and efficiently.

Contact Merchant Focus for payment processing in ecommerce

If you've been searching for a merchant service provider with the qualities highlighted above, you need not look beyond Merchant Focus. We are a preferred Authorize.Net reseller, and alongside our partners, we guarantee safe and secure online payment processing. Contact us on 800-895-4085 or visit our website to learn more.