 A
good part of this publication is certainly applicable
for the business owner who has a storefront and accepts
credit and debit cards in a "card present" environment
with a credit card terminal or Point of Sale (POS) system.
This guide is also applicable for those merchants who
are Mail Order/ Telephone Order (MOTO) types of businesses.
Almost without exception; however, any business owner
should be accepting non-cash forms of payment over an
internet website even if they are currently in a storefront
location. Because of this, I have also attempted to address
many of the questions and concerns related to Internet
Merchant Accounts.
eMarketer points to slowing e-commerce sales growth through
2012 but e-commerce has experienced years of 20% and higher
annual growth.
In fact, the impetus of further e-commerce growth will
be increased spending by current online buyers. Some of
the increase will be organic as many online buyers are
naturally shifting a greater share of their purchases
from stores to the Web in search of more convenience,
broader product selection and cost savings. E-Commerce
sales have still exploded to 136.8 billion in 2008. You
can only imagine where it will go.
Today, we know a great deal more about what the Internet
can and can't do, what creates an acceptable return on
investment, and what customers are looking for. It is
not a magic road to riches. It is a marketplace to do
business. As the economy continues to be challenged, I
believe successful companies will expand their marketplace
by intelligent and effective use of Internet technologies.
Smart business people are always looking for ways to increase
sales, introduce new profit centers, reduce costs, and
create market awareness. The Internet medium is by far
the easiest and most economical vehicle to achieve those
goals if you understand how to use it and have the right
e-commerce partners.
 Perhaps the best reason for accepting non-cash forms of payment
including electronic checks over the internet is giving
you more time to do what you do best. If you are spending
significant time each month processing paper checks as
example, this is taking away from your valuable sales
or production time. Every day you spend processing small
checks is an opportunity cost that reduces your sales
or production. If you are like most small business owners,
you are having more fun in sales or production, not in
accounting. There comes a time for every small or medium
size business owner to say "enough is enough". While starting
a Merchant Account does cost you some time & money
up front, the long term increase in sales & production
may be what you need to launch your business to the next
level - and have some more fun. |
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