I am often asked how a company can get paid through their website. Many have heard and use PayPal which is a quick and cheap option. It has definitely improved over the years (you don’t need to have an account to pay, subscriptions, donations, etc.) but it does have its drawbacks.

Before I continue, I want to recommend that you don’t limit yourself to one payment option. Customers like having a choice when paying for  your product or service. Give it to them.

If you are interested, there are other options that you should consider, below are two types:

Merchant Accounts. This is more expensive option but your flexibility is higher and you are not promoting another company. With this option, your customers never leave your website. But you will also need additional customization to your website, for example SSL Encryption and an online form payment customization. Below are some example rates:

• $100 one-time sign up
• 2.3% – 3.5% fees and $0.75 – $1.00 per sale
• There is usually an application fee
• Usually up to $24/month monthly fees.
• No statement fees are about $10/month

3rd-Party Payment Processors. Much like PayPal, this option takes away the frustration of custom coding for your website. But, as you can see below, your fees per sale are higher. This will affect you as your sales volume increases. There may be other downsides, for example, customers leave your website for a moment to make the purchase, but whey may return once the transaction is complete.Another downside is that on the customer’s credit card receipt, the merchant’s name will show and not your company name and phone. This can frustrate you customer if they have a question about their purchase. They will call the merchant and not you. But, depending on your business model, this may work better for you.

List of 3rd Party Merchants

I’ve compiled a list of various merchants that either I have used as a merchant or customer or my customers have recommended.

• PayPal. The most widely used 3rd party merchant.Fees depend on the type of PayPal setup you decide on using.
  • For standard payments. No sign-up fee, 2.9% + $0.30 per sale, but this depends on the purchase payment
  • For pro payments, this setup allows your customers to remain on your website. There is no sign-up fee but there is a $30 monthly fee. Transaction fees depend on the purchase payment.
• 2Checkout. This merchant works much like PayPal but does have higher transaction rates.
  • $49 one-time sign up
  • 5.5% and $0.45 per sale
  • No application fees
  • No monthly fees
  • No statement fees
  • No gateway fees.
• Google Payments. With Google Checkout, you’ll be charged rates that range from 1.9% + $0.30 per transaction to 2.0% and $0.30 per transaction, depending on your monthly sales volume. And there are no monthly, setup or gateway fees.
• Intuit. I have not used this merchant but I have customers that are happy with their service. Besides the ease of being able to process credit cards through your Quickbooks and easing the process, their pricing can be competitive.
  • $100 one-time sign up
  • 2.44% – 3.5% fees and $0.27 per sale
  • $60 application fee
  • Up to $20/month monthly fees.
• ProPay. Another easy way to accept credit cards. I do notice that their rates are variable depending on your ProPay package and type of credit cards you accept.
• ClickBank. Another popular option as they will accept both Credit Cards and Paypal for you, but they have very high transaction rates starting at 7.5%.

As with any business decision, do some research and using a spreadsheet, I suggest calculating a typical sale to help you decide.