You’re ready to start selling your products or services over the Internet, but what’s really needed? Here is a quick look at what you need:
1.      A web site
2.      Shopping cart software
3.      A way to collect payments

What type of shopping cart do you need?

A popular misconception is that shopping carts handle the whole financial transaction, but they only really act as a front end which passes information via a secure connection (another service) to a payment gateway – a separate service altogether.

When choosing a shopping cart, decide on what you want it to do:

• Can you install and configure the cart software yourself, or will you need help from your web designer?
• What kind of transaction volume will it be handling?
• Will it easily integrate into your existing web site?
• How much can you afford to pay for your shopping cart program?
• What payment gateway will the shopping cart use?

Payment Gateways. How will you collect payments?

One of the most important things that you must have in order to accept credit cards for your business is a payment gateway. A payment gateway is basically the same thing as a physical point of sale terminal in a retail store.

Payment gateways offer many different services, some of which include:

• Accept credit card and bank transfer transactions over the Internet
• Send/receive transactions by a secure system
• Offers administrative support
• Promises complete privacy

Payment gateways link your shopping cart products to your account securely. This protects the credit card data and any other personal information from being exposed to computer hackers.

How do I sign up for a payment gateway?

Click on any of these payment gateway providers:

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