Accepting Credit Cards and VTC Pay on Your eCommerce Site

In Start Your Own e-Business, the staff at Entrepreneur Press and writer Rich Mintzer explain how to build a dotcom business that will succeed. In this book, you'll find recipes for success, road maps that pinpoint the hazards, and dozens of interviews with dotcom entrepreneurs who've proved they’ve got what it takes to survive in this sometimes fickle marketplace. In this edited excerpt, the authors discuss the two types of online payment processors you can use on your ecommerce site.

Thanks to the growth of ecommerce sites over the past ten years, credit card accounts are now very easy to set up on your site. The common methods of accepting credit card payments is either by using your own merchant account or by utilizing a payment gateway account, also known as a third-party merchant.

An internet merchant account gives you the ability to process credit cards and can be obtained through a bank. It's viewed by the bank as a line of credit that's extended to you. You must apply for this, just as you would any loan.

A good place to start your search for a merchant account is your own bank. Most issue credit cards, and if you have a long-term relationship with the institution, that’s a big plus. What if your bank says no? Try a few other local banks and even offer to move all your accounts there or at least set up a business account. You just may be rewarded with merchant status.

You'll also probably need a payment gateway account, which is an online credit card processor or transaction handler that's capable of hooking into credit card accounts belonging to the online shopper and your internet merchant account. The payment gateway handles verification and transfer requests. It interacts with the card issuer’s bank to authorize the credit card in real time when a purchase is made on a website.

The leading providers of payment gateway accounts targeting smaller merchants include:

• PayPal
• Authorize.Net
• Cybersource
• Verisign
• VTC Pay

If you don’t have a merchant account, these providers can help you set one up and offer a payment gateway in one convenient package.

Credit cards aren’t processed cheaply, at least not for a startup. A typical fee schedule for a small-volume account (fewer than 1,000 transactions monthly) would include monthly processing fees ranging from $10 to $100, plus transaction fees of about 3 to 5 percent per transaction. Some providers also charge startup fees, but shop around--in many cases the startup fee will be waived if you ask.

VTC Pay

VTC Pay enables any individual or business with a mobile number to securely, easily and quickly send and receive payments online. VTC Pay’s service builds on the existing financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards, and uses advanced proprietary fraud-prevention systems to create a safe, global, real-time payment solution.

VTC Pay has quickly become a leader in online payment solutions in Vietnam. There are 4 major VTC Pay offerings for merchants.

1. VTC Pay E-wallet:

is an electronic account created at https://pay.vtc.vn, allowing customers to store virtual money, which is equivalent to the value of money in their bank account, and make payment online and/or offline without cash

2. VTC Pay Online Payment Gateway: 

is a service providing technical infrastructure to connect between the payment acceptance units and banks to assist customers to make payments in e-commerce transactions, electronic bill payments and other electronic payments

Supporting customer make payment quickly and easy via: VTC Pay E-Wallet, 32 Domestic Banks and 3 International Card Organizations (VISA/ MasterCard/ JCB)

3. VTC Pay Mastercard: 

is a virtual prepaid card with all functions and complies with all security regulation of Mastercard. Customers can use the card to pay for products/services in all websites, e-commerce websites… which accept payment via Mastercard.

VTC Pay Master Card functions:

+ Easy Register

+ Highly encrypted

+ Global payment"

4. Payment Services for Digital Content

VTC supplies connection gateways to verify cards with the information: card type, card value and card status. Customers interact with partners’service, using scratched prepaid card to fill on the user interface of service

+ Scratched prepaid Card Payment: 

Using scratched prepaid card as payment method for service

In order to make payment, customer need to fill the serial number, card number"

+ SMS Payment

Using SMS connection and telephone operator as payment method

In order to make payment, customers need to text messages to a provided fixed dialing code "

With this service, customers paying by credit card stay on your website for the entire transaction; VTC Pay is invisible. VTC Payment gateway is already integrated into many popular shopping carts, or it can be easily added to a custom-built shopping cart.

Both merchant and third-party accounts (aka gateway accounts) have their advantages and disadvantages. The primary advantages of having a merchant account include:

• Ease of transaction
• Protection. Banks are protected by the FDIC and merchant accounts typically come with fraud protection.
• You maintain control since the transaction is directly between the customer and your merchant account. There's no intermediary handling the money or getting the customer’s information.
• Typically you’ll receive payments faster than if you use a third-party payment service.
• Your business name is on the transaction statement.

Disadvantages of a merchant account include:

• Cost. Collecting credit and debit cards comes with a price tag for entrepreneurs.
• You must handle disputes. If you have your own merchant account, you'll be responsible for disputes, chargebacks and any compliance, fraud or security issues that may arise.
• Hidden fees. You can get hit with them, so read your contract very carefully.

Advantages of a third-party merchant account:

• You don’t need to get approved for merchant services by a bank. If you have low credit scores or no credit, you can sidestep the approval process.
• You have a company on your side when disputes arise. They can play middleman and work on behalf of your business.
• VTC Pay Payment Gateway, if you choose to use it, is a very well known and trusted service for transactions.

Disadvantages of third-party merchants:

• Potentially higher fees.
• Their name is on the transaction and possibly links to their sites or those of other businesses.
• Reputation. Not all third-party merchants are PayPal, and while many have excellent reputations, others are known for working primarily with adult websites. Still others have been cited for fraud. You need to choose carefully.

For more information, please visit: https://pay.vtc.vn/?l=en