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Internet merchant services – benefits of direct
e-commerce merchant services versus
PayPal
PayPal is a well recognised Online
Processing Firm. It is the most widely
used 3rd party internet
merchant service provider. But, it is
essential for traders to know that using
PayPal is not always the best shopping
cart. There are several advantages of
direct merchant services for e-commerce
that make it a better option when
compared to PayPal.
Following is a comparison between PayPal
and direct e-commerce merchant services:
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A direct merchant account for e-commerce
is set up so that funds can be deposited
directly into a business’s checking
account. This can be done with the help
of the chopping cart icon placed on a
trader’s website. This icon refers the
web consumers to the payment gateway of
a trader. Here, the consumers can enter
their credit card information. The
payment gateways, like PayPal, are very
secure since they have several firewall
layers to safeguard the information of
the cardholder. This makes direct
e-commerce merchant accounts PCI DSS
compliant.
-
Since traders can directly deal with the
merchant account service providers, it
enables them to monitor all the
transactions that take place. The
monitoring of transactions, when they
are completed, can be done in real time.
In addition to this, refunds can be
issued, recurring billing can be set and
traders can also void transactions.
Moreover, transactions can easily be
exported into major software like oracle
and Quick Books. This helps a trader to
manage the accounting records and also
helps in the elimination of manually
transcribing payment information.
-
If a trader has a retail shop with a
processing terminal for credit cards,
then both the payment systems can be
tied to one merchant account. This makes
the job easy for a trader. However, with
PayPal, this tie-up is not possible.
-
The rate for carrying out a transaction
is far more manageable and is also much
lower with direct merchant services for
e-commerce. If PayPal is opted, the
rates will vary since it is based on
monthly volume of sales. If the sales
volume is low then a trader will be
charged with a higher rate. Since rates
are established when e-commerce service
providers are opted, the cost incurred
by the trader will be less.
-
Furthermore, it is frustrating for
traders to wait for a few days it their
funds get deposited into their accounts.
If direct e-commerce is opted, the time
taken to deposit the funds is
considerable shorter when compared to
PayPal.
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When a trader opts for direct ecommerce
services, he/she need not have to worry
about setting up a website or take the
pain to learn HTML. All the information
and support required for accepting
online payments will be provided by the
providers. Moreover, it is easier to set
up when compared to PayPal.
Once direct e-commerce is opted, traders
will realise it is not only an effective
option but also an efficient one. Apart
from being user friendly, it is also
very secure for both the consumer as
well as the trader. |
