In order to accept credit cards with your iPhone, you need the following:

1. Merchant Account 2. Authorize.net Gateway 3. ProcessAway Software

All three of these items are provided with no upfront cost at www.ProcessAway.com

The iPhone is such a powerful device. Who ever would have thought you could turn a cell phone into an iPhone credit card terminal. It’s very simple to use, and makes accepting credit card payments a breeze with ProcessAway, Authorize.net and your Apple iPhone!

Both of these providers have many features that are common.  Most importantly, both these services are compatible with every major web hosting company and shopping cart software.  Both of these providers have been developed using internet-protocol platform and provide browser-based solutions. Last thing is that it is easy to integrate both of these payment gateways. However, they do differ from each other in certain aspects.

DowCommerce is considered to be the most powerful payment gateway service provider that is currently available in the market. On the contrary, Authorize.net has been in operation since 1996 and boasts of a network of more than 200,000 internet business owners. In this regard, Authorize.net is more reliable in terms of ensuring data security. One aspect that separates Authorize.net from other payment gateway service providers is that it offers a prompt and valuable technical support to customers 24×7. Customers also have access to online support documentation.

Another major difference between DowCommerce and Authorize.net is in terms of costs. One can save hundreds of dollars through a DowCommerce account. This is because a DowCommerce account costs less than $20 per month. In case of DowCommerce, the merchant doesn’t need to pay any setup costs. Even the transaction costs seem to be lower. DowCommerce charges customers with a transaction fee of 10¢ per each transaction and a discount rate of 2.14% on the purchase price.

Both Authorize.net and DowCommerce offer a variety of features to their customers. Some of these include recurring billing module, integrated shopping cart, QuickBooks integration and Multi-User Access. Anyone, who opens a DowCommerce account, can avail these features free of cost. In case of Authorize.net, customer needs to pay certain charges so as to utilize some of these features.

Both of these payment gateway service providers offer advanced fraud processing measures to prevent the occurrence of identity thefts and credit card frauds. Dow Commerce uses state-of-the-art fraud prevention technology, a service that is provided to users at a minimum monthly charge of $10. On the other hand, Authorize.net employs a variety of security features such as 128-bit SSL Encryption, Address Verification Service (AVS) and Card Code Verification (CCV) plus Fraud Detection Suite.

1. Research the demand for your product. No matter what you are going to try to sell, you will want to make sure that there is a reasonable demand for it. There is no use paying the money to start up an Ecommerce business if you are going to be unable to sell anything.
2. Choose a good domain name. Most likely, the one you want is taken, as is usually the case. You can attempt to buy the name back- money is always a powerful motivator- or you can try to alter the name by adding the, or online, or even a hyphen. If this still doesn’t work, you may have to change the .com to something more obscure, like .biz for example. The drawback to this is that your potential customers may not remember that part and simply enter .com, leading them to the wrong site.
3. Create a good website. This involves writing stellar sales copy that will lure potential customers. Also make it easy to use, many a sale has been lost because the potential customer got fed up of trying to navigate an amateur website. If you don’t feel comfortable with your own skill, hire someone. It may be one of the best decisions you ever made.
4. Find a website host. You can find someone to host your website for a very affordable rate, but research to make sure you are getting the most for your money. After all, its your money and your business.
   
5. Advertise yourself. You may have the best quality product at the best prices and with the best service. But if you don’t advertise it, how is the consumer to know? Spending a small amount of money on one or two well-placed and well-worded advertisements may pay off in the long run.
6. Research your competitors. You will want to know what your competitor’s prices and policies are to ensure that you are pricing your product appropriately and competitively. You can spend money on your website and on advertising, but if you don’t measure up the competition, you won’t be gaining any new customers. One way to attract potential customers to your site is to provide shopping incentives. If you offer free shipping on purchases over a certain amount, consumers will spend more money at your site, and will be happy about doing so!
7. Provide payment options. By providing a wide range of payment options, you are appealing to a wider market. Many people are uncomfortable displaying their financial information, and you will lose that business if you only accept credit cards.  By setting or your own merchant account, or even accepting Paypal payments, for example, significantly broadens your market.  Some corporations frown on Paypal because it is seen as somewhat amateur. In this case, a secure shopping cart is preferred. You will have to see what works best for your business.
8. Automate your Ebusiness. There is a ton of competition on the web, and it is necessary to respond to your list of clients, and get names on your mailing list. If you want people to sign up to your mailing list, it is necessary to offer something and make it seem attractive. The last thing most people want is more spam in their inboxes. You may offer a percentage off at your website if they sign up for your mailing list. Not only does this ensure that you get their names, but they will be more likely to spend money at your site.
9. Stay in touch with your customers. Once you have your customers, you want them to return. Staying in touch with your customers is as easy as creating a survey on your website where they can comment on the service and the product and suggest improvements.
10. Add a personal touch. When you ship the product, you may want to consider putting in a little ‘thank you for your business’ gift with first time customers. A gift certificate is a wonderful gesture in that it ensures repeat business.

Hopefully these tips will help you think carefully about starting your own ecommerce business. It may be a bit of work at first, but with determination, it is possible to you’re your ecommerce business into a thriving corporate entity. With a bit of know how, and the proper groundwork, creating a successful ecommerce business is only a few clicks away.

A payment gateway is defined as a secure technique of online payment which permits all the online money transactions for any business activity. Customers can make online payments for products and services very easily and conveniently. Payment gateways solutions also offer extra services including money transfer, send and receive payments by emails; telephones etc. Customers can easily purchase products from any service provider situated anywhere in the world, without hesitation. This breaking of business barrier has increased the system of online payment gateways more acceptable and one of the most effective workable system.

This method of online money transactions provides a safe and practical way to manage the risks of ecommerce transactions.

This innovative system for moment transfer is entirely based on a person’s banking details. When the transactions are done online, banking details such as information about funds limit and credit card details of the customer’s account is required. So it is mandatory to identify the customer’s authorization and his or her information for secure and successful transaction.

Nowadays, credit cards are accepted in major for payment options in a payment gateway. There is no requirement of any software and technical knowledge for its proper usage. Only customer information is encrypted to make the payments secure and protected. The major issue while making payments online is to protect the fraudulent, unwanted spam and computer viruses because they may access the information of customer over the Internet. Payment gateway solution is a technique to detect and provide secure and effective payment solutions.

It acts as an effective platform between a business’ website and its customers. The main motive behind implementing this solution is to provide efficient payment gateways to facilitate customers to enjoy their buying experience.

The author of this article is a professional writer for Software Development India, an emerging IT company offering customized solutions including Payment Gateway Solutions and Web Site Graphic Design, search engine optimization and flash development India for clients around the world.