Taking Credit Cards
Accepting Visa Online
More and more consumers are doing their shopping online. That means your business needs to start accepting Visa online just to stay ahead of the curve.
In today's economy, the ability to accept online credit card payments is rapidly becoming a non-negotiable business requirement.
Although some companies funnel all of their customer's purchases through PayPal and other venues, any business that is serious about selling on the Internet now accepts online payments from major credit card companies, including Visa.
In tandem with other credit card providers, Visa has wisely invested in creating a highly secure system for online transactions. Online security is a major issue for consumers and merchants bear no small amount of responsibility for making sure their customers' payment information is protected from theft. These days, a single security breach can result in several cycles of negative PR. Severe revenue losses are an inevitable consequence of lapse security routines.
Still, the benefits of accepting Visa online far outweigh the risks, especially given Visa's efforts to create a secure system for online merchants. If you're still on the fence about online Visa payments, here's the information you need to make an informed decision.
Benefits of Accepting Visa Online
The main benefit of accepting online Visa payments is that it lets you tap into the online retail market. Online consumers differ from in-store buyers in that they can't pay cash for their purchases. Unless you offer some kind of electronic payment option, you online store is dead in the water. Most online customers have either a Visa or MasterCard as well as a high degree of trust in these companies to protect their personal data. Once a customer's Visa number has been associated with a customer account, it can be retained for future purchases, encouraging repeat business.
Online Security Measures
Visa adheres to a strict set of best practices when it comes to protecting your customer's payment data. In addition to SSL technology, Visa has an aggressive fraud prevention strategy that employs advanced e-commerce security features. Merchants who accept Visa online directly benefit from the investment Visa has made in consumer security. Further sweetening the pot is the fact that Visa offers cardholders a "zero liability" feature for online benefits so they won't be charged for unauthorized online purchases.
As with in-store Visa payment acceptance, it's important to prominently display the Visa logo on your website to notify consumers that your business accepts Visa and that their purchases will be protected by Visa's security program.
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