The number of payment gateways supported by Boss Cart Premium increases almost every month. When we first launch Boss Cart Premium it only supported 3 payment gateways, now it supports over ten payment processing methods and its increasing. Here is a list of payment gateways Boss Cart Premium support at present:

1. Paypal IPN
2. Paypal Express Checkout
3. Paypal Pro
4. Paypal Pro Payflow Edition
5. Secpay/Paypoint
6. Nochex
7. Worldpay
8. 2Checkout
9. Google Checkout
10. - PROTX VSP Form
    - PROTX VSP Direct
11. COD (Cash on Delivery) created, not tested live.
12. Pay by Cheque (to be created next week)

If you required a payment gateways that is not listed here, just drop us a line and we will intergrate it with Boss Cart Premium.  There is a comprehensive list of Payment gateways supported by Boss Cart premium at out payment gateway documentation page.

Google Base simple slogan aptly describes the services it offers “Post it on Base, find it in Google.” every item, product or services posted and accepted into Google Base will be found in Google search, usually withing a few hours, and quite high up on the first page of search result, much faster than urls submitted to Google search directly. Submitting your product to Google Base is a must if you want to take advantage of the free traffic Google could drive to your website.

To make submitting your product to Google Base, Boss Cart Premium contains Google Base exporter tool, it makes uploading all product in your shop to Google Base very easy.
The step-by-step guide below shows how to use Boss Cart Premium’s built in tool to export product to Base.

Here are some Google Base related urls:

• Google Base homepage : http://base.google.com/base/
• Google Base data description page : http://base.google.co.uk/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en_GB&answer=73932

Here is the step-by-step uploader tutorial.

1. 
   Login to Boss Cart Premium admin interface, expand uploader tools, click on “download previous CSV for Google Base”.

2. In the open window after step one, select “Save file” and download the CSV dump to your computer.

3. Go to Google Base login page and login to your Base account.

4. Browse to Data Feeds, Select New Data Feeds.

5. You need to complete the form in this page, pay particular attention to the name you call the data feed filename, it must be the exact name of the data feed filename you downloaded at step 1.

6.  Click on Manual upload file.

7.  Browse to your computer and select the file you download at step 2 and you are done. You should get a feedback from Google Base letting you know the upload is successful.

A step-by-step guide to designing, coding and implementing templates, skin and theme for Boss Cart Premium

1.    Create the new template HTML version, separate the CSS file from the main HTML file and name the css file originalcss.css

2.    Install boss cart premium, upload your logo, set the site slogan etc.

3.    All the templates are stored on the /templates/TemplateName.css/ folder

4.    To apply the new template use one of the existing templates, for example 4.css and when you are ready, rename this to YourTemplateName.css (ex: 8.css)

5.    All the files that we will refer to on the section below are located inside the folder /templates/4.css

6.    All the boss cart page templates are controlled by the originalcss.css file. The first section of the file controls the basic look of the template: div, id, img, p, span, ul, li, a, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, input .. body … a, a:links etc.

7.    All the page widths are controlled by the <div id=”outer”> if you want to change the middle section width or position you need to edit this on the css file:

#outer{
width:926px;
margin:auto;
}

8.    The top navigation “ Home | Privacy Policy | Sitemap ” is controlled by the <div id=”topHeader”>. On the css file it is the section below:

#topHeader{
background:url(’images/divider.gif’) repeat-x bottom left;
padding:5px 0px 3px 0px;
/*     font-size:10px;*/
text-align:right;
}
#topHeader a:link, #topHeader a:visited{
color:#000000;
padding:0px 5px 0px 5px;
}

9.    Next is the top logo section and the right part of this is where you can add a banner. This section is controlled by the <div id=”header”> including the <div id=”logo”> and <div id=”sologon”> section:

<div id=”header”>
<div id=”logo”><a href=”/”><img src=”/images/logo/YOURLOGO.jpg” alt=” ” width=” ” height=” ” border=”0″ /></a></div>
<div id=”sologon”><p>SLOGAN TEXT</p></div>

<div class=”clear”></div>
</div>

10.    Now you are ready to start to applying your first template section

11.    Edit the file originalcss and set your template main font, set the basic links look for visited, hover etc.

12.    Set your page width and the main section position, changing the <div id=”outer”> properties on the originalcss.css file.

13.    Now edit the file frame.php and set your preferences for the top navigation “ Home | Privacy Policy | Sitemap  ” which are controlled by the <div id=”topHeader”>

14.    You will see that after the “topHeader” section there is a file included on the frame.php :

<?php include_once(”header.php”); ?>

15.    Edit the file header.php and set your preferences for the <div id=”header”> section including the <div id=”logo”> and <div id=”sologon”> sections.

<div id=”header”>
<div id=”logo”><a href=”<?php echo $bosscartConfig_live_site ?>/”>

<img src=”<?php $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'];
echo $folderpath; ?>/images/logo/<?php echo $header_logo;  ?>” alt=”<?php echo $body_title; ?>” border=”0″ /></a></div>

<div id=”sologon”><?php  echo stripslashes($header_title) ?></div>
<div class=”clear”></div>
</div>

16.    Now set your page footer. Return to the file frame.php and scroll down to the end of the file. You will see another file included with the PHP include method:

<?php include_once(”footer.php”) ?>

17.    Edit the file footer.php and set you preferences for the footer section. The footer section is controlled by <div id=”footer”> and the link styles. You can edit all of this on the css file originalcss.css

<div id=”footer”>
<a  href=”<?php echo $bosscartConfig_live_site ?>/”><?php echo $langVarsGlobal['Home'] ?></a>|

<?php
$allcontent= $objContent->getallvalues(”static_content “,”*”,”`status`=’1′”);
while ($rscontent=mysql_fetch_array($allcontent)) {
?>
<a  href=”<?php echo $bosscartConfig_live_site ?>/statcontent/<?php echo $rscontent['content_url'] ?>/”   ><?php echo stripslashes($rscontent['content_name'])?></a>|

<?php } ?>
<a href=”<?php echo $bosscartConfig_live_site ?>/productsitemap/”><?php echo $langVarsGlobal['Sitemap'] ?></a>

<?php ?>
<br />
Powered by<a href=”http://www.bosscart.com/premium-shopping-cart/” target=”_blank”>Boss Cart Premium</a>Version 1.5.4  &nbsp;&nbsp;Copyright &copy;2006 – 2008, Velnet UK Ltd
</div>

18.    At this stage you now have your new template base look including the styles for the fonts, links, forms etc, and also you have integrated your new template full header and footer section.

19.    Based on the above described working method, next we will set the new look of the various pages inside sections.

I will describe on the sections below where you need to edit to control each section of the template.

20.    frame.php controls the sections below:

- main top navigation links under the logo section <div id=”menu”> and <ul class=”glossymenu”>

- the top search form with form ID “search-form”

- this file also includes two other files which control the left and right sections of the template: leftbar.php and rightcontent.php

- the home page “welcome” section is also included on this file with the php include method: include_once(’firstpage.php’);

21.    leftbar.php (<div id=”container-left”>) controls the sections below:

- Categories, with <div id=”masterdiv”>
- Manufacturer <div class=”quicklinks”>
- Quick Links <div class=”quicklinks”>
- Gift <div class=”quicklinks”>

PS. In some cases, to make changes on the Categories navigation menu, you will need to edit the file /includes/classes/cls_category.php

22.    rightcontent.php (<div id=”container-right”>)controls the sections below:

- Advanced Search

When the customer logs in:

- Welcome Back
- Account Details
- Delivery & Billing
- Order History
- My Wishlist
- Logout

On the products in shopping cart:

- the shopping basket with this option menu (<div class=”basket-rows”>)

- the best sellers section (<div class=”best_seller_product_box”>)
- the social bookmarks (<div id=”bookmarks” >)

23.    firstpage.php controls the sections below
- Featured Products
- Newly Added Products
- Discounted Products
- Intro / Welcome text and image (if added in the admin section)

24.    Each section product display is controlled by <div class=”product_box_NUMBER”>, from where the NUMBER is the number of the columns displayed on the home page.

<div class=”product_box_<?php echo $noofcolumns;?>”>

25.    addtowishlist.php contains one login form and one new user registration form. (id=”registerform”  and id=”loginform”)

26.    advancedsearch.php – contains the Advanced Search form. (form id=”advancedsearchform”)

Page: /advancedsearch/

27.    basket.php – contains the section for list/edit/delete/update the shopping basket content.

Page: /index.php?page=basket

28.    categorydet.php – responsible for the category display section
Page: /CATEGORYNAME … ex: golf

29.    confirmation.php – contains the confirmation information about the placed order

30.    contactus.php – contains the Contact Us form (<div id=”mainaccount”>)

Page: /contactus/

31.    delivery_billing.php – contains the form used by the customer for first time registration, when completing the delivery and billing details (id=”register_form”)

Page: /index.php?page=delivery_billing

32.    download.php – contains the form for what appears in the e-goods product download.

33.    gateways.php – the page which appears on the end of the buy procedure and displays the active payment gateways.

Page: /gateways/

34.    gift.php – displays the Gift Certificate order form. (id=”gccreate”)

Page: /gift/

35.    login.php – contains and displays the simple login box. (id=”loginform”)

36.    logincustomer.php – contains one login and one new user registration form. (id=”formlogin” and id=”registerform”)

Page: /myaccount/

37.    newproducts.php – contains and displays the New Products page. The main div that contains the page base section is the <div class=”product_box_<?php echo $noofcolumns;?>”>

Page: /newproducts/

38.    orderdetail.php- displays information about the customer order on the checkout/buy procedure.

(<div id=”mydesc”>)
Page: /index.php?page=review

39.    proddet.php – displays the product detail page

Example Page: /golf/golf-balls/spin-control-golf-balls/second-chance-grade-a-srixon-ad333-dozen.html

40.    productreview.php – displays the product review section. The review section appears on the bottom of the product detail page when users click to the “Review” button.

41.    productsitemap.php – displays the product site map page where all the products are listed.

(<div class=”sitemap”>)

Page: /productsitemap/

42.    specialoffers.php – displays the products added to the special offers section.

Page: /specialoffers/

44.    You may also find useful the general description below about the templates and new template creation.

Different pages that needs to be designed are

i>    Home page
ii>    Product Detail Page
iii>    My Account when not logged in
iv>    My Account when logged in
v>    Contact us
vi>    Basket Page
vii>    Advanced Search Results
viii>    Product Sitemap

Home Page Contains

i>    Header
Will contain a logo and a store slogan

ii>    Left bar
Will contain categories and sub categories. Sub Categories will go up to 4 levels
Will contain lists of manufacturers
Will contain lists of quick links
Will contain a link to gift certificate

iii>    Right Bar

Will contain links for my account, wish list, delivery billing, logout

Will contain a mini basket with item name, quantity and subtotal. A proceed to checkout button and edit basket button are also important

It will contain lists of best sellers

iv>    Footer
Will contain some dynamic links. The number of links appearing there will be dynamic so the width should not be fixed. It should also be managed so that if the number of links increases the graphic does not crash

v>    Main Body

There are five sections.

i>    Introduction text to the shop
ii>    A flash / or an image
iii>    Featured Products
iv>    Discounted Products
v>    Newly added products.

The above sections will move up and down according to the wish of shop owner. So the graphics should be flexible.

The number of products in a row can be 2, 3 or 4. So the width of a product box should be according to the number of columns.

For each product, product name, image, promo line, price, discount price (if it exists) add to basket button, there is a text box to enter the quantity required.

If the number of products in a row is

·    2 the no of letters in promo line will be 150
·    3 the no of letters in promo line will be  70
·    4 the no of letters in promo line will be 50

Product Detail Page

It will contain

i>    Product name as header
ii>    Product small thumbnails  (on hover will change the main image)
iii>    Product larger image
iv>    Manufacturer Logo (only text will appear if there is no image). It will lead to manufacturer detail page
v>    Promo Line (full promo line so height should not be fixed)
vi>    Product Code (please create an appropriate place)
vii>    5 to 15 attributes and their title and unit for example (weight 10 kg). Also attribute may contain choices which will appear in drop down.
viii>    Price
ix>    Discounted Price  (if exists)
x>    Save amount highlighted (if both the price and discounted Price selected)
xi>    Highlight tax free (if present)
xii>    Highlight vat free (if present)
xiii>    Highlight Free shipping (if present)
xiv>    Text box to enter number of quantity and Add to Button
xv>    Add to wish list and Email a friend link or button
xvi>    Product Description
xvii>    Product review form (product description and review form can be on two different tabs)
xviii>

My Account when not logged in

Will contain two forms

i>    A login form (fields can be taken from demo site)
ii>    A register form (fields can be taken from demo site)

My Account when logged in

Will contain five tabs for

i>    My account (please refer demo site for details)
ii>    Delivery and Billing Details (please refer demo site for details)
iii>    Order History(please refer to demo site for details)
iv>    My Wish list (please refer demo site for details)
v>    Logout.

Contact Us

Just a form for feedback

Basket Page

Four boxes that will show where the customer is

Like Order page = basket
Delivery and Billing = the page where the customer enters his delivery and billing address.
Review
Confirmation

They should be clickable too.

A Shopping Basket (please refer to demo site for details)

Advanced Search Result

List of products
Each product will contain
i>    Serial No
ii>    Product image
iii>    Product name
iv>    Promo Line
v>    Product Price
vi>    5-10 attributes
vii>    Add to basket button
viii>    Text box to enter quantity
ix>    Discounted price if present
x>    Highlight  vat free
xi>    Highlight Tax Free
xii>    Highlight Free Shipping
xiii>    Paging links

Product Site Map

i>    Will contain categories, subcategories and the products inside it in a tree structure. They should be clickable

Thats all

Addendum
Was two problem:
You may need to also

i.  Login to your phpmyadmin and run this query:

INSERT INTO `template` (`id`, `folder`, `description`, `template_pic`) VALUES (NULL, ‘yourtemplatename.css’, ‘yourtemplatename.css’, ‘yourtemplatename.jpg’);

* please replace yourtemplate name with the folder name of the new template.

While it may be simple to the experienced online shopper, the checkout process can be a bit of a stumbling ground for some. There are a number of failures which can occur during the checkout process, and each and every one of them could potentially be affecting your business and your profits. Simple issues like the design of your shopping cart software and the amount of time it takes a customer to input their delivery information can have dramatic and on-going effects. I will go over 15 of the most common failures in the checkout process.

The failure of a customer to complete the checkout process is also known as abandonment in the e-commerce industry.

• 1. One of the reasons a customer may abandon their purchase is if the correct delivery information is not made available to them easily.
• 2. Another is because an error is made when inputting an address, and the software does not easily allow editing to take place.
• 3. Failure also occurs if a customer is not allowed to enter the checkout process due to not being logged in to an account, and the software does not allow for anonymous entry.
• 4. An incorrect or unavailable payment method can also cause a failure,
• 5. as can the inability for a piece of software to self correct a payment mistake.
• 6. If a retailer is using a third party payment gateway such as paypal then problems can also occur with data transfer between the parties.
• 7. Credit card errors are a big reason for failure as well, with incorrectly input card numbers and security codes often to blame.
• 8. The default credit card option can also be a source of frustration as many users fail to change it to the correct setting.
• 9. Trying to up-sell and cross-sell at the checkout can also lead to abandonment,
• 10. as can the springing of last minute shipping charges.
• 11. One common failure during checkout occurs due to the unavailability of stock, that’s right some software leaves it up till this stage of the transaction to inform a customer of a stockout.
• 12&13. Insecure page errors by browsers can also cause a failure, as can other warnings issued by the checkout software that are often unecessary.
• 14&15. The two last failures I will list include the inability of some software to deal with different ways of inputting both dates and currency information correctly into the database. There are multiple ways to enter this information into a computer, and a smart piece of software will be able to warn the customer to edit the data, or even better, will be able to do it itself.

What to Write

How do I know what to write about? How do I fill the pages of my website with the useful and unique content that will keep my visitors coming back for more? If you are selling products, then this might seem a moot topic to you, but pay attention, this affects all who wish to retain loyal customers as well as bring new visitors from the search engines.

Textual Content

Textual content is the written word. Textual content is one of the most important aspects of website marketing. Textual content is like bait on a fishhook. You wouldn’t throw an un-baited hook into the water and expect to catch anything. You might get lucky and pull in some debris, but you likely won’t be catching that trophy fish. The same is true for website content. It is very difficult to market a website that has little or no textual content.

Finding out what textual content is important for your site is as simple as asking your visitors. Find out what it is they were looking for when they found your site. To accomplish this, look at your long tail.

Most websites have a relatively long list of keywords and phrases visitors use to find their site. Sometimes this “long tail” contains enough information to keep a webmaster creating content on a full time basis. Some webmasters create entire pages based on a single keyword they found in their long tail. Find out what search terms are used to find a particular page, and incorporate those terms into that page. If the search term is too broad to incorporate into that page, and needs its own page, then create a new page, and provide a link to it from the original page.

Where to use this information

The obvious choice is to use your long tail keywords in the paragraphs on your page.. However, you should also include, keywords in heading tags, the title of your page, links to other similar pages, incoming links (links pointing at this page), in img alt attributes, inside of image headers in the URL of the page (separate by hyphens(-) instead of spaces), in lists, etc…..

By creating new textual content based on what your visitors are searching for, you are effectively giving your visitors what they want, which is fresh, unique information.

More people are shopping online today than ever before, and people in general are more relaxed about Internet security issues and online credit card payments. Making online purchases has become so common today that many people are not vigilant enough about protecting themselves and their money. There are a number of simple things that you can do before making that online credit card purchase that will make your financial life safer and more worry free. I will go over 10 easy things that you can check before giving away your credit card details; simple information that can really keep you out of trouble.

Buying things online is not necessarily a dangerous activity, in fact it is probably the safest way to shop if it is done right, as no people are involved in the transaction.

1. The first thing to check before giving away your important card details is that the site you are purchasing from has an address that starts with ‘https://’, the ’s’ is the all important letter as it stands for secure and means exactly that.

2. The second thing to look for is a yellow lock in the bottom right hand corner of your browser window, meaning that the site is being encrypted or scrambled.

3. Another more general tip is to check out the reputation of the vendor you want to use; is there any negative feedback about them online?

4. The fourth tip is to find some independent reviews of the company by searching authority review sites or reputable forums. Word of mouth travels fast if a business is truly dodgy.

5. Another important thing to do is to check that the company you wish to purchase from is actually who they say they are; there have been some recent cases of fake emails circulating and directing people to fake shopping sites of a well known online business. Check that the URL address is the same address that you normally use and that the company logos and designs are not replicas.

There are many things that you can do as an online shopper to enhance the security of your transactions.

6. Make sure that you are running an up to date version of some well respected anti virus software, this will stop viruses and worms from installing themselves and tracking your key strokes. This is especially important as credit card data can be stolen in this way.

7. Check that an appropriate firewall is also installed to make it much harder for malicious software to get on to your hard drive.

8. You can be even more careful by running your computer through a startup monitor prior to a purchase to make sure that you have no such software trying to register itself as a start up program in your machine. The final two checks have more to do with common sense than security, but are still important.

9&10. Before giving away your credit card make sure that the company offers a guarantee on the goods and that they ship them to your area, as it is no use having bought a product that you can’t even get a hold of.

Christmas is just around the corner; yes it is here again and people in the U.K are forecast to spend more than ever before through online retailers. Is your web site ready to take advantage of the yearly surge in customers that the holiday season provides. There are so many things that you can do as an e-commerce provider to go above and beyond your competition. Last Christmas saw a steep rise in online shopping within the U.K, and the next couple of months are the perfect time to get ready for the Christmas rush.

Making your web pages relevant for people who are searching for gifts is a great way to attract Christmas shoppers. By including specialised search functions in your web page you can make it easier for your customers to find the gift that they are looking for. Shopping for gifts can be difficult, and if the design of your page allows a search by either category or by price then your customers will be able to shop for their loved ones with much more ease. Special Christmas gift cards and voucher codes also work really well in the U.K and are a great way to make your customers feel like they are getting a great deal.

By making a special Christmas inspired design for your web site you can also get your customers caught up in the Christmas cheer. Whether it is a simple illustration or a full new Christmas inspired template, there is nothing wrong with reminding your customers that Christmas is almost here. Personal touches like gift wrapping and discounts on shipping can also help you during the holiday season. Your delivery information page is really important as a recent study has shown that one in five sales are abandoned by potential customers due to lack of relevant delivery information.

There has been a huge up take of high speed Internet connections within the U.K, and this is driving a sharp rise in online sales. The U.K is forecast to account for at least 40% of all European online retail sales in 2008, what does this market mean to you as an online retailer. With both the number of customers and the amount they are spending rising in the U.K, the little things that you do now to optimise your site for Christmas could have a big effect on your sales and on your profits.

E-commerce is generally recognised as the fastest growing method of shopping at the present time. What defines this term and what is essential knowledge if you are considering selling in this way?
E-commerce is the widely used abbreviation for ‘electronic commerce’ which is quickly being forgotten though ultimately describes this transaction method whilst other new terms such as e-business continue to spring up. The high street retailers are massively increasing their online presence at the same time new ‘pure’ e-commerce businesses are emerging and securing market share in their given niche.
The boom in internet retailing shows no sign of slowing; the recent iPhone launch demonstrated the massive potential and opportunity for well placed online stores to capitalise on successful internet retailing and marketing.
So you have done your market research and you know that there are potential customers; you have access to the products you wish to sell, what next?
It essential that the businesses infrastructure as with all business is sound; with E-commerce it is more important that IT systems are reliable and efficient than with other traditional trading methods. Before you will be able to trade online it is essential that you have the following in place:

· Computer system
· Internet connection
· Web site
· Good knowledge of IT or back up support

With E-Commerce your website is your shop and as such there are many factors that must be considered when your shop is being constructed and designed to make it attractive to your customers to achieve a good level of sales and success. Your website must have:

·  An easily navigated online catalogue of your products and/or services
·  Good user friendly shopping cart system
·  Secure payment and collection system

Website navigation

You may have the best and largest range of products, the cheapest prices though without your customers being able to easily find them within your website your benefits will not be gained. A well structured website with good search facilities and an ordered menu system will pay dividends in the long term future expansion of your online venture.

Shopping cart system

A shopping cart system allows your customer to continually update their potential purchases prior to making payment. There are many solutions on the market, from individually designed systems to third party software which can be integrated into your website. If third party solutions are used it is likely that your customer will briefly leave your website to ‘checkout’ and make payment on a secure payment page.

Secure payment and collection system

This allows payment from your customer and for your business to receive the funds. These systems are commonly integrated; payments being directly processed and paid into your chosen bank account.

Both the shopping cart and secure payment/collection systems will incur costs to the business. If tailored individual software is purchased, one can expect large set up costs with minimal ongoing monthly costs thereafter. Third party software, some of which has become household names is more commonly found within the E-commerce market place. This option offers substantially reduced set up fees and monthly payments often based upon a percentage of sales and a standard fixed rate fee.

Once you have the above mentioned points in place you are ready to trade and turn some of your attention to the promotion of your new E-commerce business.

This article was written by Paul of Home Information Packs

A reputable payment processing company is necessary for the growth and success of a business institution in today’s modern world. Payment processing companies offer secure systems for processing credit and debit card payments. These companies also offer secure payment processing services for other types of payment methods such as PayPal among other online payment methods.

Online payment processing services are useful for companies and their consumers. The Internet has paved the way for businesses to reach consumers around the globe in easy and effective ways. Consumers now use these online payment processing methods to securely pay for the goods and services they need without spending too much time and money. Today, consumers need quick and easy options especially when it comes to purchasing goods and services from businesses on the Internet.

Choosing the payment processing company offering the best services can be an easy task. To identify the payment processing company offering the most appropriate services, you should:

Choose Between a Person-To-Person Account and a Direct Merchant Account

A person-to-person account processes payments from consumers to businesses through the merchant account of the third party service provider. Most consumers already know about popular third party payment processing service providers. This is an advantage provided by this type of payment processing account, especially for new businesses because these consumers go through a payment processing system they may already know and thus trust.

A direct merchant account processes payments from consumers to businesses through the financial institution responsible for the credit, debit, wire, or online payment type. This means payments from consumers are directly processed by the corresponding financial institution depending on the type of payment used. Established businesses can benefit from low fees charged by financial institutions for payment transactions between consumers and businesses. Consumers can also benefit from this since they need to pay lower fees for such transactions than those charged by third party payment processing service providers.

Determine the Setup Fees and Transaction Fees Among Other Fees Charged by the Payment Processing Service Provider

It is important to compare the setup and transaction fees among others charged by third party payment processing service providers for its person-to-person accounts against direct merchant setup and transaction fees charged by various financial institutions. Usually, third party service providers have higher setup and transaction fees for person-to-person accounts than financial institutions offering direct merchant fees.

However, person-to-person accounts frequently come with customized Web development services as opposed to default online payment processing systems bundled with direct merchant accounts. Businesses can benefit more from the customized Web development services of person-to-person accounts than the default payment processing systems of direct merchant accounts. This is because businesses can customize their payment processing systems to be most appropriate for its target market. These merchants can even add a few details on its online payment processing page for it to be optimized for Internet search engines and effective Internet sales.

Determine the Countries and Currencies Accepted By the Payment Processing Company

It is important to identify the countries and currencies accepted by the payment processing company. For instance, consumers in the US have different needs and demands than those in the UK. They also use different currencies and payment options.

Businesses always have target markets for its products and services. This means you should identify the consumer market that needs your products and services. Afterwards, you must provide these people with the payment processing options accessible to them. This will help your business become as efficient and profitable as possible.

Determine the Products and Services Accepted by the Payment Processing Company

Some payment processing service providers only allow payments for certain products and services to be processed. For instance, some third party providers and financial institutions only accept electronic or digital products while others only accommodate physical products. You should identify the exact types of products and services you are offering in order to determine the restrictions imposed by the third party providers and financial institutions on their payment processing options when it comes to the products or services that can be accepted.

Determine the Payment Speed and Frequency Offered by the Service Provider

Third party payment processing companies and financial institutions also process and send payments differently. This means you should identify the time it takes payments done by consumers to be processed and reflected on your account. You should also identify the frequency of payment transfers done by the third party payment processing service provider or financial institution. You need to choose the most appropriate payment processing options for your purposes.

Determine Customer Service Quality Offered by the Payment Processing Company

The quality of the customer services offered by the payment processing company is another important aspect you need to consider when choosing a provider. Your customers need to know about the technical and general details bundled with your payment processing services. They need to determine the necessary steps to take when faced with certain problems when it comes to your payment processing systems. A friendly and reliable customer service support team will always be beneficial to your business. However, you need to acquire the services of the payment processing company that offers high quality customer support services. After all, good business means remarkable customer support services.

British Telecom, or BT as it prefers to be know recently announce the launch of services that helps retailers comply with the new Payment Card Industry regulations. BT is certified by the PCI Security Standards Council as a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) for PCI Data Security Standard services, this certification authorises BT to offer compliance assessments, training, managed security monitoring, consultancy and compliant technology solutions.
BT’s head of security, Ray Stanton, commenting about the new BT offering said “PCI DSS compliance is a critical business issue for any organisation accepting business by card, and equally for card issuers and payment services providers. BT has an exceptional reputation and global expertise in delivering secure business systems and our new PCI DSS offering can help customers protect their brand and reduce the risk of penalties due to being caught out by unscrupulous and professional criminals.”