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Moving your business to an online payment solution

With the increase in web usage and growing customer confidence in online purchasing, now is a great time to move your business online. If you have a product or service that you would like to sell on the Internet there are many new technologies to take advantage of. Here’s a quick overview of the steps you’ll need to consider should you wish to sell online.

You will need to decide if the products and services that your business provides are suitable for selling online.  It sounds obvious, but there have been plenty of businesses that have spent a lot of money (and made very little) trying to sell products that shouldn't be sold online.

Preparation of a busines plan based on the online part of your business will assist in identifying what you will need prior to moving into an online environment. Details to consider include:

• Marketing
• Target market
• Delivery of goods or services
• Terms and Conditions (for example, your Refund Policy)

Depending on your technical expertise, there are several options available to you when constructing your online store. You could use one of the many shopping carts that are available or alternatively you can take care of your own web development or outsource to an experienced web developer.

Before you can start accepting credit cards online from your customers, you will need to apply for an Online Payment Solutions  merchant account with St.George Bank. An Online Payment Solutions merchant account will provide your business with the ability to accept Visa and MasterCard transactions.

This is different to a merchant account you may already have for your EFTPOS terminal. You will require an Online Payment Solutions Merchant Account specifically for online transactions.

In conjunction with establishing an Online Payment Solutions Merchant Account, you will need to consider what payment gateway you will be using. A payment gateway is the secure service (usually third-party) that allows you to accept credit cards and other payments, and processes the transactions on your behalf through their secure Internet connections.

If you are an existing St.George customer, you can choose one of the following gateways:

• The St.George Internet Payment Gateway
• the Gateway of a Certified Solutions Partner

A sales representative can assist in providing some recommendations depending on your business requirements.