eCommerce Merchants: Why Is It Indispensable For The Modern Business

While consumer behavior was changing in many ways over the last five years, the pandemic has made its aura felt on eCommerce sites worldwide. Do you feel like going for the curbside groceries or want them delivered to your doorstep whenever you want? Well, you are not alone! This means that businesses now need an eCommerce solution to accept payments.

With the change in consumer behavior, the growth of eCommerce has been inevitable. Moreover, a lot of companies and brands are steering their business strategies to stay competitive. While there has been a growth in eCommerce, sales in many industries have witnessed a steep drop since lockdowns kept people at home in the 2019-20 fiscal year. As a result, shopping, working, and even schooling were some from home resulting in the eCommerce boom.

Ecommerce merchant accounts: An overview

An eCommerce merchant refers to a business selling online and utilizing payment processing services for the collection of card payments. When it comes to a terminology-intense industry like this, it's easy to get confused about certain terms.

One such term is 'merchant' and many people mistakenly assume that any business selling products and services can be called a merchant. Thus, it's important to understand what an eCommerce merchant really is, what makes them different, and what are the advantages put forward by them.

An eCommerce merchant account is a specialized class of bank account that allows businesses to accept several payment options. In simple words, it allows your eCommerce site to accept a host of payments online along with credit and debit card options.

Merchant accounts are typically established under the business and require banks to settle all kinds of payment card transactions. In certain situations, an ISO, payment processor, or member service provider is a component of a merchant agreement. You can opt for the merchant agreement or through a mediator and in both cases, you are legally bound to comply with all the regulations ascertained by card associations including security measures as well.

Why eCommerce merchant accounts are critical to the modern business scenario

1. Presence of the business

Gone are the days of the single transaction offering of debit and credit cards in the eCommerce industry. B2B today is witnessing a difficult environment that blends a growing complexity with an increasing modernization of business. As a result, having an eCommerce merchant account is crucial for the smooth running of the business. Here are some valuable reasons why you need it:

Since the onset of the 1990s, there has been an exponential growth in online business. And today, an online business can interact with you regularly and make its presence felt even when you don't open the application for days together.

The internet has not only presented online businesses with an impressive scope of growth for businesses across the globe but also created some new challenges like the management of digital payments.

Getting the audience to the shopping cart is one thing, and motivating them to convert is another. In the midst of all these, you need to have your digital payment on the right track.

2. Multiple payment options

In a world where convenience means everything, having umpteen options is indispensable. If you take a look at the growth of online purchases, you will notice that digital payment companies have sprouted. They are now offering their services for the processing of payments and credit cards in exchange for a small fee.

When you are looking to offer a host of options to your consumers, these small fees may quickly add up. With the assistance of a merchant account for eCommerce, you can manage and bring down these costs rather than working with several gateways that charge fees separately.

3. Increasing need for precision and security

While options and convenience enjoy the maximum spotlight, security cannot take a backseat. It is important to make your consumers feel confident to process their payments on websites and applications. If your consumers are not able to trust you, you won't see any sales.

Since security is a critical factor for consumers, eCommerce merchant accounts are focusing on making the service secure and deploying the highest class encryption while processing payment.

What are the various services proffered by eCommerce merchant accounts?

Although online business sites are aware of the need for having a merchant account for eCommerce, what are the different services offered by these accounts?

Processing payments

This is perhaps the most critical of all. When an eCommerce site works with a reputable merchant account like Treati, you know how to process all your payments confidently as your consumers purchase products and services from your company.

Encrypted payments

Security cannot be stressed enough. And the best thing about having an eCommerce merchant account to take care of your payments is that it will ensure encrypted payment processing. This conveys that your consumers and your business are both safe when a transaction is made. When you have to opt for a merchant account, make sure they can adeptly handle encrypted transactions.

POS system

The significance of the POS system is particularly useful for businesses that have both online and offline presence. With a Point-of-Sale system, you can enjoy the added advantage of having streamlined inventory management.

Ease of use

As a service provider, you aim to ensure ease of use for your consumers. Will you not look for similar versatility when signing up with an eCommerce merchant account? With this, you will be able to track payments with ease, issue refunds, and monitor reports from a dashboard with easy visibility.

Streamlined experience

The key to your success online lies in processing payments and offering a great experience to your consumers. This will not only aid you in becoming more efficient but also make your users have a positive brand affinity towards your business.

What to look for when choosing the best eCommerce merchant account

Although each merchant account for e-commerce offers its own set of advantages and features, there are certain aspects that you must ensure across the board. Here go some critical aspects that you must keep in mind when signing up for a service.

PCI Assistance

When doing business online, PCI plays a critical role. Unfortunately, the regulations concerning PCI are extremely convoluted and complex. When selecting an eCommerce merchant, you must enquire about the extent of backing that you may expect when you will require your business will need PCI compliance in place. It's better to opt for a service provider that can guide you through the procedure as much as feasible. This is essential since successful compliance can work to your benefit.

Payment gateway service

Payment gateways are an important part of running your eCommerce in two critical ways. In the first place, the gateways that the eCommerce merchant integrates with, and secondly, if they can directly offer any. In most cases, eCommerce merchants are able to integrate with a wide array of gateways.

But when you can access the payment gateway directly, it will ensure seamless operation. It also brings down the number of vendors you have to work with and simplifies the entire billing process.

Advanced protection from chargeback and fraud

Online business is still crippled with fraudulent incidents, phishing, and abusive chargebacks. That's why you should go for an eCommerce merchant account service provider that offers a high-end anti-fraud defense mechanism. It will ensure that potential losses are curbed through third-party monitoring and quick response to chargebacks.

Next-day funding

With next-day funding, your money will end up in your bank account the following business day after batching a transaction. You can only find this service with competent merchants and in case you are looking to switch providers, you must select the one that can offer following-day funding to improve cash flow.

Competitive Pricing

Who wouldn't like to have a host of features and value-added services in their arsenal? But if this comes in exchange for a high transaction fee, many eCommerce sites won't be able to afford them. When you are weighing the features you need, look for the ones that offer the best deal. You should compare the pricing very carefully although you should never settle for the cheapest option available out there.

Final thoughts

The success of an online business is dependent on conversion and what's the most important thing to ensure that your audience is converting? It is the eCommerce merchant account. Towards the fag end of the past decade, US consumers mostly started using MasterCard as their preferred means of online payment, leaving behind PayPal, Discover, American Express, and Visa.

Regardless of whether you run a small business or expansive retail, payments play a pivotal role in your success. It's important to find a reliable e-commerce merchant that can bolster your current as well as future business plans. With a brilliant merchant account for eCommerce, you can take a step ahead in your eCommerce credit card processing and replace the same with fast and flexible payment solutions for new-age consumers.