| If you are operating a business that takes orders for | | | | handling the orders. The company you use for this |
| merchandise over the telephone, you will need to have | | | | service will provide you with the software to use. |
| the ability to accept credit cards over the telephone. | | | | 3. A merchant bank account into which to deposit the |
| Since you cannot physically swipe your customer's | | | | money from the sale. |
| card, an ordinary POS processing terminal is of no use | | | | One important difference between doing business |
| in this type of transaction. What you need is phone | | | | over the phone, and making a direct sale in a retail |
| credit card processing capability. | | | | store is that you don't actually have the customer's |
| Your customers read about what you have for sale in | | | | card in hand. This increases the opportunity for fraud, |
| newspaper or magazine ads, or in a catalog they get | | | | so merchant banks are leery about accepting this type |
| from you through the mail. They see something that | | | | of transaction. |
| they are interested in buying. They know that if they | | | | This possibility of a fraudulent transaction, along with |
| send you a check in the mail, they'll have to wait even | | | | the possibility of a customer chargeback are the two |
| longer before they receive the item they want. | | | | main reasons why merchant banks usually make it |
| So they pick up the phone and call your 800 number. | | | | very difficult for businesses to open an account that |
| Now you certainly don't want to lose a sale by telling | | | | will be used for phone credit card processing. Most |
| them to send you a check! You've got to be able to | | | | banks will not accept a new account of this kind unless |
| get the order while they still have that "impulse" to buy. | | | | the merchant can show a history of transactions with |
| You must have three things for telephone credit card | | | | negligible fraud and chargebacks. |
| processing: | | | | There are several ways to reduce the incidence of |
| | | | credit card fraud, which will be the subject of a future |
| 1. Processing software for your computer, so you can | | | | article. Yet another article will deal with what you can |
| enter the order, address, and card information while | | | | do if you have a new business, and can't get a |
| talking to your customer on the telephone. | | | | merchant bank account to use with your telephone |
| 2. A credit card processing service to take care of | | | | credit card processing orders. |