To take advantage of the Internet with a complete eCommerce solution, a merchant's shopping cart must be able to accept and process secure online payments. In order to take credit card payments online, merchants need to have an Internet Payment Service and a Merchant Credit Card Account.

1. The Internet Payment Service enables the merchant to accept online payments from their customers and securely process these payments from a merchant's Web storefront through the existing system of financial institutions and credit card processors.

2. The merchant's acquiring financial institution provides the merchant with a bank account that enables the merchant to accept, process, and deposit payments from their customers, and delivers regular reporting based on these transactions.

As these two services are critical to making a website commerce enabled, don't wait until the last minute to get started! For example, if a merchant does not have a bank account yet, it could take a few weeks to set up.

The following are provided as guidelines and instructions to getting started with secure online payments:

Anatomy of a Credit Card Transaction
Currently, credit cards are the primary payment mechanism in the United States. For a better understanding of how a credit card transaction works, here is a step-by-step breakdown from the customer making a purchase on the merchant's website to the merchant receiving an authorization on the payment request.

Internet Payment Services: The Basics
The top three qualities merchants expect in an Internet payment service are security, ease-of-use, and price performance. With the right payment service, merchants can have all three. Here are some features to consider.

Merchant Credit Card Accounts: The Basics
Just as in the physical world, a merchant on the Internet needs to establish a merchant credit card account with an acquiring bank in order to accept credit cards.