How to Accept Credit Card Payments Online in 2022

Learn how to accept credit card payments online in 2022 and breathe new life into your business.

Setting up your website or online shop to take credit cards online is a critical step in boosting your sales and client base if you manage a small company. According to the US Census Bureau, internet sales accounted for 13.6 percent of all retail sales in the first quarter of 2021, and that figure is only likely to rise.

Choosing a payment processor is the first step in taking credit card payments online. Look for a solution that is compatible with your website or eCommerce platform, as well as reasonable processing costs.

Here are our best picks for taking credit cards online that are also user-friendly.

At the very least, all of the options on our list feature merchant services and a payment gateway.

Many also include website-building tools. Square, for example, includes options for creating an online shop or a checkout page. Shopify, on the other hand, allows companies to develop a complete ecommerce site.

PayPal, Square, and Stax by Fattmerchant are just a handful of the companies that provide user-friendly invoicing systems for accepting payments through email bills. Others, such as PayPal and Shopify, allow you to include Buy Buttons on any website.

You’ll need a tool to gather consumer data and a mechanism to process payments if you want to take credit card payments online. A website is used by the majority of ecommerce firms. Various payment alternatives will be available depending on your hosting provider and platform. If you have a WordPress site, for example, you may take credit card payments using a shopping cart plug-in with PayPal and/or Stripe. You can create an ecommerce website using Shopify or Square Online if you don’t already have one.

Square: Instantly Accept Credit Cards Online

What We Enjoy

• There is no need to fill out an application or wait for approval.
• Pricing that is clear and consistent
• Online shop, checkout, and invoicing are all free.

What Isn’t There

• Websites are more difficult to integrate.
• Customer service is limited.

Features

• Payment processing at a fixed rate
• There are no long-term commitments, no setup costs, no A monthly fee is charged.s, and no cancellation fees.
• For a 1.5 percent charge, standard next-day deposits or quick deposits are available.
• Sales and inventory changes in real time
• Chargeback management services are provided at no cost.

Because it is free and easy to set up, Square is ideal for companies that wish to take credit cards online. Additionally, Square offers low processing costs for new companies as well as a free point-of-sale (POS) system for receiving payments in person. Square is the greatest option for small and startup firms who don’t want to pay a A monthly fee is charged. or have to go through an application procedure.

How to Use Square to Accept Credit Cards Online

Square makes it simple for small companies to take payments online by providing a variety of options, all of which are free of charge. Businesses can use Square application programming interfaces (APIs) to add Square Checkout to their custom website, connect Square payments to one of their ecommerce partners like WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or Wix, or use Square application programming interfaces (APIs) to connect Square payments to one of their ecommerce partners like WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or Wix.

Follow these steps to take credit cards online with Square:

1. Become a Square Payments member: Creating an account is free, and it comes with a simple POS system for in-store and mobile sales, as well as invoicing software. Businesses also simply have to pay a processing charge. There are no monthly minimums or software expenses.
2. Establish a Square Online store: Square Online allows you to create a basic ecommerce site for free, or you may pay for a more customisable site. Square also offers checkout pages and the ability to sell via social media networks.

OR

1. Square Payments also connects with major ecommerce systems such as WooCommerce, Wix, BigCommerce, and Magento. If you want to sell in-store using Square while simultaneously growing a large ecommerce company, this is a wonderful solution. Square’s open API allows it to be integrated into any bespoke website.
2. Load your items and start selling: If you’re building a new site with Square or another ecommerce platform, start by loading the products you wish to sell, including product photographs, descriptions, and prices. Drop the code into your current site to set up a payment if you’re using Square’s API to collect payments.

Square’s virtual terminal may also be used to transmit and process online invoices and recurring payments, as well as phone and postal orders.

PayPal

What We Enjoy

• Customers will find it simple to utilize.
• Options for flexible checkout
• It may be used on any website.

What Isn’t There

• This product is not appropriate for high-risk enterprises.
• Alternatives may provide greater consistency and cheaper pricing for larger enterprises.

Features

• Payment processing at a fixed rate
• There are no long-term commitments, setup fees, or cancellation or withdrawal costs.
• In a matter of minutes, funds from consumer purchases are deposited to your PayPal company account.
• Venmo and PayPal Credit are accepted.
• Customer analytics and free PayPal marketing solutions

For companies who want to maximize conversions with a one-click button at checkout, PayPal is the ideal option to take credit cards online. PayPal enables companies to take PayPal Credit and Venmo payments in addition to standard credit card payments.

These one-click checkout alternatives are very convenient for customers. Online consumers who use PayPal checkout don’t have to manually input payment card or shipping information since PayPal does it for them.

Cart abandonment is common in online purchasing, and removing the steps consumers must complete during checkout may help reduce abandoned carts and improve sales.

How to Use PayPal to Accept Credit Cards Online

PayPal allows you to create a hosted checkout, link PayPal with your current site, interface with most ecommerce systems, and place Buy Buttons on any blog or website, making it a versatile option. If you wish to accept PayPal payments but want to utilize another credit card processing provider, PayPal is unique in that it can be coupled with other payment processing solutions.

Here are three ways that companies may take credit cards online using PayPal:

1. With a PayPal ecommerce partner: Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento are all PayPal ecommerce partners. PayPal users who use one of these platforms to construct ecommerce sites may get a discount and effortlessly integrate a PayPal checkout.
2. PayPal Payments Pro is a completely customized checkout solution that accepts all major credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, and Venmo online payments on a custom website. This is a comprehensive online checkout system that can be integrated into any website.
3. With a PayPal button: To give a simpler checkout option, businesses may include a PayPal button to their checkout page.

PayPal, like Square, may be used to produce and send online invoices as well as collect payments over the phone and by mail using a virtual terminal.

Stripe

What We Enjoy

• Developer-friendly
• Conversion-focused checkout that is quick and mobile-friendly.
• Tools for preventing fraud and chargebacks are built-in.

What Isn’t There

• It necessitates the creation of a separate website.
• It’s more difficult to set up than Square or PayPal.

Features

• Payment processing at a fixed rate
• There are no monthly costs, no setup fees, and no cancellation fees.
• Adaptable solution (works with any site and has open code)
• PCI-compliant is a term used to describe a product that complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards
• Having the ability to set up regular payments is a huge plus.
• Accept over 135 different currencies, as well as ACH and cryptocurrencies.
• Specialists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by email, chat, or phone.

Stripe is a payment processing solution that enables companies to take credit card payments online and is built to handle more sophisticated payment scenarios such as subscriptions, recurring fees, and card data storage. Stripe is a wonderful, safe option for organizations who want to build their own bespoke solution to take credit cards online.

Stripe is also a global firm that operates in 39 countries and accepts over 135 currencies, making it a terrific option for any company that wants to serve worldwide clients. Stripe is used by ecommerce giants like Amazon and internet firms like Glossier, in addition to small enterprises.

How to Accept Credit Cards Online With Stripe

Stripe offers a set of APIs that enable companies to customize how they take credit card payments online. Stripe allows companies to take credit cards online in three different ways:

1) use Stripe’s checkout

2) create a custom form

3) use one of its partner integrations

Stripe offers three methods to take credit cards online:

1. Use a hosted checkout page that has already been built: Stripe Checkout may be integrated onto any website and tailored to your brand’s preferences. Google address auto-complete, real-time card validation, third-party autofill, and Google Pay and Apple Pay checkout are all available on this page.
2. Make your own form: Checkout may be triggered by any HTML element or JavaScript event thanks to the custom integration. This approach requires a thorough understanding of JavaScript.
3. Use a partner integration: There are many of platforms that provide Stripe checkout extensions or plug-ins for accepting credit cards on your website. WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and Shopify are among Stripe’s partners. PrestaShop and WooCommerce, to mention a few, both have Stripe plug-ins.

Stripe is made for developers and is designed to be completely configurable, so you can change your online checkout at any time, regardless of how you set it up.

PaymentDepot

What We Enjoy

• All-in-one, flexible membership
• Low transaction costs; exchange-plus pricing
• Payment gateway and virtual terminal are both free.

What Isn’t There

• A monthly fee is charged.
• Not recommended for start-ups or high-risk enterprises.
• Need to connect Depot for Payments to a separate website

Features

• PCI-compliant is a term used to describe a product that complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards
• There are no commitments and no cancellation fees.
• Funding on the same day
• Certain programs provide customer service that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
• There are several third-party gateway, ecommerce platform, and point-of-sale connectors available.

Depot for Payments is a merchant service provider with a membership pricing model that provides payment processing at extremely rates that are competitive for businesses that process more than $10,000 per month.

Whereas most processors charge a higher markup for online payments, Depot for Payments charges the same transaction fee (interchange plus 5–15 cents) for every type of transaction. This makes Depot for Payments one of the cheapest credit card processors for small businesses.

Using PaymentDepot to Accept Credit Cards Online

Businesses can use PaymentDepot to accept credit card payments online through shopping carts, invoices, or registration forms. PaymentDepot does not have its own web builder or shopping cart features but integrates with most platforms, so it is easy to accept credit cards online.

Here’s how to accept credit card payments online with PaymentDepot in three steps:

1. Apply for a PaymentDepot account: The first step in accepting credit cards online with PaymentDepot is signing up for an account. Fill out a form on its website, or call to get a free quote and submit an application.
2. Set up your website: Once you have your PaymentDepot account, you’ll need to set up your customer-facing website. PaymentDepot works with popular ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce and WooCommerce, for example. If you already have a site, PaymentDepot integrates with Authorize.net, which is a fairly universal payment gateway that can connect to most websites.
3. Connect PaymentDepot to your website: Connect your website to Depot for Payments credit card processing through PaymentDepot’s seamless integration. As long as you choose one of PaymentDepot’s platforms or gateway platforms, like Authorize.net or BigCommerce, this step will be simple.

In addition to online payments, PaymentDepot can be used to accept credit cards in person, via mobile and POS, and through a virtual terminal.

Shopify

What We Enjoy

• Small company ecommerce platform of choice
• Simple to use
• Checkout with Shop Pay in a single click

What Isn’t There

• Only suitable for retail establishments
• A monthly membership is required.

Features

• Payment processing at a fixed rate
• Customer service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days
• Online shop with SSL certificate that may be customized
• Discounts and shipping labels
• Options for recurring billing and subscriptions

Shopify is a well-known ecommerce platform with built-in payment processing that allows you to take credit cards online. All major credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Shop Pay—which enables one-click checkouts—are accepted by Shopify. Gift cards and subscriptions may also be set up by businesses. Because it integrates payment processing with ecommerce capabilities like a drag-and-drop shop builder, shipping solutions, and inventory management, Shopify is a fantastic method for ecommerce enterprises to take credit cards online. It’s ideal for start-up ecommerce and online retail firms.

How to Use Shopify to Accept Credit Cards Online

Shopify is a prominent ecommerce platform that allows small, medium, and big enterprises to sell items and take credit card payments all in one place, eliminating the need for third-party services.

With Shopify, businesses can take credit cards online in two easy ways:

1. Create a Shopify store: To get started, Shopify includes a step-by-step tutorial and checklist. You may also use Shopify’s 14-day free trial to build and test your business before committing to a subscription.
2. Activate Shopify payments under the Payment providers section of your shop settings. To set up Shopify payments, go to that area.

OR

1. Use a third-party payment gateway: If you don’t want to use Shopify’s built-in credit card processing, you may use one of Shopify’s third-party payment processors, such as Authorize.net, Chase, Worldpay, PayPal, and Cayan, to take credit cards online. However, if you use a third-party payment source, Shopify will charge you an extra transaction fee.

Shopify includes all of the capabilities that a company owner would need to run a seamless and effective ecommerce operation, in addition to taking credit cards online.

Stax

What We Enjoy

• Software that is simple to use
• Tools for online client management and shopping carts

What Isn’t There

• A monthly fee is charged.
• For new or high-risk firms, this is not a suitable match.

Features

• PCI-compliant
• No cancellation fees and month-to-month billing
• Technical assistance is available around the clock.
• QuickBooks integration in both directions is offered.
• There are many payment gateway alternatives available.

Stax by Fattmerchant is a traditional merchant services provider that charges a few cents per transaction over interchange but with a higher flat. Like PaymentDepot, Stax’s unique pricing structure makes it a good fit for growing businesses that have a higher transaction volume and average sales amount because they would benefit from the lower per-transaction cost.

The Omni software, which includes a shopping cart, customer administration, and online review management, is included with a Stax subscription. Stax is a wonderful option for online payment processing for high-volume organizations since it includes invoicing software, a user-friendly virtual terminal, and financial reporting capabilities.

How to accept credit cards online using Stax

Businesses may use Stax to take credit cards online through a virtual terminal for invoicing and billing, as well as an ecommerce shopping cart for retail sales.

With Stax, there are two methods to take credit cards online:

1. To open a merchant account, follow these steps: You must first open an account with Stax before you can begin taking cards online. It exclusively deals with corporations headquartered in the United States and does not work with many high-risk enterprises.
2. Set up your Authorize.net gateway: Stax works with a few different payment gateways, but Authorize.net is the most common. You don’t need to contact a different organization to set up your payment gateway since the whole procedure is handled by Stax.
3. Create a personalized shopping cart on your website: Stax allows you to create a bespoke, branded shopping cart directly on your website, ensuring that clients never leave your site throughout the checkout process.
4. Authorize.net integrates with a variety of major eCommerce systems and web hosting providers, including WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento.

OR

1. Stax includes pre-built connectors with Shopify, BigCommerce, 3dcart, Magento, and other e-commerce platforms. You can skip the step of setting up a separate gateway if you’re utilizing one of these platforms.

Stax also offers solutions for taking countertop payments, mobile payments, invoicing, and ecommerce, all of which are PCI compliant and interface with a variety of popular point-of-sale systems.

PaymentCloud

What We Enjoy

• Provides high-risk merchant accounts as a specialty.
• Application and approval processes are rather rapid.
• Rates that are competitive

What Isn’t There

• The custom-only pricing approach is opaque.
• For low-risk firms, this isn’t the best option.
• There is no billing software or other customer-facing software supplied.

Features

• The application and setup procedure is done by hand.
• Most prominent ecommerce and shopping cart software integrations
• Address Verification System (AVS) technology, tokenization, and 3D Secure technology are all built-in fraud protection features.
• Account manager who is dedicated to you

PaymentCloud is a merchant account provider that specializes in high-risk and “hard-to-place” merchant accounts and provides a broad variety of payment processing services. In fact, it’s the high-risk merchant account we suggest. PaymentCloud offers a number of payment gateway options that may be integrated with any website or ecommerce platform through APIs, bespoke integrations, or one of the company’s many pre-built basic integrations.

PaymentCloud differs from the other solutions on this list in that the application, approval, and setup procedure is more hands-on. Many backend processors work with the firm to assist high-risk merchants become accepted. As a result, charges and contract terms differ depending on your specific company circumstances. It does, however, provide free pricing comparisons as well as no setup or application costs.

How to Use PaymentCloud to Accept Credit Cards Online

The setup procedure differs from one firm to the next, just as the cost does. PaymentCloud helps companies every step of the way, from application to setup, installation, and integrations, since it specializes in high-risk firms and those having trouble obtaining a processor.

With PaymentCloud, you have three choices for accepting credit cards online:

1. Make use of one of PaymentCloud’s pre-built integrations: Through a mix of open APIs and partnerships, PaymentCloud integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, WordPress, and hundreds of other applications.
2. Set up a custom integration: PaymentCloud can help businesses set up an integration with any software that has an open API. Because PaymentCloud provides Account manager who is dedicated to yous and a very hands-on onboarding process, this process is not as intimidating as it sounds.
3. To integrate PaymentCloud’s payment gateway into your website, follow these steps: PaymentCloud has its own payment gateway and integrates with the majority of other prominent payment processors, such as Authorize.net and Braintree.

In addition to retail terminals for in-person payments, PaymentCloud now provides a virtual terminal and ACH payment processing. You’ll receive built-in chargeback and fraud protection capabilities since they specialize in high-risk accounts.

3. Use One-Click Checkouts and Installment Payments to Increase Conversions

The simple checkout procedure attracts 30% of customers to online purchasing. Allow one-click checkouts, such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, and PayPal, to meet the expectations of these customers. One-click checkout alternatives are available from payment processors that specialize in online payments or retail (such as Square and Stax).

In addition to Apple Pay and Google Pay, some processors, such as Shopify, provide their own one-click checkout option (Shop Pay). Shopify conducted a study of its own merchants and discovered that sites using Shop Pay had a 1.72x greater checkout-to-order rate than sites using conventional checkouts without Shop Pay.

The next step in setting up your online payments is to enable one-click checkout solutions, such as Shopify’s Shop Pay. (Image courtesy of Shopify)

To put it another way, it’s not enough to just set up online payments; you also need to optimize your checkout process to make it as simple as possible for your clients.

Shoppers anticipate flexible payment options in addition to one-click checkouts in many circumstances, especially for merchants. A buy now, pay later (BNPL) service has been utilized by more than 55 percent of customers (nearly a 50 percent increase from 2020). Customer financing alternatives such as BNPL and interest-free installment payments enable customers to pay over time.

Customer financing alternatives such as Klarna, Afterpay, and PayPal’s PayPal Credit or Pay in Four solutions are supported by the majority of popular small company website builders and ecommerce platforms.

4. Make Your Website Safe

The next step is to double-check your payment security procedures once you’ve picked a payment processor, set it up, and enabled one-click or customer financing checkout options. At the very least, you should comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The PCI standard is the name for this.

PCI Standard: A set of payment security criteria that must be followed by all firms that accept credit card payments. The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council enforces the standard, which was designed by credit card firms. Fees may be imposed if PCI compliance is not maintained. If fraud happens while you are not compliant, your company may be held liable and you may face financial penalties.

Because the card is not physically present for the transaction, there is a larger risk connected with online purchases. There’s also a higher chance of being defrauded. To compensate the risks of processing online payments, banks and credit card firms demand higher processing fees.

Fraud and chargebacks on a regular basis are a certain method to raise your processing expenses (and potentially risk the status of your merchant account). Use a third-party software or a merchant account with built-in chargeback and fraud protection measures. To assist prevent fraudulent transactions from being authorized, many internet processors incorporate features like address verification services (AVS) or machine-learning algorithms.

5. Reduce processing fees.

For micro businesses and occasional payments, services like Venmo for Business and Chase QuickPay have options to send and receive funds for free. However, most businesses will need a merchant account. For businesses processing under $5,000 monthly, Square typically offers the best value. For businesses over that threshold, Depot for Payments is often the cheapest credit card processor.

Continue to negotiate reduced prices with your payment processor as your company expands. You may be eligible for bespoke pricing if you’ve regularly processed $15,000–$20,000 per month.

However, depending on the nature of your company, you may want to explore taking ACH payments, which are one of the most cost-effective payment options. ACH processing costs are normally 1 percent, whereas conventional online credit card processing fees are 2.9 percent + 30 cents.

Customers must submit their bank information for ACH transactions, therefore they’re suitable for recurring payments like subscriptions, continuing services, and particularly costly or high-end purchases.

Conclusion

There are a variety of methods to take credit cards online, and the ideal one for you depends on your company. A basic solution like Square provides a user-friendly website builder, online shop, virtual terminal, and invoice payments whether you’re a sole owner, a fledgling company, or just budget-conscious.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I accept credit card payments as an individual?

In order to accept credit card payments as an individual, you would need a merchant account. You can use Stripe or PayPal for this if you do not have one already.

What is the cheapest way to take card payments?

The most common way to take card payments is by using a credit/debit card reader.

How can I receive payment online?

There are a few ways you can make an online payment. The first way is to pay with cash through Paypal, which has become the de facto standard for electronic payments on the internet.