You should choose the right payment processor when you run a business accepting debit and credit cards online. Online payment processors handle all the heavy lifting, from capturing sales to sending you a statement of your bill and working with your banks to ensure that you are paid.

When a buyer purchases something on your site or in person at a brick-and-mortar store their credit or debit card information passes through a payment gateway or PoS terminal. The gateway encrypts the information to protect it and then forwards it to the payment processor, which transmits it to the customer’s card network. The card network checks with the customer’s bank to determine if there is enough money in the account to pay for the item. If the bank is able to approve the purchase then the card issuer transfers money from the account to the merchant’s bank. The payment processor will transmit this information to the merchant site or PoS terminal. This will notify the client of the successful payment.

When choosing a processor, take virtual processing terminal into consideration security as well as ease of use and compatibility with the existing systems. Look for a solution that provides APIs and plug-ins to seamlessly integrate with your e-commerce platform or POS system. You should also look at your customers’ checkout experience and your team’s report and transaction management experience. Finally, make sure you are familiar with the contract terms and how easy it is to switch suppliers in the future.