The service that authorizes the transaction or payment between the customer and the business is called payment gateway. On behalf of the business or merchant, a third party process the request for payment, verify and accept or deny the card. All this is done through a secured Internet connection. Therefore, the payment gateway becomes the enabler for the merchant to accept credit card and other forms of electronic payments such as debit cards. In order to provide verification of the payment, the business or the merchant should also need a merchant services or account. Both payment gateway and merchant accounts are essential for electronic payments and often both steps are completed by the same provider. Think payment gateway as similar to your physical point of sale terminal at your retail store.

Payment gateway protects the credit card information by encrypting sensitive information such as the card number and expiration date. This is done in order to ensure safety of the transaction and to protect both the customer and the merchant. Therefore, selection of a payment gateway becomes very critical. If the customer doesn’t feel comfortable for entering the card data to complete an online purchase, it becomes a lost opportunity for the merchant. More and more people are using wireless credit card processing and your business should not get left behind.

In addition to providing the protection of sensitive customer and merchant data, the payment gateway should also provide you with an input information screen commonly known as virtual terminal that allows the customer to input credit card information. Since payment gateway and merchant accounts are interlinked, the provider of the service should be responsible for the security. In other words they should protect customer credit card and other information from computer hackers. This is why wireless credit card processing is more critical for your business.

Those businesses that are categorized as high risk credit card processing merchant accounts should pay additional attention to in selecting a payment gateway and a merchant account. High risk merchant accounts include those businesses such as adult businesses, online gaming, online pharmacies that are subject to moral scrutiny. Those businesses that are categorized by the industry as high risk credit card processing including but not limited to jewelry, debt collection, credit repair services and similar businesses should also choose a payment gateway and merchant services carefully. The main reason is that these businesses may be subject to additional fees.

This is why you need to get both services from the Charge.com Payment Solutions, Inc.