Evaluation Criteria for Internet Processing

When credit cards are concerned, the internet is becoming one of the most common uses. There are many companies that are doing business online and are accepting credit cards as a form of payment. Whether it be through a third party service or through a credit card processing company, many businesses rely on credit cards for their primary source of business especially if they do not have a physical location.

We work to evaluate credit card processors based on their ability to handle internet-based transactions both securely and in a stable fashion.

The first evaluation criterion is on reliability. A credit card processor needs to be able to provide reliable service that customers will be able to use for their online transactions. This benefits both the company doing business and the customer.

Our next evaluation criterion is on security. An online transaction should be as secure as possible in order to prevent identity theft. This is becoming an increasing problem with the internet, but a good secure transaction will prevent this from happening.

The third evaluation criterion is on speed. Transactions should be quick to allow the customer to make their purchase and be done with it. The benefit of purchasing things online is to get away from the hassle of purchasing items in a store.

Our fourth evaluation criterion is on the reporting methods used by the processors. The merchant needs to be able to track the money coming in through the card processing and it’s important for the service provider to provide a reporting method to track income. This is especially helpful for merchants that use a checking account.

The final evaluation criterion is on the ease of use of the service. The service should be easy to use and setup and should contain minimal requirements for use. Most merchants will be using the service through a gateway provided by the card processor.

General Questions:

• How did you find your current payment processor?
• What other payment processors, if any, have you used?
• How many transactions do you process per month?
• What would be three things you would change about your experience?
• Rate your overall experience (1-10; 10 being the highest).

Specific Questions:

• What types of payments does the online processor support?
• Did the service provider offer you PCI compliance services?
• What type of online processing solution was offered?
• How are your processed payments being reported?
• How much effort did it take to integrate the processor's services into your offerings?