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Merchants worrying about online payment risk reduction and credit cards need to rely on close inspection and attention to the details of their specific business. One of the biggest difficulties of accepting online payment is that merchants need a
reliable payment processor that offers superior customer service and an
online POS with advanced fraud protection that they can integrate with their own internal anti-fraud practices. This challenge often leads merchants to balance reducing credit card payment processing costs against better customer service and fraud prevention, forcing them to make a difficult choice between less risk and affordability.
Merchants that don’t do a significant volume of sales online and are not interested in committing resources to increasing this avenue of sale would be better off abandoning it, finding a reliable payment processor for their new, more focused business, and eliminating the costs and the headaches until such time as they are ready to make the plunge into online retail whole-heartedly.
But for those that can’t ignore online sales, it is worth looking at costs from a broader perspective. The more time it takes to solve any fraud problems, the more those problems cost both in terms of the money tied up in the fraud, time that could be spent on other things, and eventually in terms of charges and penalties resulting from confusion and related problems. Paying slightly higher fees for a more reliable payment processor that has a better anti-fraud record and a reputation for dealing with fraud and helping clients aggressively may cost more upfront, but if the merchant uses a business model that increases the general risk of online fraud, this investment could easily save money and time in the end.
Finally, reliability and superior customer service also provides merchants with peace of mind. This is distinct from the benefits of free time and convenience, but for many no less valuable. Worrying, stress, and anxiety are all potential effects of being less protected while in a situation that has a higher risk of fraud. Those can have serious consequences that make paying slightly more to the payment processor an even more worthwhile investment.
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