Blog > What is a Virtual Merchant?

What is a Virtual Merchant?

By |Published On: October 28th, 2020|

Overview of the term “Virtual Merchant”

The world of credit card processing is filled with terms that aren’t always very clear, so this post should serve to define a good one: virtual merchant. The term virtual merchant isn’t so hard to understand–it’s just another name for a website that sells goods or services and also gives customers a way to pay for their order, usually by credit card, and usually by utilizing an online shopping cart.

You might use a virtual merchant storefront in order to speed up your sales process, as the customer ends up doing most of the heavy lifting for you (providing the name of the good or service, shipping address, payment information, etc.) so you or your staff can focus solely on getting product out the door. It bears mentioning that a virtual merchant can function as the online face of an already established brick-and-mortar store, or as the sole means of communication between a customer and a business.

What happens behind the scenes?

For a virtual merchant to function at all, you need to apply for a merchant account, which allows a third party–like EBizCharge, for example–to process credit card payments in exchange for a monthly fee.

Virtual merchants improve businesses because they’re EASY for customers to use.

To ensure your customers come back to your site, you’ll want to make sure your virtual merchant keeps the ordering process simple, whether that means tinkering with the online shopping cart yourself or hiring a web developer. It’s worth mentioning too that not all shopping carts are created equally, and some might have reporting features you prefer over others, so do some research before settling on one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

A virtual merchant payment gateway is a secure online service that facilitates electronic payments for online businesses by connecting their websites to payment processors. It ensures a seamless and secure process for customers purchasing on virtual platforms.

To generate a payment link for a website selling goods or services:

  1. Select a payment gateway compatible with online transactions.
  2. After creating an account, access the payment link feature in the gateway’s dashboard.
  3. Input specific transaction details, including the amount and description, and generate a unique payment link.
  4. Share this link on your website, in emails, or through messaging apps to allow customers to easily pay for goods or services by clicking on the provided link.

A virtual merchant payment gateway is a secure online service that facilitates electronic payments for online businesses by connecting their websites to payment processors. It ensures a seamless and secure process for customers purchasing on virtual platforms.

To generate a payment link for a website selling goods or services:

  1. Select a payment gateway compatible with online transactions.
  2. After creating an account, access the payment link feature in the gateway’s dashboard.
  3. Input specific transaction details, including the amount and description, and generate a unique payment link.
  4. Share this link on your website, in emails, or through messaging apps to allow customers to easily pay for goods or services by clicking on the provided link.

Summary

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