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Merchant Services for Health Supplements

Are Virtual Merchant Terminals Right for your Nutraceutical Business. Vitamins, Supplements, Health Products. We are all familiar with credit card terminals at a brick-and-mortar store. It is a standalone handset, wired or wireless, that requires customers to either dip, tap or swipe a card, followed by keying in a pin or signature to authorise a payment. In addition to countertop and mobile terminals, businesses can also choose to setup a virtual terminal.

A virtual terminal is a web-based version of a physical credit card terminal. It is a software hosted on the merchant account providers servers and can be accessed via a web browser. Using a virtual terminal, customers can make payments from anywhere provided they have a device connected to the internet. A virtual terminal can also be used at a physical location. Merchants are provided with a card swiper that connects to a computer via a USB port. Customers can swipe cards using the hand swiper at their store. Thus, with a virtual terminal your nutraceutical business can process card present and card not present transactions.

The nutraceutical industry specialises in the manufacture and sale of herbal products and dietary supplements. These include energy boosters, weight loss supplements, sexual stimulants and skin and hair treatments. Nutraceutical companies are examples of Mail Order or Telephone Order businesses. Hence, they benefit the most from the use of virtual terminals.

Payment Processing for Vitamins Companies

In order to setup a virtual terminal you will first need to hire the services of a high-risk merchant account provider. Payments made via a virtual terminal have to be actioned manually. Merchants log in to their virtual terminal account, enter the card information provided by the customer into the payment form and click the “ok” or “submit” information. Once the payment request is authenticated, the funds are transferred from the customer’s account to the payment processor or the merchant’s bank account. Customers receive an electronic receipt that can be kept for future reference.

Virtual terminal payments are an example of card not present transactions. Since they allow payment processing without the physical presence of the customer or the card, they are most beneficial to businesses that do not have a fixed location or require employees to travel to the customer’s location. This includes telephone and mail order businesses.

Benefits to your Nutraceutical Business

There are several advantages of setting up a virtual terminal, but the benefits are more to a high-risk business. You save on set-up costs. A high-risk nutraceutical business is costly in its own way. You pay higher processing fees because of the higher level of risk. Added to this are the losses resulting from chargebacks and online frauds. A virtual terminal does not require merchants to spend on expensive equipment or invest in high-end software. All you need is a merchant account with a credit card processor. The setup is also not very complicated. Once your account has been created by the payment processor, you simply need to log in into your account and you can start processing payments. The flexibility in payment is yet another of the advantages. You or your employees do not have to be near a countertop of point of sale terminal to process a payment. Tablets and smartphones can double up as virtual payments. As a business owner, you also do not have to worry about maintaining the payment system. Credit card processors have dedicated customer support teams to handle all back-end activities. The best thing about virtual terminals is that you can control payments manually while at the same time automate recurring payments especially in the case subscriptions.

Small businesses and start-ups do not usually have the time, money or manpower to handle data storage and organisation. Virtual terminal systems are designed to assist with data storage and record management. Every time a customer’s personal and credit card details are fed into the system, they are stored to understand purchase trends or to expedite payments in case of repeat purchases. This saves time for the merchant and improves the shopping experience for the customer. Online reporting also helps you keep accurate records of income. Payment are made via a secure URL; hence businesses can rest assured that there is no interception of the network over which payments are processed. A virtual terminal can be introduced as an add-on payment processor along with traditional countertop and point of sale (POS) solutions. It can also be implemented as the sole payment method.

The best payment processing solution depends on the unique needs of your business. If you are considering installing a virtual terminal for your nutraceutical business, you should consult a credit card processor. Not only will they help you understand the features of a virtual terminal, they can also help you decide if it is the right fit for your nutraceutical business. It is also advised that you compare rates and contractual agreements when selecting a virtual terminal provider.