Not only has the internet revolutionized how people learn and seek information, but, the world wide web has transformed how people and businesses conduct commerce. With the use of
websites and
merchant accounts, anyone is able to market to anyone. Yet, given the cost to get a merchant
account and the cost to maintain a merchant account, is it possible to sell products and services on the web without one?
Fortunately, the answer to the previous question is "Yes!" There are several options that allow businesses to make
sales without the need for a merchant account. These options are:
1) Selling on a website that has its own
currency 2) Accepting a private currency as payment
3) Using a third party to provide merchant account services
There are websites, like eraffle.com, that have an internal and unique "currency" that allow
business owners to make sales. These sites allow consumers to become members, offering them the ability to transfer traditional funds into their own accounts. With these accounts, members can then pay for purchases. The "currency" for these purchases go from the purchaser to the seller. The seller is then able to request a payout of collected funds into traditional banking systems.
Another consideration is that other websites offer a unique "currency" without the intent to "sell." These websites allow consumers to "exchange" traditional funds for this alternative currency. Business owners may now decide to accept this alternative currency on their websites. This option allows the website to accept
orders without the need for a merchant account.
A third option is to use a website that allows a business to accept its services as a merchant account provider. This is an ideal option. If a provider of financial services is able to accept payment on an owner''s behalf, this precludes the requirement to have a merchant account.
Given the brief overview, let''s consider some examples:
Some websites have an internal "currency" and members decide to load funds into their accounts. As such, business owners may elect to become merchants and sell their products and services to members. As members make purchases, businesses receive the funds within business accounts and may elect to receive these funds into the traditional banking system.
An example of an alternative currency for use by a business is e-gold.com. This website is focused on allowing members to exchange traditional funds into gold. As new funds are deposited into the e-gold system, e-gold.com purchase an equal amount of gold into its reserves. There is always an equal amount of gold to the deposits or exchanges made. Business owners may elect to use the e-gold payment option to make sales on websites. When a business owner wants to transfer his "e-gold" into traditional funds, he makes this transaction.
The third example illustrates how a third party provides merchant services for a website. ClickandBuy.com is a company that accepts payments for websites. Typically, consumers become members of ClickandBuy, providing their personal banking and credit card information. As members of ClickandBuy, members may elect to make purchases from businesses that are also associated with ClickandBuy. As a qualified ClickandBuy merchant, business owners may now "sell" on the web without a traditional merchant account.
Each of the above scenarios allows a company to sell on the web without a merchant account. Each option provides a website with greater flexibility when used. In fact, even if a website has a merchant account, these options increase marketing flexibility . There are alternatives to traditional payment methods on the web. Make the most of them.
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