A Virtual Terminal is a Real Online Business Booster

When I was growing up I remember watching my folks go through the catalogues looking for things we needed. They’d fill out an order form, write a check and mail it in, then wait at least three weeks for their merchandise to arrive.

Back then there was no such thing as paying by credit card. In fact there were some things you would order and the form would indicate that you had to “allow six to eight weeks for delivery” and no one blinked an eye.

I wonder what they would think about online shopping these days where you can even get overnight shipping and have your purchase the next day. We have gotten so used to the speed and efficiency of Internet shopping that I just can’t imagine any other way.

But what I really wonder about are those businesses that don’t have online credit card processing services. It’s like going into a fight with one hand tied behind your back – how can any Internet business be competitive when they don’t give their business all the tools it needs to succeed? I’ve heard of cashing on nostalgia, but I don’t think anyone is pining for the old days of mail order shopping.

I know that I’m not – and I also know that any e-business that I’m going to shop with had better be hip to credit card processing if they expect to have my business.

I like it for my personal purchases but I also like it when I use e-businesses to get business-related items for my company. I consult and at the end of an assignment I like to send clients a small thank-you gift as a way of nurturing what I hope will be an ongoing relationship.

One guy was a big Dallas Cowboys fan, so I sent him a tin of cookies with the Dallas helmet on each one in icing. Another likes detective stories so I got him a boxed set of Sherlock Holmes novels.

The point is that I can order these things, get them wrapped and shipped to the client quickly and without much effort on my part. Then I have my credit-card statement so I have a ready reference at tax time.

I also use online shopping for office supplies, travel arrangements and to pay my business bills. Again, it gives me one place with a record of everything I have spent.

All in all credit card processing online services have made one aspect of my life so much easier and more efficient – which brings me back to my question. Why would anyone with a business in the virtual world not have credit card services? With so many companies out there that do have them I would think if for no other reason that staying even with the competition.

I do know that if you want my business you better be ready to take my credit card. That’s my expectation as a consumer and I’ll bet there are a lot of people just like me.