Now that you’ve built and designed, you’ll need to work on establishing a merchant services account and a payment system for your customers, and ensure that your site provides safe and secure transactions.

A few things to consider:

1. Merchant Services Account
In order to sell goods and accept credit cards online, you will need a Merchant Services Account. You can apply for a merchant services account online as long as you have an employee identification number (EIN), otherwise known as a Federal Tax Identification Number. You can also apply for a merchant services account at your local bank.

2. Online Credit Card Approval
Many merchant services account providers also provide real-time credit card processing system. Credit card processing set up varies in cost, and some are free. Account maintenance charges range from free to upwards of $50 a month. Paypal combines the merchant services account and payment system. There is no set up fee or monthly charge, just a 2.99 percent fee on transactions. For new sites with no history, this may be the fastest way to get going.

3. Security Certificate
To offer secure transactions on your site, you need a 128-bit SSL Encryption certificate that you license from a security certificate provider. Fees can range from $30 to over $200 a year plus set up charges which might include a set up fee from your web host, that is, the company that is hosting your online store.

Offering secure transactions is essential if you plan to open an online store. Security is the number one concern for online shoppers (privacy, shipping charges and product quality were other major concerns).

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