10.4 Online Checks and Wallet Systems

Not everyone uses credit cards, and you may lose half your potential business if you don't take alternatives.

Search under online checks, wallet systems, payment solutions and payment services. Wikipedia has brief listings under: online wallet, e-commerce payment system, electronic funds transfer and payment service provider.

You'll have to visit the sites/contact the companies concerned for details of the existing range of online and secure payment services, which fall into several categories.

Some schemes provide a secure wallet, into which a customer can put funds for the merchant to withdraw, without credit card details being divulged.

Some allow telephone billing. In others, a name, address, number, routing/sort code and account number are keyed in by the customer, and a cashable is printed out at the merchant's terminal.

A few schemes will also convert the to a full electronic payment, usually for an additional fee.

Online checks are most popular in the States and Canada, though banks even here can impose additional charges for such processing.

You'll want to discuss matters with the people you normally deal and bank with.