There are two different ways that merchants can process and authenticate credit card payments made by their customers: one is batch processing and the other is real-time credit card authorization. With batch processing, several credit card transactions are processed at one time. In many cases, businesses will clear their “batch” at the end of the day by sending all transactions over to a merchant bank provider such as SolidTrustPay who the processes the payments. With real-time credit card authorizations, each transaction is sent for processing as soon as it is received by the retailer.
So how do you decide if you need real-time credit card authorization for your site? If you have a business with customers that are making lots of small payments to get and use immediate goods and services, real-time credit card authorization is definitely the way to go. This can include gaming companies where players make micropayments to upgrade their characters, gambling sites and more. Real-time credit card authorizations ensure that players have the funds they claim to have and lets merchants perform security measures through the authorization process to make sure there are no fraudulent activities taking place.
But almost any business can benefit from having real-time credit card authorization. In many cases, it’s a cheaper alternative to batch processing in the long haul — even if the cost per transaction is more expensive. This is because real-time credit card processing is much more effective at weeding out fraudulent activities and customers who are attempting to purchase products but don’t actually have the funds. These customers cost businesses money in chargebacks and having to cancel orders. Making sure that a credit card is authorized before accepting it eliminates these headaches and saves businesses money.
Of course, each business is different and what works for one company might not work for you. The best thing you can do is contact Solid Trust Pay to find out about all of our credit card authorization options. We’ll work with you to determine if batch processing or real-time credit card authorization is right for you.