With businesses spreading wide across the globe, several people are encouraged to start their business online and earn their living. However, the main question that runs in everyone’s head is how to make payments online when one is sitting far away from the company he is tied up to. People also worry about how to receive payments for the work they do. Due to this fear, people usually fret in making online payments as they are afraid of revealing their financial details online. The lack of knowledge adds to the problem more when one needs to make or receive online payments.

Making payments online is one big necessity for home based business holders and small entrepreneurs. With the advancement in technology, transferring of funds and receiving them has become very flexible over the years. It is popularly known as e-commerce payment method, where all the transactions are done electronically, i.e. online. The method has become popular due to increasing popularity of online shopping, online business and e-banking.

To get acquainted with online payment options one must be aware with the basic terminology relating to it to avoid confusion. When you are into a business there will be something you will come across is the merchant account. It is a bank account you can use to receive payment and even send it. It is linked particularly with the credit card or debit card you use. There is a payment gateway, which is a passage or a portal where one can safely pass the card information to the merchant. The payment which a customer sends is then processed by a payment processor. Payment processor is a company that handles the transactions and implements several policies to be careful from the fraud which is likely to happen. Thus these are the very basic terminology to get started with online payment.

In all these years, and event till today, credit card is the leading and most preferred mode of online payment. However if you own a website or an internet based business, you need to study various other factors also like your product cost and easy payment options which your customers might prefer. Making your website flexible in payment transfer will also help attract more customers in turn helping in pushing your business upwards. There are various alternate payment methods now in market which are gaining popularity at such a higher rate that more and more people have started preferring to use them without any misconceptions in their minds.

Two of the very widely used among the online business owners is PayPal and Alert Pay. PayPal is a leading name in the industry that is secure and quick. It offers its customers independent account or one can link it with the credit card. It’s got various other options too, to transfer payments and to get paid. It has no monthly or set up fees but only charges some amount when you are engaged into a transaction.

Another of most widely used contemporaries of PayPal is Google Checkout which avails its services to millions of users. There are other various payments options like 2CheckOut.com, Amazon Payments, Authorize.Net and Brain Tree.com

Thus there are several of payment options available and it is on you to decide that suits your criteria and dealings. The list is huge and the options here mentioned are exemplified to make you aware about the big heads of the field.

Another very important thing that comes in notice when using online payments is the security. There are security guidelines and terms and conditions laid down by the merchant accounts, banks, payment gateways and payment processors. They work into that limit to ensure the customer’s privacy and safety as they reveal credit card numbers, bank accounts and so on. Online frauds have increased in number due to hackers as they dupe the customers by storing their personal data. Cyber crimes have also been reported in last few years and the hackers do have their eye on big heads of the industry.

One of the best ways to be protected from such scams is to read carefully all the security terms and conditions of the service you are likely to use. It is to be vigilant on our part to avoid frauds. Credit card service providers also advice its users to not pass their personal data online to any one whom you don’t trust or the companies that are non-validated. One must not answer to emails or pop-up pages that directly ask you to provide the banking details and credit card details.

In case you suspect any undesirable or forced transaction, it is your responsibility to contact the service provider and immediately block the card or the transaction.

It is also advisable not to use in public places and other user computers to make payments or even use the function of net banking. One very good solution to avoid this problem is to have a good and licensed version of anti-spyware or anti-virus software installed in your PC which you use for transacting online.

Thus using alternative payment methods is a very good option as it ensures the safety of its customers. They are vigilant on their part as they do not wish to lose their customers and company’s reputation. A little responsibility lies on our shoulder too, to be careful in passing on personal information and which company to choose. Some of the methods mentioned above will definitely help in avoiding scams, Phishing or Duplication etc.