Can I process credit cards in my store offline?

Customers new to eCommerce often wonder if they can process credit cards in their current brick-and-mortar store instead of paying for an online merchant account. The simple answer is yes. This is called "offline" credit card processing. There are, as with most everything, upsides and downside to doing this. Read below to understand which option will work best for you and which will be most secure.

Pros of "offline" credit card processing

1) Cost: Processing offline will allow you to use your current in-house credit card processing system and type the numbers into your system. You will not need an online merchant account which usually costs around $40-$50 per month.

Cons of "offline" credit card processing

1) Security: In order to process credit card numbers offline you will need to store the numbers in a database. This is a potential security issues if someone does access this information. Processing credit cards offline will mean that your website is not PCI compliant.

2) Time: Processing offline means each time an order is placed you will have to manually run the credit card, where as real-time processing automatically runs and approved the card. If you're planning on doing a lot of transactions through your eCommerce website, we suggest having an automated online merchant account.

3) Card Verification: Although our eCommerce websites will check to be sure the credit card number is valid, if there is a problem with the card it will not be able to instantly tell the customer that the order did not go through.

To sign up for an online merchant account, or to learn more, click here.