If you are not ready to set up your own credit card merchant account and/or you want to offer additional online payment options, you can turn to a variety of third party, online payment processors.
An online payment processor provides ways for you to accept credit cards and other payments online without the extra cost and obligation of a merchant account. To compensate, transaction fees for the third party processors are significantly higher than for merchant accounts.

Each program is a little different and no single online payment processor is right for all situations. Clickbank, for example, helps you accept credit cards and online checks for downloadable, digital products. CCNow, on the other hand, is a payment processor for only online tangible items.

Deciding Which Online Payment Processor is Right for You
This site can help you through the decision of how to accept credit cards online and suggest resources to consider. You will find pros and cons associated with each choice, questions to ask before signing on, and potential pitfalls.

Whether you accept credit cards online through an Internet merchant account, through an online payment processor, or both, read all agreements carefully before committing. Do not hesitate to ask a payment processor / provider questions if you find that information is unclear or incomplete. Doing so can help you avoid costly or time-consuming mistakes.

Popular Online Credit Card Processors
As with any product or service, there are both advantages and disadvantages to each option. Each online payment processor has its own characteristics which may or may not fit your needs. To help you decide how you will accept credit cards online, I explain each of three generally popular online payment provider programs - 2checkout.com, Paypal, and Clickbank.