How to make money By accepting Credit cards in your business

When you set up your gift basket business, you are, of course, faced with numerous questions, doubts, and options. One of them, and an important one at that, is whether to accept credit cards.

Whether you have your business in a retail outlet or online or a combination of both, credit cards are the norm these days. Of course, there are still some customers who prefer to pay using cash or debit but most people have a credit card and use one these days. And, if you assume that you will have enough traffic flow by just catering to the non-credit card community, you might be right but you might also be turning off potentially high-valued customers, and those who could give you repeat business. By not accepting credit cards, the word gets around too about your limitation in that respect and it may turn some would-be customers away.

In 1996 itself, credit card payments accounted for 88% of the $1.25 billion online transaction revenue, according to Jupiter Communications, which is an electronic commerce research firm in New York. And, their forecast is that credit card payments will account for over 50% of revenue in payments over the next millennium.

So, accepting credit cards these days is extremely important. It helps to attract more customers to your business and it does it in two ways:
1. By lending credibility to your business
It is the common conception that only reputable and credible companies accept credit cards.
2. By providing a safe buying environment
All web pages that accept credit card payments have encryption features and they are secured. Further, when making a purchase online via credit card, customers are liable to credit card companies for only the first $50 in the case of fraud.

You have to be aware though that the fees for accepting credit card payments online are higher than in situations when a physical card is present. This is due to the nature of Internet transactions: there is no customer to sign for the purchase nor is there a physical card. This type of transaction-"Card Not Present" or "Mail Order/Telephone Order" transaction is categorized as higher risk and therefore comes with a higher fee. But, in the long run, the higher fee is well worth it. It will result in a larger customer base and one that is more qualified in terms of the money they are willing to spend. This will eventually lead to higher turnover for you.

You have to just bite the bullet when it comes to incurring the charges to set up a merchant account to accept credit cards but it is better to run the whole gamut and set up everything right as well. So, make sure that you also use a real-time authorization and processing service such as CyberCash.

Accept credit cards and be counted in as a merchant in step with the times.

How to make money with online Forex system

Before explaining what the term "online forex" refers to, I will give a brief introduction to Forex trading. Forex, which stands for Foreign Exchange Market, is the largest world wide exchange market. Everyday, many people from around the world join and use the Forex, as this is the place where traders, brokers and other people buy and sell currency. It is a place where a person can make a huge profit, if he knows exactly what he is doing.

Given the ease and power of the internet, now the everyday person can trade on the forex, using online forex systems. You will have to know when to buy currency, when to hold on to your currency, when to move your money from one currency to another and when to sell your money through online forex. To the newcomer, the world of online forex could seem very foreboding, as you essentially need to learn and know a whole new language. It might even feel like you are entering the frenetic world of Wall Street, fast paced and ever changing. You need to keep your eyes open and your wits about you wherever you go with the world of online forex.

There are basically two ways to access the forex from your computer, and one has some advantages over the other. The first is the live web version of Forex, where you log on and connect to the webpage via your internet connection. The second is actual software that allows you to access the forex in the online forex downloadable version.

The online version has the main advantage of portability and ease of installation. If you are not excited about installing new products onto your hard drive, or if you are not at your computer and maybe in an internet cafe or at your friend's computer, you will be glad to know that the online forex need not be downloaded. It takes less than a minute to boot up and you can work on it straight off the web browser. It generally works with any Windows version and any version of internet browser, including Susi, Linux and Mac.

Online forex is easy to use and much more accessible than the hustle and bustle of big city trading and Wall Street. You can use it right in the comfort of your own home. And if you know what you are doing and use the proper techniques, you could potentially earn a decent living with online forex; all while wearing you favorite pajamas and watching TV.

How to make money By accepting Credit cards in your business

When you set up your gift basket business, you are, of course, faced with numerous questions, doubts, and options. One of them, and an important one at that, is whether to accept credit cards.

Whether you have your business in a retail outlet or online or a combination of both, credit cards are the norm these days. Of course, there are still some customers who prefer to pay using cash or debit but most people have a credit card and use one these days. And, if you assume that you will have enough traffic flow by just catering to the non-credit card community, you might be right but you might also be turning off potentially high-valued customers, and those who could give you repeat business. By not accepting credit cards, the word gets around too about your limitation in that respect and it may turn some would-be customers away.

In 1996 itself, credit card payments accounted for 88% of the $1.25 billion online transaction revenue, according to Jupiter Communications, which is an electronic commerce research firm in New York. And, their forecast is that credit card payments will account for over 50% of revenue in payments over the next millennium.

So, accepting credit cards these days is extremely important. It helps to attract more customers to your business and it does it in two ways:
1. By lending credibility to your business
It is the common conception that only reputable and credible companies accept credit cards.
2. By providing a safe buying environment
All web pages that accept credit card payments have encryption features and they are secured. Further, when making a purchase online via credit card, customers are liable to credit card companies for only the first $50 in the case of fraud.

You have to be aware though that the fees for accepting credit card payments online are higher than in situations when a physical card is present. This is due to the nature of Internet transactions: there is no customer to sign for the purchase nor is there a physical card. This type of transaction-"Card Not Present" or "Mail Order/Telephone Order" transaction is categorized as higher risk and therefore comes with a higher fee. But, in the long run, the higher fee is well worth it. It will result in a larger customer base and one that is more qualified in terms of the money they are willing to spend. This will eventually lead to higher turnover for you.

You have to just bite the bullet when it comes to incurring the charges to set up a merchant account to accept credit cards but it is better to run the whole gamut and set up everything right as well. So, make sure that you also use a real-time authorization and processing service such as CyberCash.

Accept credit cards and be counted in as a merchant in step with the times.

How to make Money by choosing the right Mutual Funds

Most people who invest in mutual funds don't know what they are doing. They take advice from someone at a bank or perhaps a friend and plunk down money into a fund. Sometimes this strategy works, but most of the time, it doesn't.

When you invest your money in a mutual fund, you are trusting someone to invest in the stock market for you. Because of this, you want to be sure this person knows what he or she is doing. Also, you want to make sure that this person is not charging you too much to manage your money for you. Mutual funds fees are "hidden," in the sense that they do not charge you an upfront fee but rather a percentage of the amount of money in your account. If this percentage is too high, you would do better just blindly picking stocks yourself.

Here are five helpful tips for choosing the right mutual funds.



1. Keep the fees low. Generally, expense fees should not be much higher than 1% if it is just a basic domestic equity fund. You should never invest money in a fund that also charges a "load," which is an additional fee that is ridiculous to pay. Never invest in funds that charge loads; those funds are for suckers.

2. Check the asset base. Mutual fund managers only know of so many good investments. When they have too much money to manage, they begin investing in stocks they don't like much but need to invest in anyway or else they'll just have money laying around. There's little reason to invest in a fund with over $5 billion in assets. It's best if it's under $2 billion generally.

3. Consider an index fund. This is a fund that tracks a stock index, such as the S&P 500. For these funds, the manager just buys whatever stocks happen to be in the index. Since this is not much work, the fees are much lower. Even though this method is simple, it has proven to perform better than most mutual funds. Some high performance index funds include FSMKX (Fidelity S&P 500) and VIMSX (Vanguard S&P 400 Midcap.

4. Evaluate the fund's strategy. If you have a long term outlook, look for a more aggressive fund that invests in small-cap stocks, international stocks, and riskier stocks in general. High risk tends to result in high performance in the long run. If you are more risk-averse, consider an S&P 500 index fund.

5. Keep the fees low. Did I mention this already? Well, I'll mention it again. This is where most people mess up. Make sure you are not paying