Consumers use their credit cards and debit cards for making payments both large and small. Online payment gateways make credit card transactions even more efficient.

The Automated Clearing House (ACH) system allows banks to send money back and forth electronically. Merchants can accept ACH payments through online payment gateways for various types of transactions, including bill payment, e-commerce processing and business-to-business transactions.

Online payment gateways that are compliant with PCI DSS standards keep customers' data safe, while protecting merchants from the hefty fees and devastating consequences of having data compromised.

Offering an online payment platform allows you to receive payments within a couple of days for online payments. Traditionally, when a product or service was purchased from a provider or manufacturer, invoices were sent along with the product shipment or after services were rendered. The recipient of the goods or services would then send a check in the mail or fill out a paper invoice with the company's credit information for processing. This traditional process could take anywhere from two weeks to a month or more to complete. Allowing clients and customers to pay online eliminates the wait time.

Businesses that only accept checks, or will only process credit card information over the phone, may seem questionable or unreliable to some consumers, especially if they are not familiar with the business. By accepting online payments, you benefit from the familiarity associated with online payments and, potentially, increase your overall sales and customer base.