Payment system is an integral element of any ecommerce website. It is crucial for achieving the main goal of your internet business - making money online accepting payments from your customers. That is why setting up a payment system is a very responsible task.

In spite of tools you will use for establishing your ecommerce website, whether you will use website builder or request custom web design services, its online payment system will include the following elements:

1. Shopping cart
You need to set up a shopping cart for accepting and managing the orders your customers make. When your client chooses a product he wants to buy he puts it to the shopping cart and thus you see what orders you need to process.

2. Merchant account
You will have to set up merchant account for the payments you receive online to be directed to your bank account.

3. Online gateway
Internet gateway serves to connect a shopping cart with your merchant account. It is responsible for running credit card information and direct deposits to your bank account.

In order to establish a merchant account you need to find the appropriate merchant account provider which requires paying attention to several aspects. When you sign the contract your provider will examine the information concerning your annual earnings, and if it appears too low your request may be rejected. Choosing particular merchant account provider you must make sure that it is able to cope with high value credit card amounts daily. You should be also aware of the fact that in case your provider goes bankrupt you will simply loose the money you spent on its services.