This is a question I answered on a recent User Group discussion.

My first response was:

When you say "credit card system", do you mean:
* payment gateway?
* shopping trolley / payment gateway?
* full shop with credit card facilities?

But it seems there is general confusion between the concept of a shopping method and payment gateway. My second response addressed this:

A "vendor account" of some kind is needed, whether with PayPal or whoever. PayPal and the like are a "cost of sale" model with little or no start-up fees. I recommend this for all small businesses. banks tend to charge too much for startups & small businesses. ALTHOUGH in Australia, the hand-help, mobile credit card systems are getting cheaper.

I'd recommend starting with PayPal as a provider.

THE NEXT QUESTION THOUGH IS:

"How are you going to use PayPal?"

1. use their buttons you generate specifically for your products (likely one only purchase)

2. Use their Shopping Cart

3. Use a shopping cart in your own web site, and pass the total transaction to PayPal, which is what VirtueMart does.

That is what you need to get your head around next and make a decision.

If you are looking to do an e-commerce site, I hope this helps you understand some of the concepts involved. As always, call Business Geeks to chat of we can be of assistance.

b.t.w. There are other providers similar to payPal in the market now, and it's worth considering alternatives. There maybe someone in your locality that runs the same business model and is a better option. PayPal is however very tried and proven.

Steve Barnes
Chief Geek