Is it OK to accept foreign credit cards online?
Additional fees are part of accepting any high-risk online payment method and foreign credit cards are no exception. It is not because foreign cards are inherently less secure, because all of the U.S. card companies are major players internationally, including VISA, MasterCard (now merged with Euro Card), and AMEX. Plus, the Japanese Bank Card – JCB is well-respected and accepted worldwide. The difficulty and added cost relates to the procedural difficulties in verification and security within the credit card merchant processing system. The fees you can expect when processing foreign cards are increased discount rates (these transactions are non-qualified) and foreign currency fees. Speak to your CardserviceVC representative to ensure that you fully understand the risks and charges you may encounter if you accept foreign credit cards online.
