Credit Cards Merchant Account | Merchant Account Credit Cards

How To Open A Credit Card Merchant Account
By Jennifer L Loganathan

In this day and age of electronic commerce, the decision to open a credit card merchant account is relatively undisputed. The actual process of opening an account should begin with the retailer identifying certain key parameters about the retailer trade the merchant requires the merchant account for. The selection of an appropriate vendor for the merchant account should be the first step in the cycle, which is usually followed by an application on a prescribed form. If and when approved, certain information and documentation such as financial statements will need to be furnished to the merchant account provider. One approved, the provider will supply the equipment or in case it is an online merchant account, the retailer’s website will need to embed the merchant account software in the e-commerce website and integrate the shopping card software supplied by the merchant account provider.

Selecting a merchant account provider should take into account the volume and value of proposed transactions, nature of business, history and track record and identification of specific needs, if any apply, of the retailer. The volume of transactions and nature of business proposed to be conducted via the merchant account will have a significant bearing on the available options to choose from. For instance, if a retailer expects a high volume of transactions, a merchant account for that specific purpose will need to be obtained, which frequently fall in the high risk category. Such high risk businesses may not be able to obtain a merchant account onshore, and may need to opt for an offshore merchant account. The history and track record with a merchant account may come into question in case of a domestic account provider. In case a retailer is unable to meet certain basic requirements, for instance, if a retailer has been in business (online) for less than 2 years, the merchant account provider may ask for a cash bond (as indemnity) along with a business plan, which will further need to be approved.

In addition to choosing between an offshore or onshore provider (which in some cases may not present a choice), an e-tailer will be well advised to do some extensive number crunching when choosing a merchant account provider. Today, there is available, an extensive list of provider to choose from, with varying fees, minimum requirements and transaction fees. While intense competition has caused many providers to lower their fee structures, a merchant must beware of hidden fees and charges that may not be presented initially by providers offering ‘ZERO SETUP FEE!’ and similar catch phrases to capture attention.

The actual application process begins with filling in an online form (in case of internet merchant account) or a physical form, available through your local bank, in the case of a domestic merchant account. Many offshore account providers can be located by simply searching the internet. The application form is then screened by the merchant account provider, in order to assess feasibility, primarily from a risk point of view. As mentioned before, a high risk vendor will probably be out of favor for a domestic provider without the furnishing of a substantial indemnity bond. The provider will then approach the merchant for further documentation. Such documentation will mostly include:

* Registration certificate, incorporation certificate, memorandum and articles of association (in case the retailer is incorporated), partnership deed (in case of partnership) and other organizational material.

* Details about the directors or partners including name, place of domicile (with proof), contact information, etc.

* Identification proof of the directors, managing partners.

* Business plan and financial documentation.

* Full history with a previous merchant account along with detailed information about chargebacks.

In addition to the submitted information, the merchant account provider will typically conduct its own background checks including a credit history and rating verification, as well as a detailed analysis of the retailer’s proposed business model and revenue potential. Assuming that all is satisfactory, the provider will obtain an approval from an acquirer bank that it has a relationship with (many big banks have their own acquirer bank units). Once approved, the retailer will have to purchase a credit card terminal and in many cases, a dedicated telephone line for processing needs. In case an internet merchant account is applied for, the software is the key to operations. While many merchant account providers have their own shopping cart software, they also provide a compatibility list of 3rd party software. Such 3rd party solutions are often favored by retailers due to the usability, features and ease of management.

A final point to be noted in case of an offshore merchant account- while it is possible to go directly offshore, set up and incorporate a company in a foreign land, and do the necessary paperwork yourself, it may be more convenient and practical to approach a third party merchant account provider such as Stradafee, which specialize in providing merchant accounts and have the necessary infrastructure in place to make the whole process even easier.

Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is an electronic payments company as well as an eCommerce and Internet merchant account provider. Merchant accounts make it possible for businesses to provide online credit card processing For more information on credit card processing visit http://www.stradafee.com

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How To Accept Credit Cards Without a Merchant Account
By J. Stephen Pope

To increase sales on your website, you must accept credit
cards. To process credit cards, you could apply for a
merchant account through your bank or other financial
institution.

Sometimes, though, you would be further ahead to use the
services of a credit card processor. This is especially
true when you are first starting out and have more
limited resources. In this way, you may process credit
card transactions without the high front-end costs and
requirements of a merchant account.

Here, then, are just a few ways of accepting credit cards
without a merchant account. I personally use all of these
vendors and can recommend them wholeheartedly.

1. Clickbank

If your product is downloadable (such as electronic books
or software), you might consider ClickBank.com . For a
$49.95 initial fee, you can process credit cards and
on-line cheques for $1.00 per transaction plus 7.5% of
sales.

You receive additional exposure through free listing on
their website and through the search facilities of other
websites, such as CBMall.com .

As an added bonus, you have your own built-in affiliate
program. You decide what commission (from 1% to 75%) you
would like to pay your affiliates.

2. PayPal

PayPal.com has no initial fees. For just 2.9% of sales
and $ .30 per transaction (and sometimes less), you can
receive money from anyone.

Also, you can pay others by credit card or chequing account
without supplying your personal credit information to the
payee. PayPal can be used to collect money from your
auctions, website sales, or even from friends or clients.

3. PaySystems

PaySystems.com can handle either intangible (downloadable)
or tangible (shippable) products. For an initial fee of
$49.00, you can accept all major credit cards as well as
online checks. Fees are just 3.95% of sales and $1.00 per
transaction. Alternatively, you may pay 5.5% of sales and
$ .35 per transaction.

For this, you receive shopping cart, integration with
third-party affiliate programs (such as ClixGalore.com ),
fraud screening, multi-currency transactions, toll-free
support, marketing tools, and more.

For more information on how to accept credit cards without
a merchant account, visit:
http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/creditcards.html

RESOURCE BOX:

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc.,
http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping clients
to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit
http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/

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What is the Best Credit Card Merchant Account Service?
By Joe Mears

It’s a tough question and can depend on your specific requirements. However, there are certain characteristics that everybody needs to have in a merchant account.

First up is low transactions costs. Now when I say transaction costs, what I actually mean is the total fees you will be paying to process credit card orders. It sounds simple and it should be, but it’s not.

Rates are a great way for companies in the industry to get a little ‘creative’ with their advertising campaigns and hide some of their charges that you only find when your first statements come through.

Next is the contract length, why sign a long term contract with a company you don’t know? I certainly have no idea, if a company wants you to sign one it would send alarm bells ringing in my head. If they provide great service at low rates, why would you leave anyway?

Then you’ve got the service levels. Can a company provide for your full business needs? Maybe you are an online business and need an internet merchant account, but what if you want to expand, will your provider be able to offer different payment terminals, or even mobile terminals, to be able to take orders at a big exhibition for example.

The list goes on, but it ultimately ends with a company that will get your transactions done with no fuss, because you won’t make anything if you can’t take orders. That means there has to be an absolute dedication to customer and technical service and support.

So which company meets all these requirements?

You can find out easily in our report at http://findyourmerchantaccount.com from the review of the Best Merchant Account Services

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Finding a Cheap Merchant Account
By Joe Mears

Choosing a merchant account should be simple. Each provider should display a rate and then whoever is looking for the account can choose the cheapest one.

Unfortunately, like everything else in life, it’s not that simple. The first reason for this, is that there is never just one simple rate you pay for a credit card transaction.

Asking a merchant account provider for their best rate just doesn’t make sense, rates vary on many different factors including where and when the transaction is made, the type of card that’s used and the information collected.

Next, the rate is only part of the picture. There are many other charges that are added to accounts such as a transaction fee and things like statement fees.

So, the only way to be sure which company is going to be the cheapest overall, for a company’s individual business needs is to have a proper consultation to discuss it.

Unfortunately, so many companies in the industry today favor hard sales tactics instead of a proper consultative approach. With these tactics you often see them advertising ‘best’ or ‘discount’ rates to entice customers to sign on.

These will always be discount rates that just apply for introductory periods, or under certain conditions, which may or may not be the conditions that a merchant normally takes a payment under.

Finally, you cannot judge a merchant account on cost alone. What good is a cheap account if the service and technical infrastructure are lousy? If the systems are down or not working then nobody can process transactions, and money is lost. Anybody looking for a merchant account needs to be sure that the provider can give excellent customer service and technical backup.

For more information on the Best Merchant Accounts, and finding companies that give proper consultations and facts about their service, Click Here.

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International Offshore Merchant Accounts
By Mon Ion

International merchant accounts or offshore merchant accounts are credit card processing companies that cater to certain businesses. Some businesses due to the nature of the products or services they deal in are kept at an arms length by regular credit card processing companies. In the light of this, these companies which are called high risk are better served by international or offshore companies to register their merchant accounts with. Such businesses include gaming websites, online casinos, telemarketing, adult websites, online pharmacies, cigarette businesses and a host of others.

As you can see most of these companies do their businesses online and would need a system to accept credit cards online. These international merchant account companies provide them the tools to process payments online through a virtual terminal. The services they provide include accepting credit and debit cards online, by phone or through mobile devices such as PDA’s and smart phones. They are already aware of the high risk nature of the business and therefore charge a premium transaction fee for each payment processed.

Despite the disadvantage the merchant might have by paying a higher transaction fee, there are quite a lot of advantages in using the services of an offshore merchant account provider. Some of these advantages include a multi currency payment processing terminal. They can serve customers from any part of the globe and they process payment in many different currencies without any problems or delays. They have sophisticated scam control features and fraud protection systems built into their system and they also provide a virtual payment system in the form of a shopping cart situated right on your website. In addition to that, offshore companies can handle very large volumes of traffic and are neither constrained by low volumes. They also do not care if there is a high percentage of charge back or returns. Every transaction is processed accordingly and transaction fees applied to them accordingly.

Offshore merchant accounts also provide their customers instant online reports for their every day transactions and also work closely with the major credit card companies like Visa, MasterCard, Discovery and American Express. This gives the merchant an opportunity for global recognition and acceptance around the world, expanding their business across international borders.

Tired of your business not making much money? Do you want to have more conversions from visitors to your store? Check out how you can increase your sales by 400% by processing payments better at http://www.4regularfolks.com/Business/Articles/merchantcardservices.html

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Merchant Accounts and a Payment Gateway
By Amy Nutt

The online e-commerce business community is growing at a rapid rate. Everyday more businesses are setting up online retail stores. There are a number of different methods businesses can use to accept online payments. Understanding the ways of accepting online payments can often seem overwhelming, but a little background information can make it much easier. Two important methods of accepting payments are the Merchant Account and a Payment Gateway.

To help you understand the technology, the following explains the differences between a Merchant Account and a Payment Gateway:

Merchant Account

Also referred to as online credit card payment accounts, online credit card processing accounts, credit card transaction accounts, or e-Commerce merchant accounts, permit businesses to accept credit cards, debit cards, gift cards and other forms of card payments. A business acquires a merchant account from a merchant bank or a merchant service provider. Without a contract, a business cannot directly accept payments by any of the major credit card companies. An e-Commerce account is a service that e-Commerce merchants implement in order to use online credit card processing services. The process of acquiring this specific account type depends on the provider and the type of e-Commerce account. Fees and rates will vary among providers.

The advantage with using one of these account is that it can automate a business. Customers can deposit money into the account on the web 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.

Payment Gateway

A payment gateway is an e-commerce service that authorizes payments for e-businesses and online retailers. It is connected to a large network of credit card issuing banks. One of the other main functions of credit card processing is encryption. A gateway uses SSL 128-bit encoding technology to encrypt and decrypt all the data being sent through it. Without encryption, all the credit card holders’ information could be stolen.

The general process of how a gateway works is as follows:

1) A customer orders a product or service from a merchant’s site by clicking on the order button.

2) The customer is then taken to an order form page where they complete an order form and enter their cardholder information and shipping information.

3) The customer clicks the ’submit’ button. The data becomes encrypted (SSL 128-bit) by the cardholder’s web-browser. A key is generated and passed to the merchant’s gateway.

4) This gateway decrypts some of the information, and then re-encrypts it and sends it to the merchant’s acquiring bank.

5) The bank forwards the data to the credit card issuing bank for verification and authorization.

6) The issuing bank sends a type of response code back to merchant bank. The bank then sends it to the payment gateway.

7) The credit card is billed and the funds are transferred to the merchant’s bank and deposited into the merchant’s account.

An online business will have to sign up for this specific gateway once they set up a merchant account. They will be provided with a shopping cart system where their customers can pay for any products that the business is selling. The primary difference between the merchant account and the payment gateway is that a merchant account is the license by which businesses are permitted to accept payment by credit cards, and payment gateway is the means of receiving online payments.

Both the payment gateway and the merchant accounts are vital components in setting up an automated business. They play a major role in attracting consumers and maintaining repeat customers. Acquiring a merchant account with a gateway is essential to business success.

Canada’s leading processor of debit and credit card payments provides POS systems, retail software, online retail register & systems and point of sale software.

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On Discount Merchant Accounts
By Sean G Jones

It’s a breather to know that a discount merchant card account exists out there for any practical businessman to consider. A discount merchant account is, of course, one that offers you lowered credit payment alternatives. It doesn’t mean, however, that the cheapest is always the best. You still have to be very cautious when choosing among your options of merchant banks or account providers. It’s no joke being stuck in an agreement that proves to be unfavorable in the long run, so it’s always wise to know the ins and outs of what you’re getting into before anything is finalized.

One of the things you have to watch out for are hidden costs. These are fees that you need to pay a bank or account provider but are not clearly mentioned in a company’s website. These are usually hidden in the farthermost pages when they should normally be laid out in the main page. Sometimes, you will be presented with all sorts of technical-sounding terms and be made to believe these are all you need to pay. Then you suddenly realize that you need to pay basic application, set up and membership costs. These are, of course, the most obvious fees of all but they still have to be openly mentioned or discussed to the client before any contracts are signed. Another surprise you probably won’t like is not just the hidden fees but the modes of payment that will be required of you. Also, you surely won’t find it pleasing to know that while you won’t be charged extra fees during the first few months, you will suddenly have to pay them after the first year.

A very basic thing to do when looking for a reliable discount merchant account is to research on companies’ track records. Don’t trust any provider that is relatively unknown and by all chance, keep away from those with a bad reputation. Once you find the bank or provider that you believe is reliable and best suited for you, make sure you have your agreement in black and white. Do not even attempt to skip reading any portion of the deal if you don’t like surprises. If there’s anything that seems unclear or ambiguous, don’t ever hesitate to ask. If you’re going to sign that contract, you’re going to be bound by it for a considerable length of time. If you value your business, you can’t afford to make mistakes on something like this.

A merchant services account and Internet credit card processing may be two things your business is majorly missing out on but only when you land in the hands of the right merchants account provider will they actually work for the benefit of your business.

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Credit Card Merchant Account – Increasing Efficiency in Managing Payments
By Peter Gitundu

Credit card merchant accounts are a more convenient way for business people to deal with their client payments for merchandise. This is because the account allows your customers to pay you through their credit cards wherever they are, whatever time of day it is. This way, a merchant is able to boost his sales because he does not limit his clients to the time of day that they must pay up.

The merchant account allows people to use their credit cards at any time to shop online from the comfort of their homes or offices. It attracts more people to shop online, hence making the merchant to make more sales. They can only do so if the credit card they have has a merchant account.

In addition to the increase in sales, there is also increased efficiency in managing payments. You as the trader can accept payment both by fax and by phone. This works by having your clients listen to a message about your products on a toll-free automated machine or number and they will be given prompts on how to purchase and pay up for the merchandise online. This saves them a lot of time and energy as well.

Other advantages associated with these accounts include, but are not limited to, reduction of clutter at the physical point of sale. Allowing people to shop online means that they do not have to come to your premises in person. Secondly, you can save a lot and make more sales through the account if you provide discounted pricing for your clientele.

Peter Gitundu Creates Interesting And Thought Provoking Content on Finance. For More Information On How To Manage Credit, Read More Of His Articles Here MERCHANT ACCOUNT. If You Enjoyed This Article, Make Sure You SUBSCRIBE TO MY RSS FEED!

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Getting the Lowest Price Possible on Your Merchant Account
By Alfred X Kirkland

I talk with merchants on a very regular basis and the one thing I always here is how much they hate paying Visa & Mastercard… and sometimes I heard complaints about American Express too, but not as often.

I usually make the comparison that credit card processing fees are a lot like taxes. You simply have to pay them even though you don’t want to pay more than your fair share. I don’t know what is hated worse, credit card processing fees or taxes.

I’m a merchant myself and I don’t like paying 2%+ to the credit card companies, but I’ll be the first to admit that I like paying that percentage a lot more than I like accounts receivable. The convenience of getting paid sooner than later definitely justifies the cost. However, that doesn’t change that I want to pay as little as possible.

What I’ve done as a merchant service provider is to get the rates that I offer as low as possible. This is the thing… All merchant account service providers have the same rate from Visa and Mastercard called interchange.

Because of interchange, all merchants can usually compete on price up to a point. They obviously can’t go lower than interchange and if they do, I guarantee they’re going to make up their money some other way. So, what most merchants are looking for is someone they can trust to give them a low rate without trying to make up for it some other way.

I have a program where I pass through interchange to the merchant with a “basis point” fee that covers the cost I incur in setting up the account as well as compensate me as an independent sales agent to care for the account and make sure the account isn’t a problem for my merchants.

This service is invaluable and in my mind is truly the only thing that sets one merchant account provider apart from another. Because I believe this, I also strive to make this the best possible experience for you by way of customer service.

I work directly with a support team that has 24/7 terminal support and world class support staff with a state of the art support ticket system to make sure any problems are resolved very quickly and efficiently. As much as I’m promoting the awesome support, the best merchant accounts you won’t have to call at all, but when you do, you aren’t on hold forever with someone outside the US.

We have our support staff located in Michigan who do an excellent job assisting any of our merchants to make sure they are processing cards fast and efficiently.

So, yes, price does matter. Getting a low price matters with accounts, but don’t overlook the cost of a merchant account that creates a ton of hassles for you. Your time is valuable, every minute you spend dealing with a problem merchant is time you aren’t spending building your business or reaping the rewards of doing good business.

Sign up with us and you’ll have me as your service account manager and easy convenient trouble-free access to our incredible support staff. With us you’ll get extremely competitive low rates AND the peace of mind that comes with an account that just works.

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How to Acquire a Credit Card Merchant Account
By Akhil Shahani

Did you know that over 85% of purchases made online are paid for by credit cards? Or that sales can go up by as much as four times when credit cards are accepted? If your business is still insisting on the old fashioned check, or worse, cash, you may as well put it up as a museum exhibit! Acquiring a credit card merchant account is one of the first things businesses must do if they hope to compete.

If you’ve never heard of a credit card merchant account or don’t have a clue of how to go about getting one, don’t sweat. It involves a fairly simple procedure and there are a number of service providers who will be only too happy to sign you on.

But, first things first. Arm yourself with a little knowledge of how credit card processing works so that you can sound smart when you begin discussions. Basically, the key players are the credit card companies like Visa or MasterCard; banks, which tie up with these companies to issue credit cards to their customers; and clearing houses, which actually process and verify transactions. Then there are the merchant account providers or independent sales organizations, whose goal is to ensure that your company is successfully fixed up with a credit card merchant account. These are the guys that you will be talking to, so make sure you choose a reliable provider. Some providers like Merchant Accounts Express offer a price protection guarantee to safeguard the interest of the credit card merchant account holder.

Right! Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s come to grips with what infrastructure you need in order to operate a credit card merchant account. Well, the most important thing is to establish a gateway, which is a means of communication with the clearing house. One of the ways is to use a swipe machine, the type that you see in all retail establishments. The credit card is swiped in the machine, which relays information to the clearing house. Once the transaction is authorized, a charge slip is produced. The card owner signs a copy and hands it over to the credit card merchant account owner.

If your business largely relies on e-commerce, obviously the swipe machine is not for you. An option is to install a type of software in your computer which will facilitate the exchange of information between your credit card merchant account and the clearing house. However, this requires manual keying in of customer card data, value of transaction etc., therefore you will have to factor in the extra time and effort and also the possibility of data entry error.

Still not happy? No problem. Most e-commerce websites use a real time payment gateway, like PayPal which completes the data transfer and validation process while the buyer is online. The credit card merchant account owner need not be hassled by any manual processes. The only precaution that needs to be taken is to ensure compatibility of the gateway with the other software and systems that are part of the e-commerce process (for example shopping cart software).

That’s pretty much all you need to know about a credit card merchant account. Besides of course, that once it is set up, it will help push your sales skywards!

Hi, I’m Akhil Shahani, a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed. If you like to work smart, check out http://www.SmartEntrepreneur.net It’s full of articles and resources to help you start and grow your business successfully. Please visit us & download our special “Freebie of The Month” at http://www.smartentrepreneur.net/freebie-of-the-month.html

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