Credit
Card Authorizing Service
One of the easiest and
fastest ways to accept major credit
cards and check payments for your online
business is by clicking on the link
below - this excellent and low-cost
credit card merchant service offers
you the opportunity to start accepting
online-payments using major credit cards
such as Mastercard, Visa, Discover &
the American Express card, or cash balance
to pay for online products and services.
The application process is relatively
simple and fast. You own it to yourself
to click on the link below and start
investigating this great merchant account
option for business success.
Below is information
on other sources for obtaining a merchant
account for doing business online.
Featured Article About
Getting the Right Merchant Account by
Mark Woodcock.
As a business owner, of course you
want to succeed. You undoubtedly want
to increase your sales and make more
money. The best way to do this is to
offer your customers the ability to
pay for merchandise with their credit
cards. Whether you operate your business
in a physical location or online-only,
allowing customers the option of credit
card payment is logical. You will increase
sales because of the convenience of
the payment options you offer. The vast
majority of shoppers, online and in
person, prefer to pay with their credit
cards. Opening a merchant account is
the way to give your customers more
payment options. But it is important
that you find out as much as you can
about merchant accounts and merchant
account providers.
A merchant account is set up through
a bank or an online merchant account
provider for a retail or online organization
in order to accept credit cards as payment
from customers. A merchant account is
not a bank account. The merchant account
provider's job is to place the money
you earn from credit card sales into
your bank account. It used to be that
merchant accounts were only offered
by banks and providers to retail businesses
that were located in a physical location.
But with online shopping gaining popularity
over the past several years, merchant
account providers have started providing
accounts to online business owners as
well. Even though most banks still do
not provide online merchant accounts
due to the constant concern over credit
card fraud, there are an increasing
amount of online merchant account providers
that offer services especially to those
merchants that market their products
online. Because of the high number of
merchant account providers out there,
it is important that you research all
aspects of them, what services they
provide, and especially the costs they
impose, so that you don't lose precious
profits.
When looking into merchant accounts
and providers, be aware that there are
two types pf payment processing that
they will offer. These are manual and
real-time processing. Manual processing
requires that the credit card number
be delivered through a phone transaction,
fax transaction, or an online order
form. The order is processed manually
by contacting the payment processing
company (through an Internet connection)
to verify the credit card number, or
by using a point of sale machine to
swipe the card at the time of purchase.
This type of processing is more secure,
less costly, and ideal for a low-volume
merchant in a physical store location.
Real-time processing is perfect for
web-based merchants because the credit
card is immediately processed at the
time an order is placed. Pending verification
and approval of the credit card, the
customer receives notification (via
e-mail) that his or her order is accepted
and fund transfer is approved. This
is the less secure of the two processing
options.
There are costs associated with opening
and sustaining a merchant account. Not
all of the fees are necessary, and not
all merchant account providers will
charge them. One type of cost is the
application fee, which covers the costs
of processing your application, whether
you open an account or not. A number
of merchant account providers will waive
the fee if you decide to open an account.
And some merchant account providers
do not charge this fee at all. There
is often an annual fee associated with
a merchant account as well. Merchant
account providers charge this fee simply
for holding an account with them. Another
common fee is the statement fee, a monthly
fee that can be as much as $25 per month,
and is supposedly imposed by the account
providers in order to cover their own
costs. Yet another fee is the discount
rate, which the merchant account provider
earns from each of your sales, usually
between 2 and 4 percent.
The fixed transaction fee, like the
discount fee, is also based on each
sale, but the provider takes the same
amount regardless of the cost of the
product purchased, usually .20-.30.
Usually, buried in the fine print of
your agreement with your provider is
a termination fee. Because some providers
require a lengthy commitment period
more than 2 years, this fee applies
if you cancel your account early. There
are also various miscellaneous fees
that are levied on your account. Often,
these charges are withdrawn if a customer
requests a refund, and wants the amount
credited back to their credit card.
There are many costs associated with
an online merchant account, and it can
cut into your profits. It is important
that you evaluate different the merchant
account providers you are interested
in so that you save yourself money down
the line. You can also use your current
sales information to guesstimate the
costs of your merchant account.
More than likely, you will have a long
relationship with your merchant account
provider. Therefore, you should have
the utmost trust and confidence in them.
Your provider should offer various services
that will give you options in making
your business transactions run smoothly.
They should be able to accommodate several
brands of major credit cards (Visa,
Mastercard, Discover, American Express,
etc.), in addition to providing other
payment alternatives, such as PayPal.
The credit card merchant account firm
you hire should have a record of impeccable
service and reliability. They should
also be first-rate customer service
providers. Any problems should be handled
discreetly and quickly. Despite the
seeming necessity of having a merchant
account provider, it can make or break
your business with its fees and service.
That is why it is important to know
the ins-and-outs of a merchant account
provider, and to choose one carefully.
Learn the important information for
picking the right merchant account services.
Merchant Account Provider. Article
Source: EzineArticles.com
& Mark Woodcock |
