Merchant Account Options Explained
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Posted On :
Mar-22-2010
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Article Word Count :
852
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If you’ve decided a merchant account is a wise financial move for your business, you’re probably wondering how to go about comparing account providers to ensure you get the best merchant account provider for your business dollar. These accounts are specifically tailored to suit the needs of businesses operating online storefronts.
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If you’ve decided a merchant account is a wise financial move for your business, you’re probably wondering how to go about comparing account providers to ensure you get the best merchant account provider for your business dollar. Today’s merchant account providers offer a wide range of options to suit the needs of all kinds of businesses, and understanding the options that are offered can help you make the best selection for your business. These guidelines will offer an overview of some of the most common and popular options being offered by merchant account providers today.
Internet Merchant Accounts
These accounts are specifically tailored to suit the needs of businesses operating online storefronts. Even if your business also has a retail establishment, if you decide to operate on the web, you’ll need to make sure your merchant account provider offers internet merchant account services. Internet merchant accounts can be divided into two main categories: real-time processing solutions and delayed processing solutions.
The type that’s best suited for your needs depends largely on the volume of sales you expect and the amount of involvement you want to have in each transaction. Internet merchant accounts generally have higher fees than some other accounts, such as retail merchant accounts, since the inherent anonymity of the transaction process they are associated with higher incidences of fraud and chargebacks.
In the first option, transactions are processed in real-time, just as they would be at a retail establishment. These account use a gateway provider, or weblink, a service that helps facilitate the online transaction process by validating credit card information and communicating with the card issuer to determine if the funds are available to complete the transaction.
Both the seller and the buyer are notified immediately if the transaction has been approved or has been denied. In some cases, the gateway provider may also add up the day’s sales and determine any account fees that are owing, finally transferring the balance to the business owner’s bank account at the end of the business day.
Some merchant service account providers offer their own gateway provider systems, while other may require you to select your own. If you need to choose a gateway provider for your account, it’s important to make sure the software used by the gateway provider is compatible with the programming sued by your merchant account in order to make sure purchases are processed accurately and without errors. Real-time solutions are completely automated, and do not require any interaction by the business owner or staff.
In the second option, credit card information is entered through your online store, and that information is held until a specific time of day – often the end of the business day – at which time a sales person or other staff member located remotely will access the transactions and enter them manually into a virtual terminal. At that time, the credit card issuer determine if the card is valid and if the transaction can be approved or denied. Because manual intervention is necessary in these accounts, they are generally only suitable for businesses expecting to do a small volume of business through their online website.
Retail Merchant Accounts
These accounts are designed for so-called traditional businesses that operate out of a physical storefront, and use point-of-sale (POS) terminals – sometimes referred to as “swipe” terminals – to gather credit card information through a specially designed slot incorporated into the POS terminal. This slot gathers encrypted credit card information and transmits it via a telephone line to the credit card issuer, which then determines if the card is valid and if there are funds available to cover the transaction. These accounts generally are associated with the lowest levels of fraud and chargebacks, and are usually the least expensive merchant account option.
Mail Order and Telephone Order Merchant Accounts
More commonly referred to as MOTO merchant accounts, these systems usually incorporate either a physical POS terminal or a virtual terminal for processing. Although the system may be the same as for the retail merchant account, account fees are usually higher for MOTO accounts because these transactions are associated with a higher level of fraud and chargebacks.
Mobile Merchant Accounts
The newest addition to the merchant account field, these accounts have emerged as more and more businesses desired the ability to process credit card transactions remotely, either from special events such as trade shows, or while doing business on the road. Mobile accounts use either a small POS attached to a mobile device or the keypad of the mobile device, such as a cell phone, to enter and process credit card information from anywhere there is a cell phone connection. Other mobile accounts use a laptop and wireless connection to process orders.
Regardless of the type of business you operate, there’s a merchant account that’s right for you. If you begin your search today, you could be accepting credit cards – and making your business more profitable – in less than two weeks.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Merchant Account Options Explained_14188.aspx
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Author Resource :
Karen Zabel is a freelance writer who writes about businesses that offer services such as merchant accounts.
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Keywords :
Merchant credit card processing services, merchant credit card processing, credit card processing, credit card, merchant,
Category :
Business
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Business
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