Internet Merchant Accounts

For a business to accept credit card payments a merchant account is required. In order for an online business to accept payments, they require a specialized Internet merchant account.

Internet merchant accounts differ from regular merchant accounts in a variety of ways. As the transaction does not take place in person, there are added fraud risks. Online merchant accounts have extensive fraud tools in place to monitor each transaction in order to reduce fraud.

The technology used in online transaction also differs greatly from that of an offline purchase. When a user submits their payment information into a shopping cart, the information is sent to a payment gateway. At this point, the information is analyzed for fraud using a variety of methods. Once the transaction has been approved the gateway initiates the transfer process, where money is transferred from the credit card company to the merchant account.

How do you get an Internet merchant account? There are plenty of merchant account providers that cater exclusively to online merchants, however there are some things you need to consider first:

• Fees: A number of fees are involved with merchant accounts, including set up fees, transaction fees, charge back fees, refund fees and statement fees. Some companies will have an attractive transaction fee, but might charge large monthly statement fees. It's important that you evaluate each provider and decide which is best suited to your own business.
• Country Restrictions: Does the payment processor only accept payments from particular countries? If so, you could unknowingly be preventing customers from purchasing from you.
• Industry: Some providers won't take merchants who are in a certain industry (take Pharmacy or Adult for example), others will charge a higher fee for such merchants.
• Payment Options: More payment options equals more customers, if you only accept credit cards you could be losing out on customers who only have access to ACH payments.
• Customer Service: When dealing with money you want to be able to get answers or solutions quickly. A provider with poor customer service can end up costing your business money!

Need help choosing an Internet Merchant Account? Payment Processing Tips provides reviews and recommendations on a wide range of merchant account providers such as worldpay and intabill.

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