Selecting the Best Credit Card Processing Service
There are two major advantages for your business in having a credit card processing service.
First, the ability to accept credit cards will allow you to earn significantly more sales revenues.
And second, you won't have to wait 30, 60 or 90 days for payment, because your credit card processing service can deposit the sales funds into your business checking account within a few days of the sale.
But what exactly is involved in Credit Card Processing?
1. Your Merchant Account:
Any service you ultimately select will require that you have a merchant account.
Merchant accounts are accounts established specifically to accept credit card sales proceeds (which are debited to the cardholder's credit card account). From there, after deduction of the fees associated with providing you with your credit card processing service, the funds are transferred to your business' checking account.
Merchant accounts are available through banks and also through what are known as independent service organizations, or ISOs.
If you have a good history with your bank, it is worth your time to speak with the bank about setting up your business with a merchant account. If it views your business favorably, you may pay lower transaction fees and be charged a lower discount rate (we'll discuss these costs a little later).
While obtaining a merchant account through your own bank may provide you with more security, banks tend to be very selective when analyzing the risks involved in providing you with a merchant account.
The chief risk involved in accepting credit cards as regards an Internet business (or for mail order or telephone sales businesses) is, of course, that you don't physically have the customer's credit card in front of you to swipe through a terminal. This then opens the door to much greater incidences of fraud - and, as we shall see, this increased risk manifests itself in higher fees being charged to merchants who accept credit cards without having the actual customer - and his or her card - in front of them.
Because of these risks and the conservative nature of banks, when seeking a merchant account to complement their credit card processing service, the majority of businesses must engage the services of an ISO. As they are not as highly regulated as banks, ISO's are much more amenable to accepting higher-risk businesses than are banks. In addition, many also offer a number of associated services, especially to online businesses, such as shopping cart capabilities and website design. You can review a number of companies offering these associated services in the Other Online Payment Services section of The Merchant Account Advisor.
To know more, visit here
First, the ability to accept credit cards will allow you to earn significantly more sales revenues.
And second, you won't have to wait 30, 60 or 90 days for payment, because your credit card processing service can deposit the sales funds into your business checking account within a few days of the sale.
But what exactly is involved in Credit Card Processing?
1. Your Merchant Account:
Any service you ultimately select will require that you have a merchant account.
Merchant accounts are accounts established specifically to accept credit card sales proceeds (which are debited to the cardholder's credit card account). From there, after deduction of the fees associated with providing you with your credit card processing service, the funds are transferred to your business' checking account.
Merchant accounts are available through banks and also through what are known as independent service organizations, or ISOs.
If you have a good history with your bank, it is worth your time to speak with the bank about setting up your business with a merchant account. If it views your business favorably, you may pay lower transaction fees and be charged a lower discount rate (we'll discuss these costs a little later).
While obtaining a merchant account through your own bank may provide you with more security, banks tend to be very selective when analyzing the risks involved in providing you with a merchant account.
The chief risk involved in accepting credit cards as regards an Internet business (or for mail order or telephone sales businesses) is, of course, that you don't physically have the customer's credit card in front of you to swipe through a terminal. This then opens the door to much greater incidences of fraud - and, as we shall see, this increased risk manifests itself in higher fees being charged to merchants who accept credit cards without having the actual customer - and his or her card - in front of them.
Because of these risks and the conservative nature of banks, when seeking a merchant account to complement their credit card processing service, the majority of businesses must engage the services of an ISO. As they are not as highly regulated as banks, ISO's are much more amenable to accepting higher-risk businesses than are banks. In addition, many also offer a number of associated services, especially to online businesses, such as shopping cart capabilities and website design. You can review a number of companies offering these associated services in the Other Online Payment Services section of The Merchant Account Advisor.
To know more, visit here
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