Merchant Account setup

Today’s powerful hardware and software programs simplify merchant payment solutions in traditional or Internet environments. Whether you’re processing online transactions or point-of-sale credit cards at a restaurant, you can quickly and effectively complete your customer’s purchase. Whether you are starting a new business or expanding an existing one, there are payment solutions available to support your processing needs.

Whether you are building an e-commerce Web site, a traditional brick-and-mortar business or a mail order/telephone order business, you will want to open an international merchant account, which enables you to accept credit cards and/or ATM/debit cards as payment for customer purchases. The account setup is hassle-free and instant. Your service provider will take care of everything once you have handpicked one. If you choose to use an online merchant account, you should also learn how to manage your accounts online.

What you need to know are the criteria for providing merchant accounts to Internet businesses. Basic requirements that you may or may not (depending on the provider) need to fulfill in order to obtain your merchant account include: credit history, length of time in business, business type, types of products or services, price of products or services offered, the market segment in which you operate, business financial information, average order size, average monthly amount, the processing method in which products and services are being sold and delivered (manual or real-time), refund policies, other sources of income, business location (It is difficult to get a US merchant account if you are not located in the US.)

Once your merchant account is approved – which usually does not take more than two business days – you will be able to accept cards the very next business day. Within a few hours time, your account will be operational. With a quick and easy merchant account set up, you will soon realize that a merchant account really is the best way to handle your company’s finances. It is an easy and organized way to manage your business.

To accept credit cards through your Web site, you need to have three different elements in place. One, you need a form on your site that customers can use to place their orders. This should incorporate a security technology such as SSL. Second, you need to have a credit card merchant account with a bank, and last but not the least, you need payment-processing software to serve as the link between your site and the bank.

With an online merchant account, you will be able to accommodate more of your customer’s needs. It will be a big boost for your business as the extra cash flows into it.