A Merchant Account is a commercial bank account established by a merchant to receive payment via credit cards. Three parts are required to accept credit cards. Besides a merchant account, you need a local bank checking account to deposit funds and a processing solution, such a terminal or web-based store front to take credit card payments. Online merchant account, or ecommerce merchant account, is a merchant account that can take credit orders on the Web.

Cost of Merchant Account

An online merchant account will boost your online sales, but merchant account incurs various types of cost. A merchant account usually requires a one-time setup fee between $50 - $100. Some merchant account providers waive the setup fee in promotion period or in conjunction with other services. Other costs include gateway fee, statement fee, annual fee, transaction fees and discount rate fees.

Accept Credit Card without Merchant Account

When you first start an online business and have limited resources, the alternative would be to use the services of a credit card processor. You can enjoy the benefits of processing credit card transactions online without the requirements of a merchant account and high costs involved. Paypal, WorldPay, PaySystems and Clickbank are some of popular credit processing services. Popular shopping carts or online storefronts, such as eBay Store, Yahoo! Store and Microsoft bCentral, offer built-in credit card processing capability.

International Merchant Account

International merchant accounts ( http://www.4th-media.net/online_payment/international_merchant_account.php ) , or Offshore Merchant Accounts, are merchant accounts that allow the merchants to accept payments from around the world-- regardless of where your business or customers are located. Comparing to an online merchant account, two major services that come with an International merchant account are Multiple-Currency Support and International Fraud Protection.

Wireless/Mobile Merchant Account

Mobile merchants used to face unique issues when accepting credit card payments. With the advancement of high-speed wireless networks and mobile technology, mobile businesses are no longer limited in their payment options to just cash or checks.

Many merchant account ( http://www.4th-media.net/online_payment/mobile_merchant_account.php ) service providers waive application fee and setup fees to attract more businesses. However, the use of wireless service provider does incur the expense of the terminal hardware, activation fee, monthly service fee, and transaction cost.

Copyright @2005, Bruce Zhang

About The Author

Bruce Zhang has over 10 years experience in developing ecommerce and e-business application such as literature fulfillment ( http://www.4th-media.net/order_fulfillment/literature_fulfillment.php ) and supply chain management ( http://www.sysoptima.com/scm/ ) applications.

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Merchant Accounts... Compare Merchant Accounts And Merchant Services In this day of continuous technological advances, it is important to choose the most appropriate services for your company’s benefit – to compare merchant accounts is part of that process. You don’t need to purchase every new bell or whistle that comes along. It is a good idea, however, to stay abreast of the most significant technological developments that can specifically improve the way you conduct business to meet your customer’s needs and increase profit ratios. For these reasons you should plan to compare merchant accounts along with their terms, costs, and services, to be sure you get the best fit for your company. A merchant account lets you upgrade your business to next professional level. Instead of operating a small or informal enterprise, perhaps one you run from your home or a small shop on a casual basis, you can now opt for advanced services that will impress clients, stay ahead of the competition, and free your time for more important things while helping to...

Merchant Accounts, Credit Card Merchant Accounts News

Merchant Warehouse Named Provider of the Year for 2012 by BestInternetMerchantAccount.com BestInternetMerchantAccount.com has selected Merchant Warehouse as the merchant service provider of the year for 2012 because of the outstanding merchant services they provide to businesses everywhere.St. George, UT (PRWEB) January 23, 2012 The Best Internet Merchant Account website is an excellent resource for businesses of all kinds to gather information about the best merchant services ... Leaders Merchant Services Ranked as Best Credit Card Processors by topcreditcardprocessors.com for Month of February ... topcreditcardprocessors.com, the independent authority on credit card processors, has named Leaders Merchant Services as the best credit card processor for the month of February 2012.(PRWEB) February 06, 2012 The independent authority on credit card processors, topcreditcardprocessors.com, has named the top ten best credit card processing companies for the month of February 2012. During the ... Merchant Warehouse Provides Agents Greater Efficiency and Convenience in Managing Business With CB Mobile Office Merchant Warehouse®, a leading innovator in secure payment processing solutions and merchant account services, today announced the release of CB Mobile Office, a new suite of online tools designed for independent sales agents to expand their portfolios with dramatically enhanced efficiency. BluePay, a Provider of Merchant Processing Services, Offers New Plugin for QuickBooks Point of Sale CHICAGO, IL-- - BluePay, a top merchant account provider, offers a new QuickBooks Point of Sale plugin for seamless accounting software integration. Now, in addition to integrating with any workstation ...