Introduction to Merchant Accounts
A merchant account lets you manage all incoming payments more systematically. It gives your customers the convenience to pay online using credit and debit cards, thus allowing you to grow the business outreach. There are several advantages of having a merchant account, but before you start using one, know everything you ought to by reading the article below.If you’ve decided to get your business over the web and are planning to sell your products and services online, getting a merchant account will be an indispensible part of the process.You will not be able to accept online payment via credit/debit cards in the absence of a merchant account. But that’s not where it ends, there’s a lot to merchant accounts that you must know before applying for one.
What Is a Merchant Account?
A merchant account is a specialized account which enables businesses to accept debit card, credit card and other types of electronic payments.
Most banks work with businesses and provide them merchant accounts for conducting business. Each bank has a set of criteria businesses should meet to qualify for a merchant account.
Before offering businesses an account, banks consider their overall working. From the volume of business, profit prospects to nature of business and risk involved, they examine every aspect closely before approving an account.
Different acquiring banks offer different credit card processing solutions factoring on the type of business and its location.
Why Use a Merchant Account
Having a merchant account is the most cost effective way of accepting credit card payments. Though it’s not the only way, but it provides you the flexibility of accepting credit card numbers on your website to receive immediate payments. It’s as simple as that!
Finding the Best Merchant Accounts
The different types of merchant accounts number into thousands. Selecting the one that best meets your company demands can be difficult. So, when looking for the best merchant account for your company, be weary of three things:
- Merchant account providers who list their services in ambiguous manner.
- Charge hidden fees
- Demand money upfront
It should be noted that the best merchant account provider will offer a competitive fee structure along with a good discount rate without involving any hidden fees. It is recommended that you first compare rates of different service providers and then choose the merchant account.
Opening a Merchant Credit Card Account
There are numerous banks and financial institutions that offer credit card accounts. But what new online businesses need to know is that it is not necessary to have a bank account to set up a merchant credit card account. You should however concentrate on producing complete documentation of your business along with stable credit history.
When applying for a merchant account from any financial institution, you need to submit the credit card history of your business, financial statements, processing history, bank or trade references and tax returns.
How Can AMSLV Help You
Advanced Merchant Systems offers a wide range of credit card options to all business owners worldwide. Through we primarily work with e-commerce merchants, we also deliver effective solutions to MOTO merchants. With our other merchant services, you will also be able to find SLL certificates for your websites, get help with PCI compliance and also obtain an offshore company registration for your online business.
