(Ensuring the customer
is fully informed has been a cornerstone of our business since 1986. In
that regard, the following is a complete description of what a merchant
account is and what it can provide for your business. For more information,
we recommend you contact us, or check out
our Frequently Asked Questions.)
A Merchant Account is a bank account in which funds are collected by a bank from credit card purchasers and disbursed to the merchant holder. Because banks define a Merchant Accounts similar to that of a loan, they underwrite the issuance of a Merchant Account in a similar manner, requiring an application, supporting documentation like tax returns, acceptable products/services and good credit. Non-bank institutions tend to be more liberal in issuing Merchant Accounts, requiring only name, address, company registration and Identification. Merchant Account Associates works with both kinds of companies to ensure you receive the best deal available.
Typical merchant account charges include a percentage of each sale (1.5-5%) and a smaller transaction fee (25¢-50¢) for each purchase. Despite some providers' claims to the contrary, these fees are almost always initiated.
The processor acts as an intermediary between the purchaser and merchant, receiving the purchase request from the purchaser, verifying funds available in the purchaser's credit-card account, transferring the funds to the merchant's Merchant Account, and confirming the successful transaction to both the purchaser and merchant.
Are you a High Risk Merchant? Beware of "No
Fee" Claims The main issue with
Online Payment Services (or Full E-commerce providers, as they often call
themselves) is that their fees are often exorbitantly high (between 10-30%).
This way, they can afford to accept good as well as bad merchants, write
off losses from the bad, and still maintain extremely high profit margins.
Online Payment Services
also protect themselves against 'bad merchants' by limiting the monthly
processing amount This is a very important consideration because once
the monthly maximum is reached, sales will be lost because the processor
will simply stop processing orders. Before you make a
merchant account and credit card processing decision, we recommend you
contact us, via our quick contact form.
In some cases your account may be flagged as high risk type of merchant account. This may be due to the nature of your business where chargebacks are significantly higher or there is a reputational risk associated with your business. We do have options for high risk merchants including relationships with processors like Advantage Processors, GoldenState Bankcard and also with HighRiskCharge. When you apply through us, we will make the best effort to get you approved with one of the processors listed.
Beware of providers who trumpet no "application fee" or any
other specifically-named fee. Start-up fees are usually hidden by such
providers and are typically not discovered until after the agreement is
signed.
A Recent Addition To The Business
An Online Payment Service is not specifically a merchant bank or processor,
but it performs virtually the same services of both, accepting credit
card funds from purchasers and disbursing those funds to merchants.
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