By Alison Cole
Merchant account providers help provide accounts to merchants. Banks are the most well known providers of merchant accounts. Also, there are third party merchant account providers that are extremely popular with international and Internet merchants. To become a successful merchant account provider, there are a few basics one needs to understand.
The merchant account provider requires the help of at least two other entities to grant a merchant account to a client. One is an ISO (Independent Service Organization) and the other is the underwriter. An ISO normally comes from the local debt collection. Their job is to verify the risks that come with granting the merchant account. They look at the operation of the applicant, as well his history and assets. Often, ISOs are also merchant account administrators, with the power to liquidate the merchant account in the event of something going wrong. The underwriter is typically a bank. Their responsibility lies with the cardholders. They reassess the website, the merchant's operations, and the report provided by the ISO. It is the underwriter that actually grants the merchant account to the applicant. Underwriters often request superficial and even structural changes to the merchant's website to protect the latter's interests.
The merchant account provider should be adept in dealing with high-risk accounts. These businesses include pharmacy accounts; adult accounts; travel accounts; telemarketing accounts, etc. They are high risk in nature because of their potential for unnecessary charge backs, legal violations, or they can simple give the merchant account provider bad publicity for accepting their kind of business.
Today, it is essential for someone wanting to become a merchant account provider to have some experience and knowledge with e-commerce doctrine, terminology and workings. Proficiency with computers is imperative.
Merchant Account Providers provides detailed information on Merchant Account Providers, Internet Merchant Account Provider, Merchant Account Service Providers, Become a Merchant Account Provider and more. Merchant Account Providers is affiliated with Free Webcam Chat.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Top 10 Tips - The Right Merchant Account Provider
By Sussa Bailey
You've come to the conclusion that you really need to be able to accept payment via credit card, and ideally would want to be able to process it on your website. Lets face it: the hard task of choosing the right merchant account provider is upon you!
I am not gonna waste valuable cyber-space to tell you how much trouble you will go through trying to open a merchant account with your (local) bank. Well maybe just this: DON'T do it!
There are plenty of online merchant account providers that provide excellent service. They specialise in various types of accounts for specific businesses. Thus it is hard to judge which ones are the best, as the criteria to judge them on is vast, and is also locked within the type (amount) of services/products your business provides.
Now for the 10 (+3 extra) TIPS:
Before you jump in, first establish what is your (business') average number of monthly transactions, profit margin, average order size, number of times credit card payments are requested, etc.
Save yourself some effort and time by establishing asap whether the provider supports your country (where bank account is held) as merchant banks are country specific.
Be pro-active and rather choose a provider that accepts all the major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc); some only accepts Visa.
A provider should not require a substantial security deposit, my local bank required one of 1mil AED (lol).
Get a confirmation of ALL documentation (or information) needed in order to process the application; some merchant banks require your business plan or other 'unforeseen' paperwork, if so, make sure it is ready and at hand.
A provider should have NO hidden costs, their fees (rates) should be published on their website. Make an informed decision by checking out ALL the following typical fees: application fee; setup fee; per-transaction fee; gateway fee; monthly fee; statement fee; discount rate (should be single, non-changing and locked-in); monthly minimums; chargebacks; rolling reserves; cancellation charges (how much, minimum term duration, etc).
The real time payment gateway should be included.
Transactions should be processed and approved in real time.
Remittance should be done on a weekly basis directly into your account, thus only one week delay from the transaction processing date.
If your need is to be able to accept payment in various currencies, double-check if the provider supports those currencies.
If you need a merchant account urgently, make sure it can be approved and processed within the requested period.
Familiarise yourself and fully comprehend the provider's Terms & Conditions, if it is not available on their website ask for a hard copy before you sign-up.
Research, Research and Research. Only then will you be able to make an informed decision and sign-up with the best (most applicable) provider for your business (situation), with the most priced T&Cs, and with a good reputation!
When you Google MERCHANT ACCOUNT PROVIDER you will find zillions of results on the SERPs. Lets have a quick look at three of the most common ones:
- if you are a small business owner your best choice in terms of fees, credibility and reliability; approval and setup upon receipt of your next bank statement, which holds your security code; no business plan required; limited in terms of amount of services/products when invoicing.
Paypal
Chase Paymentech- as their slogan states they are 'fast, reliable, easy'; you choose from one of their online store building partners, and if you choose a good combination of a gateway partner with their virtual terminal, it can be a bargain; application for the virtual terminal and gateway only takes a day.
Moneybookers- although they charge a hefty 8% transaction fee (inc chargeback guarantee) they have NO registration or monthly fees AND they do a bit of marketing (SEO) for you by adding you to their global shopping directory.
National Post Office- in some countries (ie Australia, Canada) you might be surprised by the options your National Post gives you in terms of: creating a virtual store, accepting credit cards, and even multi-currency payments.
You've come to the conclusion that you really need to be able to accept payment via credit card, and ideally would want to be able to process it on your website. Lets face it: the hard task of choosing the right merchant account provider is upon you!
I am not gonna waste valuable cyber-space to tell you how much trouble you will go through trying to open a merchant account with your (local) bank. Well maybe just this: DON'T do it!
There are plenty of online merchant account providers that provide excellent service. They specialise in various types of accounts for specific businesses. Thus it is hard to judge which ones are the best, as the criteria to judge them on is vast, and is also locked within the type (amount) of services/products your business provides.
Now for the 10 (+3 extra) TIPS:
Before you jump in, first establish what is your (business') average number of monthly transactions, profit margin, average order size, number of times credit card payments are requested, etc.
Save yourself some effort and time by establishing asap whether the provider supports your country (where bank account is held) as merchant banks are country specific.
Be pro-active and rather choose a provider that accepts all the major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc); some only accepts Visa.
A provider should not require a substantial security deposit, my local bank required one of 1mil AED (lol).
Get a confirmation of ALL documentation (or information) needed in order to process the application; some merchant banks require your business plan or other 'unforeseen' paperwork, if so, make sure it is ready and at hand.
A provider should have NO hidden costs, their fees (rates) should be published on their website. Make an informed decision by checking out ALL the following typical fees: application fee; setup fee; per-transaction fee; gateway fee; monthly fee; statement fee; discount rate (should be single, non-changing and locked-in); monthly minimums; chargebacks; rolling reserves; cancellation charges (how much, minimum term duration, etc).
The real time payment gateway should be included.
Transactions should be processed and approved in real time.
Remittance should be done on a weekly basis directly into your account, thus only one week delay from the transaction processing date.
If your need is to be able to accept payment in various currencies, double-check if the provider supports those currencies.
If you need a merchant account urgently, make sure it can be approved and processed within the requested period.
Familiarise yourself and fully comprehend the provider's Terms & Conditions, if it is not available on their website ask for a hard copy before you sign-up.
Research, Research and Research. Only then will you be able to make an informed decision and sign-up with the best (most applicable) provider for your business (situation), with the most priced T&Cs, and with a good reputation!
When you Google MERCHANT ACCOUNT PROVIDER you will find zillions of results on the SERPs. Lets have a quick look at three of the most common ones:
- if you are a small business owner your best choice in terms of fees, credibility and reliability; approval and setup upon receipt of your next bank statement, which holds your security code; no business plan required; limited in terms of amount of services/products when invoicing.
Paypal
Chase Paymentech- as their slogan states they are 'fast, reliable, easy'; you choose from one of their online store building partners, and if you choose a good combination of a gateway partner with their virtual terminal, it can be a bargain; application for the virtual terminal and gateway only takes a day.
Moneybookers- although they charge a hefty 8% transaction fee (inc chargeback guarantee) they have NO registration or monthly fees AND they do a bit of marketing (SEO) for you by adding you to their global shopping directory.
National Post Office- in some countries (ie Australia, Canada) you might be surprised by the options your National Post gives you in terms of: creating a virtual store, accepting credit cards, and even multi-currency payments.
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