Merchant accounts are a vital part of any business, especially if you’re an online host or merchant. Sure, you can take PayPal, and even Google Checkout or Moneybookers, but you must also offer the ability for your consumers to pay directly via credit card, if they so choose. Businesses that accept only PayPal, for example, are likely to be passed over, because consumers may be concerned that the business isn’t “legit.”

So, then, you’ll need a merchant account, and there are tons of companies that are perfectly willing to help you. That’s a good thing and a bad thing. There are some things you need to remember when choosing a merchant account, so that you don’t end up disappointed or worse yet, ripped off.

* Is there a monthly minimum? If so, what is it?
* What percentage will be charged of your customer’s purchase price?
* How long does it take for the funds to be deposited into your bank account?
* Is there a contract? If so, what is the termination fee?
* Does a Google search show a large amount of complaints about the merchant account provider?

Now, just because a company has a complaint or two doesn’t mean they’re bad. However, if you notice a large amount of complaints involving late or missing funds, or the company not performing as agreed, then you may wish to do business with another company.

A monthly minimum is something that nearly every merchant account provider has. Out of each purchase, a percentage is being charged, and it varies on your risk level. Those discounts are accumulated at the end of the month, and if they are less than your monthly minimum, the difference will be deducted along with your monthly fee. It’s crucial to know ahead of time what that monthly minimum is.

It’s also important to know ahead of time what day your monthly fees will be debited from your account so that you can avoid costly fees.

Setting up your merchant account is easy, depending on the billing platform you use. If you use WHMCS, there are already numerous platforms built in that allow it to interact with many of the popular billing gateways, such as Authorize.net, which is the platform of choice for many merchant account providers.

The bottom line here is to do your research and know what you’re getting into before you sign anything. Don’t let the sales representative rush you, and if he or she says something like, “it’s okay, you don’t need to read that”, then it’s probably time to move on to another provider. By doing due diligence, you’ll probably enjoy a pleasant merchant account experience.

By Pilar Torres

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The concept of merchant services is not necessarily new but aspiring entrepreneurs will probably need to dig deep down further to understand it. This is to enable them to strike a balance between its advantages and disadvantages and how this balance will become the point at which they may decide whether or not a service provider will work for them. Of course, there are many different types of businesses merchants can go into and though most will benefit from merchant services, others generally won’t. Hence, it is important to examine the subject thoroughly so one may be capable of a reasonable appreciation of it.

Providers offer a whole range of services to merchants who have decided to jump on the e-commerce bandwagon. E-commerce is any business happening on the Internet so merchant services will include everything makes this possible from credit and debit card payment processing, checking of guarantees and conversion services, email marketing, direct mail marketing, payment gateway and even merchant cash advances. Some merchant account providers may offer specialized services including gender verification for businesses which are sharply demarcated by gender differences.

There are many things a merchant needs to understand about merchant services but most will have something to do with fees. Fees could actually be the defining point where the businessman would decide whether or not the services are going to be worth the investment he’ll be making on them. These fees will be charged monthly and will be a combination of everything that makes the services possible, from terminal rent, software processing cost, the provider’s commission for each sale, annual fees and the most important of all, transaction fees.

Transaction fees are the most important because these are the fees that will be charged each time a merchant accepts a credit or debit card. These fees can be crucial when deciding whether or not to go with a particular service provider. Different companies charge different rates for different transactions. A person considering getting merchant services will usually look into fees and the nature of his business and decide whether or not the provider will be a good choice. On the other hand, a merchant must also consider the type of card he is usually paid with by his customers. Most service providers charge different rates for credit card and debit card transactions, so this is another issue to look into.

By Charles Mosley

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