Do I need a Merchant Account?

When you start your business online and you start to get the first requests from your customers that they want to pay by credit card, you will quickly meet the term Merchant Account, if you look around for instant on Google for payment service providers or credit card processing, many companies will tell you that you have to open a Merchant Account with one of their Acquiring Banks.

So what is a merchant account, please explain, often people connect a merchant account with a regular bank account which isn’t obvious but simply a confusion in the terms. A Merchant account is opened by an Acquiring bank, which is authorized by the card association to process payments by credit card for Online Merchants. In many countries you will need to contact another company (Payment Service Provider, ISO or MSP) which on behalf of the Acquiring bank will open the Merchant Account for you. Often you need to sign a Credit Card acceptance contract both with the Acquiring Bank and the Payment Service Provider, to become a Merchant Account.

When you open a Merchant Account you will also need to know which credit cards you will and need to accept on your web site. The major credit cards are Visa and MasterCard, then comes Amex, Diners, JCB and the rest. Many countries have also country specific credit and debit cards for which you need a separated merchant account or merchant agreement. A Merchant Account can be opened by any business which sells products and services and which to accept credit cards, this is the case for both online and Offline business. However, not all business industries can become a Merchant Account or Merchant Agreement, some business types are simply not accepted by the card association.

An important thing to know when you consider opening a Merchant Account is that you will be held responsible for each and every transaction made on your web site. When you open a Merchant Account with an Acquiring Bank you will sign an agreement where you will find the clausal, that you will be pay the bank any losses they might have on your business, that you as the Merchant and the Merchant Account holder will not sell any other products or services then what you listed in the Merchant Agreement. Also that if your merchant account is facing excessive chargeback’s that it simply will be terminated and that you will be subject for fines. Often we suggest clients looking for a Merchant Account, to make a good business description of what they are going to sell and how they will do it. This helps both the bank and the payment service provider in finding the right solution for you. A Merchant Account isn’t the right solution for anyone, but if you are doing well with your business and you learn how to protect you from fraud, then a Merchant Account can be less expensive and more agile compared to any other solution.

CCLOGIC LLC has more than 10 years of experience in the field of Credit Card Processing; we have been in the marked from almost the beginning and know very well the traps, the good ones and the bad ones. We work as consultancies for businesses looking for a reliable and secure solution for their Merchant Account and credit card processing needs. We both work with regular e-commerce and high risk considered businesses.

To accept credit card payments or online payments in general on your website you will need to make your website compliant, many merchant forget to ensure that their website has a privacy policy and return policy and even make it clear to the online customers what the refund policies are.

When you start you online business with a website and you start getting orders from your customers which properly found you on the major search engines like Google. You will quickly realize that you need to accept credit card payments on your website and also figure our which other online payment methods are available.

There are different ways to go for your goal, however if you are a startup merchant which need a quick solution, we suggest you to go with 2checkout.com a 3^rd party processor specialized in small merchants with a volume lower than USD/EUR 5.000.

Alternatively you can go with Paypal.com or even moneybookers.com to accept credit card payments. The smart thing by using those payment processors are you can get started right away and don’t need to go through a in sometimes, complicated process to get approved for your own Merchant Account.

To accept credit card payments with a already existing business and with a good amount of monthly turnover we suggest to apply for an merchant account and integrate your website with a payment gateway to accept online payments and credit card payments.

However, before you go for your own merchant account you will need to make sure that your website is compliant as described in the beginning. You will need to make sure that you have the Visa and Mastercard logo on your payment page, where people enter their credit card information.

When you search on for instant Google for “accept credit card payments” or online payments or even merchant account, you will find thousands of companies which offer their services, be careful, it has been known for many years now that there are companies out there which are ready to rip you off. When you found a company which you will relay on in order to accept credit card payments or online payments, be sure to make a search on the domain name to see if any results come up with SCAM reports or rip-offs.

CCLOGIC has specialized in seeking merchant accounts and online payment methods for their clients, we have been in this business for many years (since 2001) and know almost any new comer and reliable company, we have helped many people to accept credit card payments on their website, so do not hesitate to contact us if you consider to make online payments available on your website.