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Choosing a Merchant Account Provider: Choosing a Merchant Account Provider is not easy with all the competition. Details to help you select one.

Understand Merchant Account and Fees: Explanation of getting a Merchant Account and the fees associated with processing credit cards.

What will you pay to process credit cards online: ISOs and Banks charge a variety of fees. Here you will find how to find a fair deal for your money.

Establishing a Merchant Account at your Site: Step by step process to help you accept credit cards at your online store.

Information  to open a Merchant Account: Here are the details and  documentation required to apply for your Merchant Account.

What you will pay for your Merchant Account: Here are all the details of your FREE Online/Retail/Internet Merchant Account.

Establishing a Merchant Account at your Store: Details on accepting Credit Cards (Visa,  MasterCard) at your Store, or Home Business.

Choosing an Online Payment Gateway: Choosing the right gateway to enable your site to accept real-time online credit card processing.

International Merchant Account: Merchants outside the US continent can now accept credit cards from anywhere in the world. Here is how.

High-Risk and Adult Merchant Accounts: Do you wonder if your business is considered High-risk by Financial Institutions. Here is the answer.

Internet/Online Merchant Account: Solutions and procedure to accept online credit cards for your online store.

Real Time Online Processing: We will tell you which ones you should consider as some are proprietary and if you are ever unhappy you could not switch.

Read your Merchant Agreement: You'd better read your Merchant Agreement before you sign it. We will guide you to select the most appropriate. 

Bad Credit Merchant Account: Do you wonder if you can accept credit cards for your business since you have a bad credit history?

Preventing Credit Card Frauds: Tips to easily detect online credit card frauds from Scammers.

Understanding your Fees and Rates: It is very important that you understand all the monthly fees that are involved with your Merchant Account.

Accept Credit Cards Globally: If you intend to market your products  globally you need to search for an International Merchant Account Provider. 

Useful guide for Internet, Mail order and Telephone order businesses: This guide will help you avoid costly mistakes that businesses tend to do too often.

Choosing a Merchant Account Provider:

Choosing among thousands of Merchant Services Providers is certainly not an easy task. You should focus your choice on a company that will provide an outstanding customer service and a great technical support to help you set up your online store. Also it is extremely important that the provider explains to you the rules of Visa & MasterCard which will help you avoid eventual future problems. The customer service should have a Toll-Free number and be able to answer in a timely manner and with consideration to all your questions concerning your account, when the money is to be credited to your account, questions you might have on your statement, billing etc...Also your choice should be based on the fact that there should be:

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Understand Merchant Account and Fees:

A merchant account is the authorization to process credit cards granted by a financial institution. Such financial institution has to be a member and certified by the Visa and MasterCard Associations to provide you the with the Merchant Account, and all of the services related to that Merchant Account. 

Equipment: If you are a Retail Store you will need to buy a Credit Card Terminal (POS) to process credit cards at your store and send the information to the processor. You can buy it ($500 to $1000) or lease it ($20 to $50) per month for 48 months. Shop around for the best price. You should be paying around $500 for an equipment or leasing it for $20 per month.

Software: If you have a home based business and will be taking orders over the phone you consider getting a PC Software since you do not need a printer. You should be paying around $300 to $400 or leasing it for no more than $20/month.

Internet: Internet businesses can either use a PC Software and process credit card orders manually or if prefer Real-Time Online credit cards you will need to choose a Payment Gateway. The most popular Gateways are AuthorizeNet, Cybercash, Signio, PayFlow. You should not have to lease any of these Gateways and pay no more than $200 to $300.  Beware that some Payment Gateways are proprietary and can only be used with the ISO who sold it to you. This is the case of LinkPoint Gateway owned by Cardservice. If you are unhappy with the ISO you will have to buy another Payment Gateway and change Provider, instead of just switching to another company and using the same Gateway you've already purchased.

Discount Rate: Is a percentage taken out of each VISA and MasterCard sale. It should be between 1.5% to 3% depending if the transaction is swipe or non swipe.

Transaction Fee: Flat Fee charged per each Transaction and should be 20 cents for a swipe transaction and 35 cents for an Internet/Mail Order Transaction.    

Monthly Minimum Fee: Most ISOs charge a $25 monthly minimum if you do not meet the requirement. Example: If your average ticket is $25 and your Discount Rate 2.35% + 30 cents. Your monthly sales volume is $600. ($600 x 2.35% = $14.1) $600 : $25 = 24 sales x $0.30 = $7.2. Total Discount Rate for the month is $14.1 + $7.2 = $21.3. In this case you will be paying the $25 minimum. 

Statement Fee: Is usually charged by ISOs ($10) to covers the monthly statement that you receive describing  all your past month transactions as well as the 24 hours customer service provided.

Monthly Gateway Access Fee: The monthly gateway fee is the cost for using a third-party credit card processing service such as Authorize.net, Cybercash, Signio, PayFlow etc....Usually $10 to $30.

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What will you pay to process credit cards online:

After you have your Merchant Account and a Payment Gateway you will have to consider the following fees:

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Establishing a Merchant Account at your Site:

You will need to accept credit cards at your Web Site if you do not want to lose 60% and more of your sales. Internet is an impulse buying so do not expect anyone to call you on the phone and order your products/services that's extra work. They might not even get you on the phone, they would have to leave a message. Do not expect anyone to send you a check after all they don't even know you and nothing can guarantee them that you will ship the merchandise after they've sent a check. You will need to choose:

You will need to reassure customers that your site is secure since you process credit cards through a secure server (SSL). You will need to pay the usual fees Discount Rate, Transaction fee, Monthly Minimum,  Payment Gateway, and Statement Fee. As a professional you should always get back to your customer, acknowledge their purchase, congratulate them and keep them updated on the shipping of their order. Do not hesitate to keep in touch with them from time to time and let them know about promotions that you might have.  

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Information to open a Merchant Account

Banks and ISOs requirements: 

A-Card Present and Monthly sales volume under $10000:

B-Card not Present and Monthly sales volume under $10000:

C-High Monthly Sales Volume: Over $10000, $50000 and $100000

If you request over $10000, $50000 or $100000 monthly volume in VISA and MasterCard then the process to approve you will take more than 2, 3 days since they will have to evaluate the risks and they may request the following information:

D-Audio and Video Text Merchants: (Adult Web Sites)

On top of the above requirements they might also need to  pay a $500 to $1000 upfront fee to be registered with VISA and MasterCard as "High Risk".

IMPORTANT

To be approved for a Merchant Account the candidate should:

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High-Risk and Adult Merchant Accounts:

Audio and Video Text Merchants: (Adult Web Sites)

Documentation requested:

It might take more than 2, 3 days to approve a merchant considered as a risky business as your application  will be submitted to the "Risk Analysis department. 

On top of the above requirements Adult Web Site Owners  might also need to  pay a $500 to $1000 upfront fee to be registered with VISA and MasterCard as "High Risk".

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Internet/Online Merchant Account:

You will need to accept credit cards at your Web Site if you do not want to lose 60% and more of your sales. Internet is an impulse buying so do not expect anyone to call you on the phone and order your products/services that's extra work. They might not even get you on the phone, they would have to leave a message. Do not expect anyone to send you a check after all they don't even know you and nothing can guarantee them that you will ship the merchandise after they've sent a check. You will need to choose:

You will need to reassure customers that your site is secure since you process credit cards through a secure server (SSL). You will need to pay the usual fees Discount Rate (2% to 3%), Transaction fee( $0.30), Monthly Minimum ($25),  Payment Gateway($10 to $30/month), and Statement Fee($10/month). As a professional you should always get back to your customer, acknowledge their purchase, congratulate them and keep them updated on the shipping of their order. Do not hesitate to keep in touch with them from time to time and let them know about promotions that you might have.  

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Qualifying for a Merchant Account:

Some ISOs and particularly Banks will want you to meet some requirements to approve you for a Merchant Account. Banks are very conservative and do not want to take risks and some ISOs are known to take more risks than others. What do mean mean by risks? Traditional businesses doing businesses face to face with customers swiping their credit card are usually not considered risky businesses. However Internet and Home Based Businesses who take credit card orders without a face to face with the credit card holders are considered risky businesses since the chargeback ratio is much higher. A chargeback occurs when the credit cardholder disputes the transaction. The customer's Bank will ask for money to be returned and the Merchant Account Provider will then ask the Merchant to show proof of the disputed transaction and eventually take the money from the merchant's account till the dispute is resolved. Most of the time the customer will get his money back. If the Merchant has closed his account or filed bankrutpcy, the Acquiring Bank or ISO whoever is liable will be left with the bill. That is why ISOs and Banks have to evaluate the risks they are taking when approving a business. Risks will be evaluated depending if you swipe the credit card or not, the estimated monthly sales volume, the average ticket/transaction and the type of industry the business falls in. Travel Agencies, Collection Agencies, Jewelry stores, Multi Level Marketing, Adult Web Sites are just a few of the businesses that are categorized as risky businesses and may be required for a Reserve which will be returned to the business usually after 6 months of good standing.     

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What you will pay for your Merchant Account:

Retail, Home Based, Internet, International, Mobile Business Pay $0 through PayQuickly. IT'S FREE

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Establishing a Merchant Account at your Store:

If you have a traditional retail store it will be very easy. All you need is a credit card equipment ($500 to $1000) or $20 to $50/month if you decide to lease it. For the proper documentation that the ISO requires to process your paperwork, feel free to review our section "Information to open a Merchant Account". Cost to open your Merchant Account through PayQuickly: $0 IT'S FREE

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Choosing an Online Payment Gateway:

To process credit cards online you will need three things:

(Your payment gateway should have a password-protected management features allowing you to review transaction, make refunds, void and view previous transactions. Also a Virtual Terminal will allow you to take credit cards over the phone if a customer calls you for information.

Easy to integrate to your Site through the help of the technical support and your Webmaster. Usually it is just some line of HTML Code, CGI or Perl Script. There are many Payment Gateways on the market and depending if you already have a shopping or not we will recommend you the appropriate one. Some Payment Gateways have the shopping Cart integrated already so you won't need to buy a Shopping Cart. (AuthorizeNet, Cybercash, Signio, PayFlow, Ka-Chingg  etc...) 

We have the right and most affordable solution for you.

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International Merchant Account:

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Bad Credit Merchant Account:

Banks are very conservative and even though you have a good credit your chances to get a Merchant Account through your Bank will be extremely difficult. ISOs in general won't have any problem accepting you even though your credit might not be perfect. However you should not have the following if not it would prevent you from getting a Merchant Account:

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Preventing Credit Card Frauds:  

Make sure the customer filled out all of the information correctly . The credit card shipping address should match with the cardholder's billing address. If it does not  then you need to find out why the customer wants the product shipped to another address. This is a very good sign of a scam, but not all the time. 
You can run the AVS on all credit card transactions to make sure that the information they gave you matches with the information on the file with the card issuing bank. We encourage you to contact the customer to find out the exact reason he/she wants the merchandise to be shipped at a different address.  The majority of people committing frauds  use a free e-mail address to hide their identity. You can find out if a person is using a free e-mail provider by just visiting the web site. The Web site is the domain that comes after the @ symbol. To give yourself better protection you should document all contacts you have with the customers. Keep a record of all e-mails and voice mails. Use a caller ID to prove your case.  Special caution on high orders. If you have a big order you should automatically call the customer to verify the transaction and ask questions. Pay attention to orders that are sent by overnight delivery. Since they are not going to pay for it, they do not care about the extra charge and want to receive the merchandise as soon as possible. We encourage you to place fraud warning notices on your order form and your web site. Let them know that fraudulent orders will be pursed to the fullest extent of the law and that you have ways of detecting fraudulent orders. The most affective way, to clear up the situation and any possible confusion is to call the customer with the phone number they provided. If they gave you a bad phone number, then try contacting them via e-mail to get a good telephone number. 

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Understanding your Fees and Rates:

Please refer to your Merchant Agreement

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Accept Credit Cards Globally:

Most Merchant Account Providers do not accommodate International Commerce. If you plan to market your products/services Worldwide, you need to search for an International Merchant Account Provider. It will allow you to accept most currencies and settle in one of the 25 major currencies. PayQuickly has the privilege to offer that service to Merchants willing to market their products globally.  

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Real-Time Online Processing

This means that all credit card orders are processed automatically without your assistance, which is made possible through the Payment Gateway, all this is executed within a few seconds. Both the Merchant and the customer receive an e-mail notification with an approval or a decline of the transaction. You may also take credit card orders with a PC Software but you will have to enter all credit card orders manually and your customers won't know anything about the order until you notify them. Convenience is the most important reason why people want to buy on the Internet, so your customers will want immediate confirmation of their transaction. If you intend to sell e-books or software that consumers can download immediately after the approval, you will need  " Real-Time online credit card processing". 

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Read your Merchant Agreement:

Some Merchant Agreements might be very complicated, too boring to read and too long to go over but you should be familiar with the terms that will bind you to the Bank issuing the Merchant Account. The agreement will specify the rules and regulations and your obligations. You should make sure that your are not signing a long term contract. Some agreements will be month to month while others will requires that you sign up for 6 months and some up to two years. You will not be able to get out of the contract and if you decide to cancel it you might have to pay a penalty for breach of contract ($200 to $300). If you sign up with an ISO that locks you up in a long term contract there is a time period where you can let them know about your intention to cancel, which is  usually between 30 to 90 days before the end. Many sales people do not always reveal all the fees involved as they want to make a sale. Be aware that application fees are usually not refundable. Make sure you do not have to pay for an annual fee. You should also be aware of the importance of your average ticket and monthly volume. You should always keep that in mind as you are not supposed to go over these figures and if you do so you should advise the "Risk Analysis Department", which could invest the transaction. Some ISOs charge up to 10% of the total amount of the transaction for an investigation. You should know that these transactions that are under an investigation could be put on hold for up to 180 days (6 months). 

If you are a Retail Store owner you should know that there are three different rates: Qualified, Mid-Qualified and Non-Qualified so do not hesitate to have your sales person explain the difference and how to avoid these Mid and Non-Qualified transactions.

Here is what you should find out when signing up with a Vendor:

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Useful guide for Internet, Mail order and Telephone order businesses

You must submit Sales Data to us on or before the next business day after the date of the transaction. Late submission may result in higher fees (see your agreement) and/or a chargeback to you.

You must not submit sales slips or transactions for payment until the goods are delivered, shipped, or the services you provide are performed (except as otherwise provided our the Merchant Agreement). If the Cardholder disputes the fact that he/she is being charged for merchandise or services before receiving them, there  will be a chargeback to you. We may from time to time contact customers to verify that they have received goods or services they ordered from you.

You shall not present for processing any transaction which was not originated as a result of an act directly between the Cardholder and you. You shall not present for processing any transaction you know or should have known to be fraudulent or not authorized by the Cardholder. 

All sales require authorization from the processor and you must request authorization for the total amount of the transaction.

 An authorization/approval code indicates the availability of funds on the Credit Card at the time of inquiry. It is not a promise or a guarantee that you will receive payment for that transaction. It does not warrant that the person presenting the credit card is the rightful Cardholder.

You shall have a refund Data record for the total amount of the refund, including any shipping and handling charges being refunded. You must use  and refund the same credit card used to make the original purchase.

You should limit your acceptance of returned merchandise and establish a policy to make price adjustments for any transactions. You must clearly display your Return Policy to your customers. If your refund policy prohibits returns under certain circumstances, you may still receive a chargeback relating to such sales. 

You must not process a credit without having completed a previous purchase transaction with the same Cardholder.

You must provide to the customer completed record of his purchase.

You must submit one sale data record for all goods and services sold in the same transaction. You should collect all federal, state and local taxes. Taxes collected shall be included in the total transaction amount and not collected separately.

All available information about the sale, including handling and shipping charges, must be accurately recorded. You are responsible for determining that the purchaser is the person whose name appears as the Cardholder. If an account number is transposed into an invalid or inappropriate account number, the sale will result in a chargeback.

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