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If you want your online business to be capable of accepting
credit card payments, you must have some type of merchant
account. A merchant account allows you to take credit cards as
forms of payment in a safe and secure manner.
You apply for a merchant account by filling out an application
and signing a fee agreement. Unfortunately, navigating the
merchant account maze can be difficult if you do not have
financial experience. There are many different companies out
there, and they all have a deal to offer. But before you sign up
for anything, read the fine print.
The three main fees you need to look for are the set-up fees,
the percentage you will pay for each transaction, and the
monthly fees. All of these fees need to be taken into
consideration. One company may advertise low set up fees, but
they may take a higher percentage of the sale or the monthly
fees may be considerably higher. |
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There are two types of merchant accounts, your own personal
merchant account or a third party merchant account. A bank will
open your own account and although they may have higher initial
opening costs, these accounts generally have a lower transaction
fee (what you pay them for each transaction).
Deciding which of these two types will work best for you is a
personal decision, but if your business is established and
thriving, the bank-based merchant account will probably work
best.
Third Party Merchant Account Providers
There are a large number of providers out there, all offering
what is sure to be the best deal ever. Let's evaluate some of
the top providers and see what it is they really offer.
2CheckOut (2CO) offers instant acceptance for new merchants and
has a $49 setup fee, no monthly fees, and an average transaction
fee. The account offers a built-in shopping cart and accepts
one-time or recurring payments. They accept both physical and
digital goods merchants.
ClickBank offers a one-time setup fee along with a transaction
fee of $1.00 plus 7.5% of the sale price. There is no monthly
fee. They will also handle tracking and paying your affiliates
automatically. They only accept merchants selling digital goods.
PayPal has no setup fee and a sliding transaction fee, all of
them very low, based upon sales volume. They accept both
physical and digital goods merchants and have various methods
for you to tightly integrate their interface with your site.
Subscriptions and one-time payments can be processed.
This is just a general overview of some of your payment options.
Before you decide, do some in depth research and find the
account that will work best with your company's needs.
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