What is a merchant account? How do I get one?
A merchant account enables you to accept credit cards as payment for the purchase of goods and services. There are different types of merchant accounts. For example, if you have a traditional “brick and mortar” store, you can get a retail merchant account. If you want to accept credit cards on your Web site, however, you need a specialise type of merchant account known as an “Internet-ready” merchant account. Internet-ready merchant accounts enable you to handle Internet transactions in “real time” without any human intervention. Because the risk of credit card fraud is greater when you are accepting credit cards over the Internet, these specialised merchant accounts also provide additional checks that can significantly reduce the chance of credit card fraud. Once the transactions are processed, the merchant account provider transfers the funds received from the credit card transactions from your merchant account to your bank account. A number of companies offer Internet-ready merchant
A merchant account enables you to accept credit cards as payment for the purchase of goods and services. If you want to accept credit cards on your Web site, however, you need a specialize type of merchant account known as an “Internet-ready” merchant account. Internet-ready merchant accounts enable you to handle Internet transactions in “real time” without any human intervention. Because the risk of credit card fraud is greater when you are accepting credit cards over the Internet, these specialized merchant accounts also provide additional checks that can significantly reduce the chance of credit card fraud. Once the transactions are processed, the merchant account provider transfers the funds received from the credit card transactions from your merchant account to your bank account. What is a payment gateway? How do I find one? A payment gateway is a service that connects your online store with your merchant account provider. This service reads the information from the order forms a
