What is an Internet Merchant Account?
In order for a merchant to accept credit cards for payment on the Internet, the merchant must have an Internet Merchant Account with an acquirer (usually a bank). The acquirer takes on the job of processing the card and making sure the funds are deposited into the merchant’s bank account. VERISIGN acts as the channel to move the credit card transaction from the merchant’s web site to the acquirer’s processing network, receive the results and post them back to the merchant’s site.
To accept payment by credit card on the Internet, you must have an Internet merchant account with an acquiring institution. The acquirer authorizes the purchases made with the credit card and ensures that the funds are deposited into the merchant’s bank account. With a VeriSign SSL Certificate, you can create a secure channel to transmit credit card information from your site to the acquirer’s processing network, receive the results, and post them back to your site. Your online payment processing provider also facilitates the settlement of funds from the cardholder to the acquiring institution.
All merchants who accept credit card payments must have an account on the credit card processing network. In order to accept payments over the internet, you must have a special kind of merchant account called an Internet Merchant Account. Since all internet payments are considered “card not present” (i.e. the card is not physically presented to the merchant for payment) you can expect to pay slightly higher rates. There are literally thousands of companies who offer Internet Merchant Accounts. See what to look for in an Internet Merchant Account provider and pitfalls to avoid when selecting an Internet Merchant Account Provider.
