Article Sphere Logo
 

Different Types of Merchant Accounts

By Expert Author: Mike Knudtson | Article Abstract
Word Count: 519 words | Views: 170 view(s)
After cash, credit cards are the most widely accepted means of payment in the world. No matter what business you are running, or what product you are selling. Chances are that you will require a credit card processing system. From American Express to Visa, the brand may vary, and since there is no such thing as an individual payment gateway for each individual company. Every company may have a payment system that is unique to them, but the payment gateway is what is the essential link. But before we go into the technicalities, lets get some of the basics out of the way. Especially some of the terms just used.

Any credit card transaction on the planet acts in a predefined manner, first the customer will offer his credit card details, the credit card details are then processed through a payment gateway, and finally the credit card payment is received in a merchant account. The way in which the credit card payment is accepted is different, you could be using the credit on a EPOS (electronic point of sale terminal), or you could have a successful online store that is accepting payments. The important thing to remember is that the mode in which you are accepting the payment is not as important as having a payment gateway and a good merchant account.

Okay so the next thing to discuss here is what is a payment gateway? well a payment gateway is usually a third party system that processes the credit card transaction it could be the server an EPOS dials out to, an e-commerce system, however the term payment gateway usually refers to the latter, and once the checks are done the funds are then transferred into a merchant account. The essential component is the merchant account, the merchant account is offered by companies and based on the volume of transaction and certain other criteria; the charges and upkeep is different. No merchant account is free as the company is offering you services. Merchant accounts in general are of various categories and depending on the type of business you are running, different monthly charges, and percentage charges are applicable.

Important merchant account types

a) Regular merchant accounts - Although in business there is no such thing as a typical business, however a majority of businesses are usually treated as regular merchant accounts, they have low maintenance fees and lower rates than other merchant accounts.

b) High risk merchant accounts - This category is usually reserved for high risk credit card processing accounts, for example accounts that handle a large volume of transaction that may or may not offer a 100% authorisation rate. An example will be an outbound call centre, that attempts hundreds of credit card transactions to verify the credibility of the credit cards. There are also additional complications like currency conversion involved. Hence the term high risk merchant account.

c) Specialized merchant accounts - There are some businesses that require specialized credit card processing, or might require a specialized merchant account that caters to requirements such as offshore processing, etc. Such merchant accounts are usually referred to as specialized merchant accounts.
Mike Knudtson

About the Author/Author Bio

Mike Knudtson is the co-founder of the Recurring Billing payment gateway Fastcharge.com and the founder of merchant account provider Electronic Transfer, Inc.. He has helped thousands of merchants set up retail and ecommerce payment processing for their business. Electronic Transfer, Inc. is one of the leading credit card processing companies serving merchants since 1989.

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Different-Types-of-Merchant-Accounts/93820

Article Submitted: 2007-06-29 | This Article has been viewed 170 times.

Rate Article

Related Videos

Learn about British Merchant Ships and German U Boats - WW Two Footage
Coffee From Tanzania
How to Shop Safely Online
Kenyan Coffee Part 1
Kenya Coffee Part 2
 

More "Merchant Accounts" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Merchant Accounts" article category.

People interested in the above article "Different Types of Merchant Accounts" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
Shopping for or comparing merchant accounts is a task that many business owners dread. The pricing is confusing, the sales pressure is intense and every provider promises to offer the lowest rates and fees. Luckily, there are two fundamental things that you can do to cut through the fog and ensure you're paying as little as possible to processing credit cards.
Credit card processing is one of the greatest expenses that a business has. Consumer related businesses are especially affected by processing charges. That's why it's so important to have a low cost processing solution, and why it's so unusual that many people shop for and compare credit card processors with a backwards approach.
Over the years the merchant processing industry has done a phenomenal job training merchants to look at insignificant details when they compare merchant accounts. Even on an otherwise transparent pricing structure like interchange plus, providers are able to squeeze substantial profits from an account that appears on the surface to be inexpensive.
The interchange plus merchant account pricing model is quickly becoming the most sought after form of pricing for businesses seeking the best merchant account. It's often touted as the only truly transparent way to process credit cards. While this may be true, it doesn't tell the whole story.
If you're processing credit cards on a tiered merchant account pricing model, inconsistent buckets are a vital subject for you to understand. The term inconsistent buckets is used to refer to a merchant service provider's ability to dictate at which tier an interchange category is charged on a tiered merchant account pricing model.
With all of the information floating around about credit card processing, it's often hard to tell what's true and what's not. Being misinformed about credit card processing can be a costly oversight. Common misconceptions about merchant accounts can lead to costly mistakes.
Those involved in credit card processing do a brisk and lucrative business, regardless of the state of the economy. They are an essential link in the transaction chain that connects buyer to merchant, via the issuing and acquiring banks involved.
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Business Merchant Accounts
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.

Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Belarusian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish German English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italiano Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Dutch Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish