Credit Card Merchant Account Basics

Knowing which credit card merchant account to get can be very confusing. There are thousands and thousands of banks, merchant account providers and third party sales teams that can offer you all kinds of incentives. Billions of dollars are transacted online every year and you want your share. Where do you turn? What do you look for? Read on to find out...

Third party payment processors

The easiest way to accept credit cards online is through a third party payment processor. Companies like Paypal and 2Checkout.com allow you to offer your customers the option of paying by credit card while not having to go through rigorous credit checks or putting down big deposits. Both of these companies include the option of putting a short business name alongside their name of your customers' credit card bill.

Out of the two, Paypal has no up front setup fee while 2Checkout asks for a one-time $49 USD setup fee. Paypal is also cheaper per transaction. 2Checkout works differently than Paypal does when processing orders.

2Checkout is considered to have purchased your product or service and is simply reselling it to your customer at a profit to them. They will handle the initial customer concerns with regards to the transaction but will refer the product or service specific questions back to you.

Paypal on the other hand, simply processes the initial transaction in their name once you've upgraded your account to a Premium or Business account. Your customer doesn't have to register for a Paypal account if you live in certain countries like the US and Canada so it is very simple to use.

Invoicing your customer

Paypal allows invoicing but doesn't allow you to send a money request to someone without requiring your customer to open a Paypal account. On top of that, most new Paypal accounts are subject to a send limit restricting the amount of money you send. Now in most markets that Paypal operates in this send limit is up to $1000 but it is still a limit.

Because 2Checkout is purchasing the product or service from you, they don't have an account creation requirement that they impose on your customer. They have an invoicing function and as long as you have shown to 2Checkout that you process reliable transactions through their system, the process is hassle free for your customers.

Which is right for you?

I use both processors. I tend to process initial transactions through Paypal and regular invoicing through 2Checkout. Either way though, you can't go wrong with either option if you choose to have only one credit card merchant account.

Joe Duchesne is the webmaster for TurboMerchant.com a website dedicated to helping people with their credit card merchant account needs. Reprint freely as long as you keep this resource box intact and provide a keyword rich link back to Turbomerchant.com

---

Eleven Things You Must Know About A Drop Shipping Directory And Its Company

1. Balance - You want to find a directory rich... Read More

Managing Project Risks and Issues

Inherent (or Business) RiskInherent Risk is the risk that exists... Read More

Accepting Credit Card Payments Online

Being able to accept credit cards and other online payments... Read More

6 Steps to Attracting Black Customers Online

by Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva"In the rush to keep... Read More

Google to Compete with PayPal?

PayPal is secure in its domination over the electronic payment... Read More

Chinas Online Shopping May Be Booming In The Next Few Years

Data from China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) shows that... Read More

The Origins of E-Commerce

What is the Internet?In order to provide a discussion on... Read More

Building eCommerce Websites That Work - Part 1

You want to succeed at eCommerce? Welcome to a very... Read More

How e-business and e-Marketing are Changing

Internet now days became a real marketplace and many many... Read More

Grow Your Business Using B2B Emarketplace - Part I

If you are a small to medium size company and... Read More

ECommerce Scenario in Pakistan

Pakistan with highest growth rates in 1960s and bad politics... Read More

Overcoming Frustration with Technology

For whatever reason, when we get a new boost in... Read More

Outsourcing Your Ecommerce Order Fulfillment

When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you... Read More

The ClickBank E-Commerce Solution

ClickBank.com can offer you multiple solutions for your e-commerce business.... Read More

Does Your Shopping Cart Have a Squeaky Wheel?

Have you ever gone grocery shopping just before a holiday?... Read More

The Internet Challenge

In spite of the increasing attention on how the Internet... Read More

Dont give up on your business!

Summer must be when many work at home Mom start... Read More

Turn Your Rusty Junk Into eBay Gold

Often times people to stop to realize the income potential... Read More

How To Sell Your Products Online?

E-commerce is gaining pace! Research firm eMarketer predicts that 2003... Read More

Rules for Achieving Online Success

The Internet brought a great deal of benefits to our... Read More

Developing a Winning e-Commerce Strategy

One bright spot on the economic horizons around the world... Read More

Cost Effective Ecommerce Solutions

Ecommerce use to be about spending thousands of dollars on... Read More

The Five Steps of E-Commerce

You set up a retail business, you advertise in your... Read More

Selling Online for Newbies

If you are interested in selling online, it is quite... Read More

Why Suppliers Should Use B2B Exchanges

Business to business e-commerce is on the rise! Worldwide B2B... Read More

Working With Drop Shippers

Drop Shippers, the manufacturers or distributors who are willing to... Read More

Why Ecommerce is Not Ready for My Daughter or Me

As the mother of a teenage clothing fanatic I'm often... Read More

Ecommerce Comes from Customer Satisfaction

Online shopping is convenient, but many companies whose web sites... Read More

10 Second Internet Person, sound familiar?

Some people do not understand the Internet idea of online... Read More

Are You Making These E-Commerce Excuses? (part 1)

A year ago, I had big plans to re-vamp my... Read More

Saving Money On Your E-commerce Site

After building and transferring many e-commerce sites it still amazes... Read More

What Are The Barriers of Implementing E-Commerce Solutions

What is electronic commerce?"Electronic commerce is about doing business electronically.... Read More

Doing Business Online ? Private B2B Exchanges

Business processes are the building blocks of an enterprise. If... Read More