Online merchant account

An online merchant account is similar to an open-end line of credit. You send your credit card transactions for processing, and the service provider credits your business checking account. Those funds are available for you to use as you wish. The transaction is posted to your customer’s credit card statement, and they have the right to dispute any charges posted.

If the customer disputes a transaction and is not content with the service or product offered, a chargeback may be issued which means the amount paid by customer would be debited against your business’ account. In order to assure you have the funds to cover any potential chargebacks, we require a credit check.

Whether you host your own site or house it on the server of a web hosting company, it is of utmost important to ensure you implement security measures in place to protect sensitive information. The majority of web sites use SSL (secure sockets layer). It is an encryption program that encrypts credit card information during the transaction process. You should also ensure you have redundancy systems in place and clear service level agreements with your provider, which provide a complete description of the services it is obliged to deliver.

A number of merchant account providers offer integrated systems (turnkey solutions) that include each of these components, as do hosting companies and E-commerce solution providers, which bundle merchant accounts and other services into their packages. If the merchant account provider does not offer integrated services, it is important to ask what kind of software it requires. Your hardware and software requirements will depend on your processing method (batch or real-time) and business needs. If you decide to implement real-time processing, you will require payment gateway software to authorize and process the credit card number in real-time.

Your existing technology solutions may include the provision of an Internet merchant account. As a result, before you go to a bank or ISO, review the package that you have with your hosting company or E-commerce provider. If the package includes an Internet merchant account, evaluate what it comprises and ensure it is acceptable for your business.

For example, when you decide to sell online, selecting a merchant account provider is only one consideration. You also need a storefront solution to enable customers to send orders, a payment system to process transactions, and a payment gateway to securely process payments as they travel from a customer’s site to your site.

To sum up, the more aware and knowledgeable you are on merchant accounting, the secured you will feel in your transactions.