Merchant Account Credit Card Processing Services - What You Need to Know
Whether you accept credit cards online or not, you will need
merchant account credit card processing services in order to process
credit card payments made to your business. There are countless
processing services, and often, selecting the right service can be
daunting.
First, there is the issue of getting accepted by the
processing company. Not all processing companies accept all merchants'
applications for service. Some will run extensive credit reports, and
will only offer accounts to those with outstanding credit. You may have
excellent credit, and still be disapproved because of the type of
business that you have, or the type of credit card processing that you
need. What you need to know at this point is that regardless of any of
those issues, you can still find a processing company that will approve
you for service.
Merchant account credit card processing services
are available for those business owners who have bad or poor credit.
Services are also available regardless of the type of business that you
do - as long as it is legal, and services are available regardless of
the way that you will process payment cards - in person, online, over
the telephone, or by mail.
It is also important to know that
while a merchant account is required to process credit cards, the
merchant account doesn't necessarily have to be yours - so to speak.
There are companies that can handle processing for you, through their
accounts. These is essentially a 'middle man,' and the cost of these
types of services are typically much higher than getting an account of
your own, because they realize that there was some reason why you
couldn't get your own account.
Often, if you have really bad
credit, these are the type of merchant account credit card processing
services that you will require. Although you will pay more for the
service, in many instances, this could be the right solution for your
business. However, you can find services that offer the service that
you require, without many requirements, which are very affordable.
The
contract is another issue. Most services will require you to sign a
contract, but there are those that will not. The contract will contain
terms of use of the service, and an explanation of fees, including
early termination fees that may be applied. There are companies that do
not require contracts, but the important thing to realize here is that
if there is no contract that makes you accountable to the service,
there also isn't a contract in place that makes the service accountable
to you.
The main thing to remember when shopping for Merchant Account Credit Card Processing services is that you need to determine
whether the service is an actual merchant account for you or if it is a
service that processes your card payments through their merchant
account. In the end, the only real difference between the two different
types of services is the price, in most cases. You also probably do
need a contract to protect yourself and your business.