A merchant account, for starters, is a special account set up for businesses to receive and process credit card payments. If one wants to set up an online merchant account for a website, he/she has to make sound decisions on whether the services provided are suitable for the website and business in all aspects. Some common factors to look into as you select a credit card processor are:

1. Fee Charged.
The fee charged on the account should be reasonable and within the range of the quality of the services offered. Low costs should not be a basis for selecting a service provider as many of those low costs are catered for by hidden charges and charge backs, something you must be wary of. Usually fees start from 2-3% and goes up to 10%. Make sure you find out not only the discount fee that you are charged for each transaction, but also a flat fee that goes on top of each transaction. Moreover, refund fees and chargeback fines are very important, because they range for some accounts from a few up to hundreds of dollars.

2. Special Offers
Discounts should be taken advantage of. Many discount offers are available that can be utilized. Some merchant accounts provide minimal funds transfer fees or provide some discounts for signing up on them – either for credit card processing fees or give you additional goodies.

3. Terms of Agreement
One should have full knowledge of the agreement terms as they are binding once one enters an agreement. The services of a lawyer can be engaged here since some clauses in the conditions may be cunning enough to be noticed by a normal person. Renewal of agreement and termination procedures must be fully known incase the client wishes to discontinue the services. Some merchant account providers asks you to sign a long term contract or pay huge startup or monthly fees to maintain an account. Make sure you understand what you are paying for.

4. Services Offered
When a client engages in a merchant account services, he/she should be able to know the extent of the services offered by the dealer so that he can choose the kind of service that suits his needs. Whether you need only a merchant account for processing payments online without any virtual terminals – make sure to find out what your service provider has to offer. Otherwise you might be paying for service that is not necessary for your online business.

5. Customer Support Services.
The account provider should have a reliable and fast customer support system that operates on a full time basis to be of help to clients who have difficulties accessing the services as online procedures can be hectic at times. Write to the company a couple of e-mails to find out how their support works and if they treat you like a real customer. Avoid companies with bad or no customer support.

6. FAQs
The merchant account provider must also contain all the frequently asked questions so that users can read through and clear their doubts and get their questions answered themselves.

7. Guidelines
All the guidelines with detailed steps and procedures must be clearly mentioned on the site so that people have enough information about the process. Usually many merchant account providers says that they can have your account up and running in a couple of days, however, usually it takes at least a couple of weeks. Find out the real time frames when you can expect to have your credit card processing account working.

8. Security.
For a client running an online merchant account, security measures should be of the highest level to prevent hackers and online geeks from accessing clients’ information. Make sure your credit card processor has a good antifraud system that monitors your transactions and protects you from fraudulent orders. This will save you from a lot of headaches.

9. Define Your Needs.
Knowing the kind of services your website will provide will enable you to engage the right merchant account and hence giving your website’s clients what they need. Check out companies like Click2Sell.EU – they offer the credit card processing services for your business. Tell them what you are planning to sell and what are your business goals and then you will get the advice on which way to go.

As much as we would want to embrace the technology and ease with which we do our transactions, we cannot afford to jeopardize the safety of our business. We must choose quality services which are up to par. So make sure you take into account all these steps when you select a merchant account provider for your online business.

Author Bio: Egidijus Andreika is a creator Click2Sell e-commerce system. Accept credit cards online and get your merchant account within 5 minutes. Merchants – sell and promote your products online, manage affiliate programs at Click2Sell. Visit: http://www.click2sell.eu

Category: Internet
Keywords: accept credit card payments online, accept credit cards, merchant account