Merchant Account Review
Everyone that runs an online business has to answer the
question: which merchant account provider should I choose? There
are literally thousands of providers out there that offer
similar services. The purpose of this article is to clue you in
on what you should be looking for in a merchant account provider.
Price
When it comes down to it, money is the most important
consideration. Providers have a wide array of fees that they
access. Most providers require a setup fee for the service and
then a monthly fee. It amazes me how much some people are paying
for these services! Try to look for a company that doesn't
require a setup fee and has a low monthly payment.
Another fee that is added is a percentage of each transaction.
These interest rates are calculated by how much you process in a
month. The more money you process a month, the lower your
interest rate will be. Part of the interest rate is accessed by
the credit card company (Visa, Mastercard, etc), so there is a
limit for how low you can get your rate. The key here is to
compare rates between providers to get the lowest rate.
Features
For e-commerce, the provider should have a good interface for
your web site. If you're using a e-commerce software such as
osCommerce, make sure your provider is supported. If you, or
your developer, is designing the system, make sure the company
has good support for interfacing with their payment system. Some
providers will offer an API (Application Program Interface) so
that you have sample code to connect to the payment system. This
is VERY helpful if you are designing your own system.
Recommendations
I try to remain unbiased in all of my articles, but I think I've
found the perfect merchant account provider. Paypal, owned by
Ebay, has recently got into the merchant account business. They
have a very low monthly rate, good interest rates, and a great
API!
A god source of informatio is:
http://www.reviewfactory.com/merchant
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Friese