Most small business owners find themselves in a Catch 22 situation because on one hand, they need to increase the customer base, but on the other hand, they cannot hire enough employees to service these new customers.

Small business merchant accounts can help the small business owner to over come this dilemma. Small business merchant accounts allow the business owner to accept payments from customers in various modes such as credit cards, checks, and other electronic mediums. Electronic check processing and credit card payment processing are some of the more popular payment methods today. Payment gateways that come with a small business merchant account allow the instant processing of purchases, and this rapid processing allows the merchant to handle many more transactions more quickly.

As the payment process is made simpler and safer, more customers return for repeat purchases, and the business owner does not have to hire any new employees and save time on needless paperwork. The prompt handling of purchases contributes to efficiency in a business, and being able to accept all forms of payment--from personal checks to major credit cards--can increase sales up to 40%, according to studies by the industry. All this results in increased sales volume of the business. Therefore, a small business merchant account can make the difference between survival and failure at the crucial start-up phase of a business.

This method of process payments via small business merchant accounts becomes more important when the small business owner is setting up his business. He does not have enough capital when starting the business to hire more employees to service his clientele but his business success depends upon increased customer base.

Small business merchant accounts offer credit card processing services for a wide variety of business models