How to Obtain a Merchant Card Account

If you are a growing business you may be interested in accepting credit cards. Before you are able to accept credit cards, you may have to get a merchant card account. It can be very beneficial to set up this type of account because companies who accept credit tend to have more business and profit than those who don’t. In past years, it used to be quite difficult for businesses that do not have a store front to get a merchant card account, but in the age of the internet and many mail order businesses, it has become much easier and most companies can at least get through the application process. It is important to know that not every company that accepts cards needs a merchant card account, but many do and many want the benefits that come with it.

The first step in obtaining a merchant card account is to find a provider. Start with your own bank if possible. They have an idea of your credit history and with the history of your company they may be able to give you an account when other companies will not. Since you already have a relationship with them, you may not be subject to the background checks other banks or companies may give you. If your bank will not help you or can’t help you for some reason, get online and try to find a clearing house that will help, but stay away from any electronic clearing houses.

The next step in obtaining a merchant card account is to take the account information you have gotten and the companies who have accepted you and compare their rates. The most important rate to look at is the discount rate. The discount rate you will be paying will be approximately 2%. If there are rates much over 2%, you are probably paying too much. There will also be a transaction fee associated with each account. This fee will be one that you are required to pay each time someone uses their card. You should expect to pay over 20 cents, but do not pay more than 30 cents.

If you have an actual store, you will probably need a point of sale system. This is the hardware and software combined in order to accept credit cards. Again, there is a fee for this. The credit card terminals alone cost anywhere from $200 to $2000 and most of them are the same.  One hint from experts should be mentioned here: You can usually negotiate in order to get a cheaper price on these, even if they say price is non-negotiable.

There are many fees associated with a merchant card account, and many are not necessary. The ones you will always pay when setting up a merchant card account are the statement fee, transaction fee and discount rate. All other fees can be negotiable if you try hard enough. You should also expect a onetime set up fee, but no application fee should be paid at all.