What Types of Merchant Account Services in Canada Are Available

As a Canadian business owner, you may be wondering about different types of services associated with merchant accounts in Canada that are available for your business. From the traditional retail point of sale systems you see in many stores to the latest e-commerce accounts, there will be a combination of merchant accounts in Canada that will be perfect for you and your business.

The most traditional and well known services for merchant accounts in Canada are those associated with point of sale systems. POS terminals have been around for years and most people understand how they work on a basic level. These terminals accept major credit cards like VISA and MasterCard as well as Interac and other debit options. These terminals should be used by businesses that have a lot of face to face contact in one location. There are wired/dial up POS terminals that use phone lines to send and receive information, IP POS terminals and wireless POS terminals.

IP POS systems are very quick and always connected through the internet. It is very similar to your home computer that may be connected to the internet through an Ethernet cord or USB cord. Always connected, the IP POS system completes transactions very quickly, usually within 5-10 seconds.

Wireless POS terminals have SIM cards and connect to cell phone networks. This type of terminal is perfect for companies that do not have a central location or physical store. Some companies that can benefit from the wireless POS terminals are home improvement companies, taxis or companies who do a lot of sales at tradeshows.

One of the latest services for merchant accounts in Canada is cell phone terminals. This type of POS system turns your smart phone into an actual credit card accepting machine. A simple downloaded app will allow you to accept credit cards right from your cell phone. This is convenient for those who do small amounts of transactions but may be on the move a lot.

Virtual terminals are great for companies who don’t necessarily have face to face interaction with their clients, but do a lot of telephone or email sales. These sales are processed by the merchant logging into a website and entering the customer’s credit or debit information. You can process any credit transaction right from the comfort of your desk with no swiping or physical credit card required.

The final service for merchant accounts in Canada is e-Commerce merchant account services. They use virtual terminals, but are so much more. This service is for the customer to enter their information on their own, for instance, on your website. The merchant account links several online shopping carts and uses its very own gateway. It only requires you to have a SSL shopping cart.

As you can see from the above information, there are several types of services for merchant accounts in Canada. Researching a few services that are available to your business will be the best way to decide which of these services for merchant accounts in Canada will suit you best.

If you are seeking a merchant account in Canada, a Quantum Merchant Services representative can help to select the best option to accommodate your business needs.