What is an Internet Merchant Account?By Natasha of Jobslover.com
If you run a website for your online business and make sales online, you are going to
need an Internet merchant account to process transactions. An Internet merchant account is a bit different from a regular account for a bricks-and-mortar retail store.
Read on for more information.
With an
Internet merchant account, your online customers can pay you with their by entering their number and
associated information directly into a form on your website. So you can accept orders without requiring that your customer
fax, mail or telephone you with their payment information.
Credit card orders accepted online with your Internet merchant
account are accepted on a secure web page. These pages are identifiable by, in the address bar of your browser, the URL prefix, "https"
instead of the usual "http".
The "s" in the prefix means "secure" and refers to SSL - Secure Socket Layer encryption technology that
protects information entered on that page and transmitted via the Internet. You will need a SSL certificate, and that is usually provided
as part of your Internet merchant account by the merchant services provider (MSP) you choose to process your transactions.
Transactions processed online in this way are usually approved in "real time" via an Internet payment gateway. This means that as soon as your customer
"checks out" and clicks "Submit" the is charged and the transaction is processed.
If you do not do a lot of business online, you do not necessarily have to have a special
Internet merchant account set up. You can utilize a
credit card terminal like those in bricks-and-mortar stores, or any processing software that allows you to manually key in your customer's information.
The disadvantage to doing this is that manually keyed-in transactions are going to be processed by your bankcard processor at their Non-Qualified rate, the highest rate tier.
This is because there is a higher risk of fraud when a is not physically swiped through your terminal and the cardholder physically present in your store.
Internet merchant accounts have different rules and regulations as compared to a standard retail merchant account, or even a standard MOTO (Mail Order/Telephone Order)
merchant account. IT is unwise to try to "get around" this by manually processing Internet sales on a terminal, and you may find your retail or MOTO merchant account shut down without warning!
With online sales, you do not see or even speak to your customer or have any physical order form the customer filled out, so the fraud risk is high and that is why
Internet merchant accounts are needed if you are going to do any appreciable amount of online sales.
Needless to say, whether you are new to processing or already have an established physical store location, you are going to want to be working with an experienced
merchant services provider when it comes time to get yourself set up with an
Internet merchant account. Choosing to work with the wrong MSP
could at the least cause you to be denied or even worse find yourself approved but paying very high rates from a provider inexperienced in online sales.
The fee structure for an Internet merchant account is the same as for a MOTO merchant account. But the process of applying and being approved and properly set up, including your SSL certificate, are different.
When setting up your Internet merchant account, choose a company with the necessary experience and knowledge to get you properly set up with the account you need!
Internet Merchant Account Recommended by Natasha, Click Here Now
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