ONLINE MERCHANT SERVICES

                               THE PLASTIC DOMINATED GLOBAL MARKET

                I haven't reported my missing credit card to the police because whoever                                stole it is spending less than my wife.              Ilie Nastase     

                       

Online merchant services are services that enable you to process credit card payments from your customers. It is a special account tied to a credit card processor that works with your customer's bank to help route payments into your bank account. They include but are not limited to

•       Credit and debit cards payment processing

•       Check guarantee and check conversion services

•       Automated Clearing House check drafting services

•       Gift and loyalty card programs

•       Payment gateway

•       Email Marketing

•       Direct Mail Marketing

•       Merchant Cash Advances

•       Online Ordering Systems

•       Point of Sale Systems

Swipe fees are passed on to businesses as part of their credit card processing agreement with their merchant services to make up for their fraud prevention costs and processing fees. These have been reduced by almost 50% in the US for Visa and MasterCard debit cards since October 2011. Card processing costs are often a merchant’s second highest expense after labor, so lower swipe fees for debit cards are a welcome development, since the cards have grown in popularity with consumers, surpassing both checks and credit cards. The fastest growing market overall is international debit cards. International debit card volumes grew at a nearly 30% compounded annual rate, from 2007 to 2011. The slowest market growth overall is occurring in US credit cards. In fact, between Visa and MasterCard credit cards, the market contracted at a 1.7% compounded annual rate, from 2007 to 2011, whereas it grew at 13% for the same period for debit cards. As may be surmised, online merchant services have become a part of daily life.

What you are looking for is a versatile, reliable credit card processing service that can help your business increase sales by enabling you to accept all forms of payment from anywhere at anytime. With a first-rate credit card processing service, you can:

        

Accept all Forms of Payment

Accept Payments Anywhere

Get Fraud and Security Protection

         

It's hard to determine which credit card processing solution is best for your business. For a  merchant account comparison, you also need to look at: 

Average Approval Rating
             Cost per Month
             Start-Up Cost
             Account Setup Time
             Customer Service

Internet Based Features.

POS/ Swipers Features

In today's marketplace, retailers simply must accept debit and credit cards to survive. Electronic transactions have replaced cash as the primary method to accept credit cards in highly developed countries economies. Merchant account services allow these transactions to take place; therefore, if you don't have a merchant account, you cannot accept credit or debit card payments. If you can't accept these payments, your business cannot survive in the modern economy. Merchant services are not just for accepting credit and debit cards. The best services allow you to accept multiple forms of payment, including electronic and paper checks, money orders and traveler's checks. Some even allow you to turn your smartphone or tablet into a mobile cash register so you can accept payments literally anywhere if you have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.

The best merchant account providers are those that meet your specific needs.