Merchant Accounts for Your Online Business


by Bob Saville - Date: 2006-12-31 - Word Count: 536 Share This!

You have taken the time to set up a business online (oh, the work it can take sometimes), and now you are ready to get things up and running so you can generate a great work at home income. Some of you may be overlooking one important element: how you can accept payment for your product or service online. That's why I am here to talk about merchant accounts.

What is a merchant account? It is essentially an account set up with a merchant account provider that allows for credit card transactions. That means your customers will be able to buy your product or service online (or at a physical location) through their portal using any one of the major credit cards.

A merchant account for your online business is so much better than having to carry around a card imprint machine wherever you go. Yes, those days have gone by the wayside, and now we are in the technological age. Merchant accounts allow you the flexibility of providing your customers with an immediate payment option.

Most merchant account providers will be able to set you up with a secure-encrypted portal for your customers to use when they purchase products or services from your website - or other home business.

You can discuss with the merchant account provider what the best package would be for you and your work at home business. But, there are a few things to watch for when dealing with merchant account providers:

You are the customer - Provide the merchant account with an outline of what you need, and don't get sucked into what they think you need. You are the customer in the end.

Low cost - Compare the difference in charges between the different merchant account providers. Despite providing essentially the same service for your home business, the transaction charges each one has vary greatly.

Hidden charges -Most merchant account providers will give you the charges up front. But not all of them do this. If you want to make sure you are getting the most from your merchant account provider for your home business, then you need to hammer out all of the charges up front.

Not the banks - Traditionally, going through the banks for merchant account service is going to cost you a little more than from one of the private providers. Don't be lured in by the security of the banks. Reputable third-party merchant account providers are just as secure and they can provide a better service for a fraction of the cost.

24 hour support - You never really know when your system is going to go down, and you need to find someone to help you get things back on track. A merchant account provider that can give you 24-hour support is the way to go. They can get the link to your portal up and running so you aren't losing sales in the process.

Most people who purchase things online are using credit cards. There are other options, such as Paypal, however, more people have credit cards than online accounts like that. So, for any internet home business that you are setting up, you need to look into a merchant account to help you generate the credit card sales that are essential for online home business success.


Related Tags: home business, work at home, merchant account

Bob Saville has had a great deal of success working from home over the past three years. His website http://www.internetmarketingatoz.com/ helps people

Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: