Did you know that more than 85% of purchases made online are paid for with credit cards? Or that sales can increase up to four times when credit cards are accepted? If your business still insists on the old check, or worse, cash, you might as well put it up as a museum exhibit! Acquiring a credit card merchant account is one of the first things businesses must do if they hope to compete.

If you’ve never heard of a credit card merchant account or have no idea how to get one, don’t worry. It involves a fairly simple procedure and there are a number of service providers that will be happy to hire you.

Objective, first things first. Arm yourself with a little knowledge about how credit card processing works so you can sound smart when you start discussions. Basically, the key players are the credit card companies like Visa or MasterCard; banks, which link up with these companies to issue credit cards to their customers; and clearinghouses, which actually process and verify transactions. Then there are merchant account providers, or independent sales organizations, whose goal is to ensure that your business has a merchant credit card account. These are the guys you’ll be talking to, so make sure you choose a reputable provider. Some providers like Merchant Accounts Express offer a price protection guarantee to safeguard the interests of the credit card merchant account holder.

Good! Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s discuss what infrastructure you need to operate a credit card merchant account. Well, the most important thing is to establish a gateway, which is a means of communication with the clearinghouse. One way is to use a swipe card machine, the kind you see in all retail establishments. The credit card is swiped into the machine, which transmits information to the clearinghouse. Once the transaction is authorized, a charge slip is produced. The cardholder signs a copy and gives it to the credit card merchant account holder.

If your business relies heavily on e-commerce, the swipe machine is obviously not for you. One option is to install a type of software on your computer that will facilitate the exchange of information between your credit card merchant account and the clearinghouse. However, this requires manual entry of the customer’s card details, transaction value, etc., so you will need to account for additional time and effort, and also the possibility of a credit entry error. data.

Still not happy? No problem. Most e-commerce websites use a real-time payment gateway, such as PayPal, which completes the data transfer and validation process while the buyer is online. The credit card merchant account holder does not need to be bothered by any manual process. The only precaution that should be taken is to ensure the compatibility of the gateway with the other software and systems that are part of the e-commerce process (for example, the shopping cart software).

That’s pretty much all you need to know about a credit card merchant account. Plus, of course, once you’re set up, it will help propel your sales skyward!