If you own a business that has goods or services to sell, you may be considering opening a home business merchant account, which allows you to accept credit cards as payment. Having the option to pay by credit card is a convenience most customers have come to expect, and it may help increase your profits! Before opening a home business merchant account, there are a few things to consider.
How Do You Plan to Sell Your Goods or Services?
One of the most important things to consider is how you will sell your goods or services. Do you plan to lease commercial retail space? If so, you will need a system with a terminal that allows for card swipes. If you plan to sell your goods or services online, you will need a product that integrates with your "shopping cart" software and ideally your accounting software as well. If the customer is not entering their credit card number online, like in a mail order situation, you will need a system that allows you to manually key in the card number.
If you plan to sell your goods or services online, you will need to choose an internet gateway system. This pathway connects the online ordering system or shopping cart with the credit card processor or small business merchant account provider.
Banks and Financial Institutions
When considering opening a home business merchant account, you can choose to go through a bank or financial institution, or a private third party merchant account provider. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
The advantages to opening your own home business merchant account with a bank or financial institution are that they allow larger volumes of transactions, typically have lower fees, and a transparent online checkout process; meaning, the customer does not leave the merchant’s website at checkout. And often you can negotiate rates and fees with a bank.
One disadvantage of going through a bank or financial institution is that a small business merchant account is harder to obtain. Banks require credit checks and consider the length of time your business has been operable, and if you have a high-risk business, you may be denied or charged higher fees.
Third Party Merchant Account Providers
Third party small business merchant account providers are available through many Web sites. They offer the same services and secure processing that banks do, but they do have some distinct advantages and disadvantages.
The biggest advantage of a private party is that it is often faster and easier to obtain a merchant account. This is especially helpful for new businesses with low sales volume or those considered high-risk. Because of this, however, private parties may charge higher fees than banks, but the upside is that there are not always contractual obligations, and you may cancel at any time. Third party merchant account providers are often able to provide more personalized customer service, helping you resolve any issues quickly.
Regardless of which route you choose for your home business merchant account, accepting credit cards gives an added convenience to your customer and may help to increase profits.
Christine O’Kelly writes for the small business credit card processing experts at BluePay. BluePay makes opening a home business merchant account an easy and affordable solution for your business.
Article Source: ArticleSpan