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Owning an online business, through which you sell products/services nationally and/or internationally, makes the merchant account a must have. This means you can accept payments made via the credit/debit cards, and you don’t have to worry about anything else. The customer pays, you ship the order, and your business rolls fast and efficient. But in order to know that you contract with a reputable merchant accounts provider, you need to make sure that you understand the role of each fee you pay.

Additionally, you must pay attention to the following:

• Carefully read the fine print and make sure you understand all the specifications there
• Make sure the provider offers you top notch customer service – so that you can contact a team member whenever you need information
• A reputable e-commerce and online payment services provider will also offer you fraud protection (i.e. SSL secured server for your transactions)
• You are able to accept all payment methods (e-wallet, debit cards, credit cards, etc.)

Discount rates, surcharges, hidden fees and more…

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When you search for the perfect merchant account provider, make sure that the company provides you with a very clear description of the fees they charge. When something is not clear, and if you ask and receive no prompt answer, it most likely means that you are paying hidden fees that are unjustifiable.

Knowing what you pay for will always help you keep track of your entire business, and will also allow you to foresee the profits/losses, etc., according to the sales number and traffic to your website.

Fees you can expect to pay with a merchant account

Transaction Fees – this a unique fee charged ever time a transaction occurs. It does not matter whether the transaction is authorized or declined, the fee will be charged. Transactions fees vary depending on whether they are swiped, keyed or wireless (usually more expensive than the other two options)

Address Verification Fee – called AVS, allows you, the merchant to lookup the address of the card holder, thus the service helps you stay away from fraud. The merchant pays somewhere around 5 to 7 cents for this service.

Batch Fee- you are going to be charged this fee, whenever you settle your transactions (forward the money to your account). It will cost you $0.50 the most.

Discount Rates – depending on the percentage you are charged by your provider, this is a fee you will pay after each transaction. If the discount rate is set at 1%, and someone makes an order of $50 in value, you are going to pay a $0.50 discount rate for that transaction.

Account setup fee- is a one-time payable fee, when you open your account with the provider (some selected providers may not even charge you this fee at all).

Early Termination Fee – this is charged by the provider in case you wish to step out of the contract terms sooner than agreed within it. It is similar to an early redemption charged on a typical personal loan (risk management fee for the provider)

These would be the most important fees charged by a merchant account provider, and some extra fees include: the annual fee, customer service fee, monthly minimum fee, or statement fee. All the merchant account fees differ from one provider to the other.

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