What is an Internet Merchant Account?

What is a merchant account and how to get an internet merchant account? These are just 2 of the many questions that every company starting a business should get answers to. After all, to be frank, it’s impossible to make a profit without customers. At the same time, no customer is going to pay you exclusively in cash, especially during the pandemic when all business is moving online.

In this article, we will answer the above questions and understand how to get a merchant account and which online account providers will help you do it quickly and at minimal cost.

The definition of a merchant account

When one decides to open an internet merchant account, the company can accept payments using credit and debit cards.This account serves as an agreement between three parties: a company that offers goods and services to its customers, a payment system, and a merchant bank.

The client selects the goods of interest on the site and makes a payment. In the future, this money will be transferred to the seller’s account, after which it will be credited to the bank’s account. This procedure does not have to be instantaneous. In some cases, it is provided weekly.

Is it possible to run a business without a merchant account? If you plan to offer your goods to the whole world, and not only to those people who live near your office, you must have such an account.

The owners of a merchant account receive the following benefits:

• Lack of control over foreign exchange transactions;
• Round-the-clock operation of the service;
• The ability to receive and withdraw payments on non-working hours;
• High-speed settlement system;
• A company or an entrepreneur who owns an internet merchant account can simultaneously receive payments from several thousand customers.

How to get an online merchant account?

One may think that to have a merchant account, all they have to do is submit an application, and it will be instantly approved on the best terms. But, unfortunately, we have to disappoint you. Even the application process itself can take a long time, even though the companies that are willing to open a merchant account for you are fighting among themselves very fiercely.

Why does this happen? It’s all about high risks and the fact that to mitigate them, you need to evaluate a company according to various criteria. Such criteria include how long the firm has been in business, its history, the presence of defaults and bankruptcies, what kind of business the company represents, whether the firm has taken out loans and how it has repaid them. And these are just some of the factors to evaluate.

Do you want to quickly and easily open an online merchant account?

European Internet Banking PayDo provides services of a financial provider to both individuals and legal entities around the world. If you have a legal entity in the EU/UK, we will be happy to open an internet merchant account for you.

Benefits that a merchant receives when opening an online merchant account with PayDo:

1. More than 350 payment methods, including credit cards and alternative payments;
2. Low commissions;
3. Built-in anti-fraud systems;
4. PayDo payment page;
5. Your website name appears on your credit card statement.

With an international online merchant account provider PayDo, you will receive all the benefits of neo banking and will be able to manage your funds 24/7.

Does the industry risk guarantee a rejection on your application?

That’s not entirely true. Many companies simply compensate for the increased risk by offering higher service and processing fees. Don’t worry, because the level of risk is reviewed from time to time, and if it decreases, the commissions may be revised.

In order to successfully accept card payments from your clients, you will need to connect a payment gateway. The main task of this gateway is to send a transaction request to the card issuing company in order to authorize the payment. However, you do not always have to open a separate merchant account and additionally connect a payment gateway, because some companies will be ready to offer you a universal solution.

How to make the right choice?

Choosing a company to open a trading account and connect the solutions you need to accept payments is very responsible and important. You should consider not only the possibilities the company will provide, but also the different types of fees.

Online payment services must meet the individual requirements of the entrepreneur. Still, the main criteria that you should pay attention to when choosing an Internet merchant account provider are as follows:

• Platform support. A lot of internet merchant account providers provide their services for various e-commerce platforms. If you use such popular platforms as Shopify, Woocommerce, Wix, Joomla, Weebly, then for such platforms, many modules can be easily integrated. PayDo provides full support in connecting a payment gateway and providing a merchant account for almost all types of organizations;
• Safety. Network security is inexorably associated with how smoothly the system will handle payments. If clients encounter difficulties when trying to pay for a product or service, they will never visit such a webpage again. What safety indicators should you pay attention to?
• Assure yourself that the selected online merchant account processor complies with the PCI DSS international security protocol. It is the required minimum;
• Each payment gateway uses SSL encryption for data transmission;
• Secure 3D-secure user authorization protocol;
• The usage of dynamic IP addresses and other security systems.
• Commissions. Make sure you understand precisely the structure of the fees and possible merchant account fees. In addition to standard processing fees, companies may charge additional:
• Commission for offering online merchant account services;
• Service fee;
• Early account closure fee;
• Chargeback fees, etc.

Positive customer experience. It is necessary to provide the most convenient payment process. To do this, we recommend using API integration. It will allow you to customize the payment page for your website design. In addition, the availability of payment methods plays an important role. The best merchant account provider should accept not only credit and debit cards but also alternative payment methods. Choose reputable suppliers. Payment processing is critical to your business. Therefore, partner with a company that has a positive reputation in the industry.

Support available. If your business belongs to the high-risk category, you should contact high-risk merchant account providers. Thus, you will have a better chance of getting business merchant account approved and the required payment methods.

Do you want to get access to the widest range of payment methods worldwide and how to open a merchant account on the best conditions? Contact PayDo and we’ll show you the right solution for your business.