Category Archives:Merchant Account
High Risk & Low Risk Merchat Services

Legacy Banks Invest In Coinbase's Record $75m Funding Round

Legacy Banks Invest In Coinbase's Record m Funding Round
Some of the larger merchants Coinbase has signed on to their platform has been part of the portfolio of Andreessen Horowitz, one of Coinbase's early investors. Coinbase will be using the money to expand their employee base and their … Armstrong said …
Read more on Bitcoinist.net

'Vindskip' cargo ship uses its hull as a giant sail
Designed by Lade AS, the Oslo-based company says the hybrid merchant ship — which would still have a liquefied natural gas-powered engine — could achieve fuel savings of 60% and reduce emissions by 80%. It's the brainchild of Terje Lade, who used his …
Read more on CNN International

ISO Central
ISOCentral is an Android-based app that streamlines the process of signing merchant accounts to as little as 2 hours. ISOCentral is fully integrated with processors and sponsor banks for immediate results. All you need to bring to your sales calls is …
Read more on ZDNet

Atlanta-based BitPay hooks up with PayPal to expand bitcoin adoption

Atlanta-based BitPay hooks up with PayPal to expand bitcoin adoption
Merchants using Payments Hub can create a BitPay merchant account. PayPal customers with a bitcoin wallet will then be able to pay with bitcoin for games, music, videos, news, ebooks, and other digital content. “PayPal's Payments Hub is the ideal first …
Read more on Atlanta Business Chronicle (blog)

Payments Processor Braintree Confirms Bitcoin Integration Rumors
In its blog post regarding the announcement, Coinbase indicated that Braintree businesses will need to open a new merchant account with Coinbase in order to complete the integration upon its release. However, Braintree merchants that want to get in …
Read more on CoinDesk

How Main Street Will Pay for Home Depot's Data Breach
When a credit-card company identifies fraud, it wipes the payment off the cardholder's account and notifies the merchant. Unless the store can prove the payment was authorized, the credit-card company debits money from a merchant's checking account, …
Read more on Businessweek

Lastest Merchant Account News

5 Things the Catalog Ninja is Doing Right Now
As you're looking at item-level usage forecasts, don't forget to adjust your items per thousand orders factors to account for these new items. If you had a $ 49.95 item that will now be priced at $ 52.95 and you've introduced a new $ 49.95 item that might …
Read more on Multichannel Merchant

African Markets – Factors to watch on Sept 9
SOUTH AFRICA – Rand Merchant Bank releases quarterly business confidence index for the third quarter, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research. … EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKS For the latest …
Read more on Reuters Africa

iWatch from Apple may mean the end of plastic credit cards
Apple is expected to announce a new iWatch this week, and along with it new mobile payment platform that would be cheaper and easier to use than today's credit-card system. Apple's agreements with MasterCard, Visa, and American Express would allow …
Read more on Christian Science Monitor

e-commerce merchant account shopping cart question?

Question by lindsay g: e-commerce merchant account shopping cart question?
If i set up a merchant account, will I get software to put a shopping cart in my site? i built my site with dreamweaver, and they have a shoppingcart, and i use hostmonster.com for a host and THEY have a shopping cart/merchant account package… but i also have a friend that sells merchant accounts.. what should i do>???

Best answer:

Answer by drachma
This is a complicated question —
It depends on the merchant account package.
Sometimes the merchant account gives you access to eCommerce packages i.e. Miva Merchant or open source osCommerce. You get full functionality but will not have the ability to customize it fully – but some you might.

Some times merchant accounts only provide SSL and ability to install shopping carts easier…through 1 click button as opposed to your own installation.

My advice is get to know eCommerce packages if you’re going that route. Any web host can add SSL and you yourself can install packages like Miva/osCommerce/XCart/ZenCart etc…

Get a Merchant account only if they take care of software installs, upgrades, etc. Or better – go with an e cart solution like goecart.com for example.

Hope that helps.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

When Digital Meets Traditional Banking: A New Concept in Senegal

When Digital Meets Traditional Banking: A New Concept in Senegal
Washington DC — With only six percent of the adult Senegalese population having an account in a formal financial institution, commercial banks in Senegal have so far shown little interest in contributing to financial inclusion by serving this vast …
Read more on AllAfrica.com

GDF Suez Shares Should Get Re-Rated (GDFZY)
The company's target regions account for over 80% of global energy growth over the next 20 years. The latest guidance implies power capacity growth … The IPP model is tried and tested and merchant risk very low. GDF Suez has a very good track record …
Read more on Seeking Alpha

Residents targeted by credit card scammers

Residents targeted by credit card scammers
When the wife contacted Ipayment to inquire about the account, she was told that a business account was opened under Timberwood Construction in September. The woman told the deputy that although the account was opened using the correct address, …
Read more on Coeur d’Alene Press

KKR third-quarter earnings beat expectations amid surge in cash
Its economic net income (ENI), a metric of profitability that takes into account the mark-to-market valuation of the portfolio, was $ 419 million on a post-tax basis, down from $ 571 million a year ago. This translated into … KKR's divestments in the …
Read more on Reuters

What is Merchant Account?

Question by jeo_onn: What is Merchant Account?

Best answer:

Answer by Monsta’
A Merchant Account is simply a relationship between a retailer, a merchant bank and payment processor for the settlement of credit card transactions. Any retailer who wants to take credit card orders must establish a merchant account.

What do you think? Answer below!

Credit Card Merchant Accounts?

Question by DMG: Credit Card Merchant Accounts?
I recently submitted an application for a business credit card merchant account. It is an existing business with an existing merchant account with another company. This new provider wants me to give them my social security number even though the company has its own EIN/tax ID. Why would they want my social? Does this open me up to financial liabilities of the company? I know if they hard pull my credit information, this has a negative impact on my personal credit rating. The other option is to jump through hoops of sending several years tax returns and months of bank statements. What is the best course of action?
We have been in business for almost 7 years so it is not from lack of history.
This is not for a business credit card, it is for a merchant account to process credit cards.

Best answer:

Answer by RIP LUCY
Just give them your social. Sounds like they will approve your application, based upon your credit. One inquiry isn’t that harmfull and this way is way easier.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

how to set up a merchant account?

Question by Ashvin 217: how to set up a merchant account?
I would like to know the exact procedures for setting up my own merchant account on my e-commerce website without passing through a third party merchant account provider.

I know I have to open a merchant account with a bank. But how to I integrate it on my website??

Thank you

Best answer:

Answer by stymiee73
There are lots of merchant account account providers out there so shop around and get several quotes before choosing a provider. You’ll save yourself a lot of money that way. My first link below is a comparison worksheet to make organizing their rates easier. I also link to a calculator that does the comparison for you so you can see who is the cheapest in the long run.

When applying for a merchant account you’ll need the following items:

1) Verification of a US business checking account (a voided check works just fine)

2) Verification your business is legal (any document from the local, state, or Federal government works just fine. This includes Articles of Incorporation, LLC paperwork, Federal Tax ID, Occupancy License, State Tax ID, Fictitious Name Certificate)

3) A signed contract (provided by your merchant account provider)

Additional documentation is usually only required if your merchandise or account is considered high risk (e.g. there is a high risk for chargebacks). But this is rare. Personal financial documents should never be asked for, even for new businesses, as they are unnecessary.

You do not need to be a US based business but your business does need to have a legal US address and a US checking account. Otherwise it may be based on foreign soil.

Being approved will be based on the overall risk of your account. The higher the risk, the less likely it will be approved. Conversely, the less risk you present to the bank, the more likely you will be approved.

Risk is determined by several factors including:

1) Environment: The Internet is the highest risk and retail stores are the lowest risk.

2) Product sold: High stereo equipment is high risk, coffee mugs are low risk.

3) Personal credit: The better your credit the better your chances of opening a merchant account.

They balance the risk associated will all three areas and determine if it is worth it for them to take on your account.

Establishing a merchant account can be anywhere from a smooth and easy process to a nightmare. Where it falls is both the product of the merchant account provider and the merchant themselves. The better the communication between the two the smoother and faster the process is.

An account can be opened in as little as four hours or as long as a few days depending on when the application is submitted and the underwriting guidelines of the processing bank. The application process should never take longer then that without a clear and legitimate reason. If your application is taking two weeks to be approved and you’ve had little to no communication with your sales agent, something is wrong and you should consider canceling your application.

All merchant account providers require that every business sign a contract when establishing their merchant account. At the very least this contract will specify what the merchant’s responsibilities are as well as those of the merchant account provider. The entire contract should be made available to you before you sign it.

To integrate your merchant account into your website you will need to use a payment gateway. A payment gateway basically acts like a credit card terminal for your website. It’s software that runs on someone else’s server and they have an API for connecting to it. All shopping carts have built in support for at least one payment gateway and usually have the ability to support more so you don’t have to do any work to make the gateway work.

I recommend the Authorize.Net payment gateway as they are the most popular, best priced, and easiest to use. Plus they are enabled in every shopping cart by default so you don’t have to go find plug ins or anything for it to work. And if you want to integrate into your website yourself their API is extremely easy to work with. I linked to some free code with a tutorial that should help you along.

Give your answer to this question below!

For Merchants, Bitcoin Shows More Pop Than Potential

For Merchants, Bitcoin Shows More Pop Than Potential
Merchants that accept Bitcoin are trying to attract virtual currency enthusiasts like Mr. Hand.Credit Matthew Staver for The New York Times. Jason Hand had more money in his Bitcoin wallet than in his savings account. So when he wanted a white linen …
Read more on New York Times

PayZang Announces Several New Affordable Pricing Plans For Small Business
No Setup Fees Or Monthly Fees For Standard Accounts – Small businesses dealing with setup fees cutting into their profit margins can get a breather with PayZang merchant services with no setup fees and no monthly fees for standard merchant accounts for …
Read more on PR Web (press release)