Fifth Third officials say little about merchant 'security breach' that …
“The bank has steps in place to take action when there is any possibility that a customer's account may be compromised,” Rowland said. “In an era of increased information sharing, we're very proud of our sophisticated fraud protection and proactive …
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Cyber crooks target faujis, steal salaries
The accounts targeted are of State Bank of India and Rs 11,000 to over Rs 3 lakh has been stolen from each account. The IP and merchant addresses used are being procured and the initial leads suggest the hackers are based in the US and Canada, …
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Visa launches new tools to secure payments from Internet-connected devices …
"Smartphone manufacturers can securely load a Visa account within a device, merchants can directly embed Visa payment functionality into their mobile apps and financial institutions can offer mobile and online payments as part of their mobile banking …
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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!
Question by Rahul: what is merchant account?
hi guys….
I m working in call centr frm last 4 years and now i m looking forwd to start my own call centr.
i m having enough money to invest….. bt i need info abt merchant account cz its necessary for me, and i dont know anything abt this acc.
I dont know its importance, its requirements and how can i open it and all.
So plz help me out plz….
Best answer:
Answer by Rock
I think its just a simple business license, so that your business income can be taxed.
What do you think? Answer below!
Question by M Shadows: What is the difference between Merchant Account and Payment Gateway?
Online Shopping
Best answer:
Answer by imisidro
Merchant account is a bank authorized account which allows you to accept major credit cards, electronic checks, etc. Note though that rates banks will charge you are higher if you are operating an online store because the “card is not present”
Payment Gateway is a software which actually processes customer order information, address, credit card number, etc. The data is sent to a credit card authorization network which verifies that the credit card is valid and verifies that the shipping address matches the billing address. Example of payment gateway is Authorize.net http://www.authorize.net
If you have only a few items, you can operate without a payment gateway and only with a merchant account — as long as you can manually assess the order and identify signs of fraud. All you need is a merchant account and a terminal where you can manually key in the credit card information
With a payment gateway, the order and credit card information is directly sent to your merchant account. So if the customer pressed the BUY NOW button twice, their card can be charged twice, as against when you manually key in the number, you can ignore the duplicate order
Add your own answer in the comments!
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!
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!
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!
