SquareUp takes many precautions to ensure that both your data and the customers information is protected and secure. Payments will be deposited directly to your bank account, you don’t have to wait days for them to go through numerous payment systems before you actually receive the money. Square makes lump payments every night except Saturday. Any payments processed before noon will be sent that night, payments processed after noon will be sent the next evening. So what does it cost you to use Square for your payment processing needs? For a regular swiped purchase the fee is a flat 2.5%, no other fees or hidden charges apply. Another option with Square payment processing is to enter the credit card information manually into the application. If you don’t have the card reader or have a problem with it reading a particular card, you can simply input all the details into the system, this type of Square payment has slightly higher fees associated with it at 3.5% plus 15 cents per transaction.

The Square payment processing was first introduced in early 2010 and the company already employees more than 100 people. Square was co-founded by Twitter creator Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. The company continues to grow and introduce new products like the Card Case and Register programs. Card Case is for individuals to set up their own merchant account that is linked to a credit or debit card, allowing them to make purchases from compatible merchants with their account without ever having to swipe a card, is application also keeps digital receipts all in one location. Register is another application providing point of sale software that is designed to replace traditional credit card terminals and cash registers. Square’s currently valued at more than a billion dollars.

Payment processing has never been easier. Visit SquareUp.com to learn more about the Square payment processing service. Sign up and they will send you a Square card reader for free. Accept all major credit cards i.e. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.  Setup is quick and easy, you will be able to accept credit cards within a matter of minutes. Read some Square reviews to see what others have to say about this simple, effective way to accept credit cards wherever you are! There is no setup fee, no activation fee, no monthly fee, no gateway fee, no chargeback fee. Seriously, all you pay is the percentage that is automatically deducted from the actual sale.

The best merchant services for one business may not be the best for everyone but reading some merchant account reviews can give users an idea of what features are offered with each and help narrow down the search. For 2012 we recommend Merchant Warehouse. Started in 1989, Merchant Warehouse has been in the business for more than 10 years. With more than 100,000 customers over the years, Merchant Warehouse has had the opportunity to prove just how reliable and secure their service is. When it comes to payment processing, and especially accepting credit cards online, there is nothing more important than security and reliability. Any business that needs a reliable means of payment processing knows how crucial it is to be able to keep their customer’s financial and personal data secure.

The next thing to consider when looking for the best merchant account is fees, how much does the company charge you to process payments, how much does it cost to get setup and how much are you going to have to spend on equipment. There are some start up costs to get a merchant account setup, however; with Merchant Warehouse the fess are minimal and they guarantee to price match quotes from a verifiable competitor. What this means is, if you find a verified merchant account provider that gives you a quote that is less - or if you can provide two months worth of statements and a contract with your current provider, Merchant Warehouse will match that price and give you an additional $10 off your purchase.

In addition to top of the line equipment and the lowest processing fees, Merchant Warehouse is also known for providing excellent customer service. Merchant Warehouse reviews, and our own experience, testify to the fact they are dedicated to providing all of their customers with the help and support that is needed get your merchant account setup and to answer any questions that may arise along the way. In order to provide an accurate pricing schedule, Merchant Warehouse will analyze your exact processing needs to determine exactly what you need and what the best merchant solutions will be for your business and then give you a custom quote. Potential customers can call or fill in a short form on the Merchant Warehouse website to get started.

Merchant Warehouse may or may not be the best merchant services to meet your needs but we do recommend you check them out, along with a couple of the other top merchant providers, to see if they can best meet your payment processing needs. Whether you are in need of online, wireless or point of sale credit card processing, Merchant Warehouse has the equipment, software, and programs needed to meet all of your merchant account needs. Read our merchant account reviews to compare some of the best merchant account providers and find the one that will best meet your needs.

Visit Merchant Warehouse Now! 

Visit HostGator to Get your FREE Toll Free Number Now!

HostGator reviews show that their Business plan is one of the best business hosting plans on the market today. Not only do you get the free toll free number with HostGator’s business plan but you will have a number of other freebies to make hosting your business website secure and effective. When looking for the best web hosting plan you will notice that most companies do not provide a free dedicated IP or a free private SSL certificate, at HostGator both of these come standard with every Business web hosting plan. Of course, all the HostGator web hosting plans have unlimited free web space and bandwidth as well as a free site builder, 24/7 support, instant backups and require no contract. You web hosting account includes a 99.9% uptime guarantee, meaning your site will be available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The 45 day money back guarantee let’s you try the HostGator service risk-free to make sure it is the best fit for your business website.

The HostGator team knows what it takes to run a successful online business and as such they include shopping cart software, the best merchant account options and even online advertising credits to help you advertise your business website. HostGator has teamed up with iPayment to provide their business customers with the guaranteed lowest rates for payment processing. Benefits include: free setup, free payment gateway setup, free virtual terminal, free fraud detection suite, no processing minimum requirements, no contract, and 24 hour customer service. Even if you already have a merchant account, you can switch now and start saving money today!

To learn more about the free toll free number offered with your HostGator business account, read the VOIPo review to learn about one of the best VoIP providers in the industry. The founder of VOIPo used to be a HostGator executive so there is a long-standing business relationship between the two companies that make this one of the best business partnerships today. The idea of combining these two services was to let each company focus on what they do best while offering added value to the end customers of both. Your free toll free number can have calls transferred to your current phone number so you don’t have to worry about changing phone numbers or having another business phone number to monitor and manage. The only stipulation is that the number has to be called at least once in every 30 day period to keep your number active. Not a problem considering you can call your own number once a month to make sure that this requirement is met every month.  

Use our HostGator links in this post to visit the official HostGator site for more details or to get started today. Our HostGator links have a HostGator coupon code embedded in them so using them will automatically give you a discount on any HostGator service. After a thorough HostGator review and VOIPo review, we highly recommend both of these services for any business in need of web hosting and a toll-free business number. If you don’t have a website for your business, get started on it today!

HostGator Coupon + Free Toll Free Business Number

Of course there are are a number of things to consider before becoming a virtual merchant. What is the market saturation like? Do a lot of research about the need for the product or service you are looking to sell, find out how many virtual merchants are offering the same or similar services. Do some research on those businesses currently in the market to see what kind of marketing they are using and how well their websites ranking in search engine results for keywords relating to the business. If there is not a lot of competition, or if the virtual merchants in the market are not particularly well optimized and using marketing effectively, you could have a very good chance of entering the market as a virtual merchant and doing very well.

For the virtual merchant, marketing is probably the most important aspect of your business. How successful you are in an online market all depends on whether or not consumers can find your product or service. To have a website you will have to have web hosting. Many of the best web hosting service providers offer free online advertising and marketing credits for Google AdWords and other search engine marketing credits. Take advantage of this type of marketing. Set up a Facebook and Twitter account and get your family and friends to “Like” your page and share it with others. Once you have some steady business, get customers to write reviews that you can shared on your webpage. Interact with your customers through your Facebook and Twitter accounts to let others see that you are involved and interested in your customers satisfaction. You may also consider text message marketing, this is a relatively new marketing effort that has shown great potential.

Once you decide that being a virtual merchant is the right choice for you, make sure you find a merchant account provider that will be reliable in processing payments online. There are many merchant account providers advertising their services on the Internet. Make sure you do your research and read some merchant account reviews to find the best merchant account provider for your type of business and your business needs. Choosing a company that has been in business for a number of years and has built a reputation for being fair, reliable and honest will help ensure you have a positive experience. There are many merchant account providers that have a lot of experience with virtual merchants and can give you an idea of exactly what you will need to accept credit cards online and keep private information secure.

Visit WebHostRanking.com for information on the best web hosting and BestShoppingCartReviews.com for more information on shopping cart software, some of the shopping cart systems are hosted carts that will include the web hosting with the shopping cart software. There are many options available, you will have to do some research to find the solution that is right for your business. Keep in mind that being a virtual merchant requires constant monitoring and change. The virutal world changes very quickly and if you fail to keep up on the changes and trends you can quickly fall from the first pages of Google to buried 100s of pages deep. Learn about search engine optimization (SEO) and online advertising to help with your search engine placement. Use website analytics and make changes to your site and marketing efforts as need.

In this post we briefly discuss what the Durbin Amendment is and then take a look at how the Durbin Amendment affects merchants and businesses using merchant services. The Durbin Amendment, in essence, places a cap on per transaction “swipe fees” banks can charge on debit card transactions. The limit used to be 44 cents, the new limit has been reduced to 21 cents. What does this mean? Banks are losing part of their profit from every debit card transaction, estimates say banks will lose between $5 and $10 billion a year.  The cap is meant to force banks to charge a reasonable fee, based on their actual costs for processing the payment, to merchants.

Obviously if banks are looking to lose up to $5 billion a year, they aren’t going to just stand by and ignore the change. Already Bank of America has announced that they will charge a $5 monthly charge to customers making debit card purchases. Other banks including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase have announced a “test” monthly fee of $3, that they are trying out in selected locations. It seems as though banks are losing money, merchant account providers are saving money, and the end customer is going to be the one paying for it. Already talk of customers switching to credit card purchases instead of debit card purchases, fees for other banking services such as a checking account, or reduction of rewards programs and free premium banking services are all possible effects of the Durbin Amendment.

It is hard to tell what the long term results will be. Right now there is much speculation about how banks will handle the change and how costumers will respond if banks start charging monthly fees for making debit card purchases. The Amendment was created with the idea of saving merchants money. Because the merchant is the one paying these fees, it would stand to reason that they would be the ones receiving the big break. However, there are arguments that most merchant service providers use acquirers, or middle-men, and that they would be the ones to actually reap the benefits.

The Durbin Amendment itself is actually pretty simple, the complicated part is how it will affect the many different financial institutions, and then customers and their behaviors. Right now those looking for merchant services will probably not see any difference in pricing of fees until the merchant account providers find out how they will be affected. Right now there is still a lot of controversy about the Durbin Amendment and whether it is good or bad. Consumers are upset because if banks are losing money, they will be charging more for their service, thus costing customers more money. We will keep an eye of the Durbin Amendment news to see just what happens.

#1 Ideas of What to Sell at Your Online Store
The first step in starting an online store is coming up with ideas for what you want to sell in your online store. To begin with, you may just jot down a long list of items that you think are popular and that you think you would be able to sell for a profit. Take into consideration the amount of money you have available for purchasing the product, the price per item, if you can sell the product without having to actually take possession of it (through the help of a drop-shipper or some other third-party entity) and the long term popularity of each item.

#2 Research Your Ideas, See if They are a Good Option for an Online Store
This is the hard part. You really have to do a lot of research to find out what has the greatest chance of success. Just because iPhones are really popular doesn’t mean that you are going to be able to make a business out of selling them. The cost of purchasing them and then reselling them to an already over-saturated market where the “Big Guys” can sell the same product at a huge discount, is going to make it impossible for you to achieve success. So not only do you have to research what is popular and what a reasonable mark-up rate is going to make you, you also have to figure out how much competition there is for the same or similar product, what the current and future trends are that may influence the popularity of the item, and how you will be able to market it. If you are selling your own product you can take a look at some competitors websites to get an idea of what you like and don’t like and how you can differentiate your marketing strategy.

#3 Form a Company or Business Name to Opearte Your Online Store Under
Depending on the scope of your business venture there are a number of business types to consider. A sole proprietorship is the most basic type of business and can work for an individual that wants to run a business on his/her own with full responsibility and reliability for both the profit and loss the business may incur. For a more involved business one may want to consider forming a corporation, partnership, or some other type of business entity. This is going to be a very individual decision and will be based on the type of business you are doing, amount of capital (start up costs) one is going to need, etc.

#4 Secure a Domain Name for Your Online Store
Once you decide on the product, business name, and such you will need to register a domain name. Many people don’t think about this but this is an incredibly vital part of starting an online store. Branding and marketing are crucial when it comes to doing online business. As a brand new start-up company it is going to take some significant marketing to get your name out there and let people know what you are selling. Your domain name should be relevant to your business, easy to spell, and as short as possible. If your business name is not available as a dot com check out other domain extensions that may be relevant or easy to remember: .us, .tv, or .is are just a couple of the many possibilities.

#5 Create the Actual Online Store
After all the previous steps have been completed one can actually start thinking about the process of creating the online store. Luckily there are MANY options online that can make this step relatively easy. Some options include web hosting that includes shopping cart software, website templates, and payment processing (e.g. merchant account) options. These will take some knowledge to setup and get ready to go, but hosts such as BlueHost or FatCow provide a lot of online tutorials and also have live customer support that can help you get started. Other options include companies like BigCommerce or Volusion, these “hosted shopping cart solutions” are designed specifically for ecommerce websites.

Visit Volusion or BigCommerce for full details.

or

Checkout BlueHost or FatCow for special web hosting deals.

In the redesign, visitors will find new category headings, newly arranged merchant service articles, merchant account comparisons, and merchant account reviews. For webmasters that are simply looking for a comparison of some of the most popular merchant services, visit the Merchant Account Comparisons page. Popular articles here include our Google Checkout vs PayPal comparison and our ProPay vs PayPal comparison. Watch for future comparisons as we continue to expand our website and add even more merchant account comparisons. For business owners that need more information about accepting credit cards and the credit card equipment required, our credit card equipment category has information about virtual terminals, wireless credit card machines, and much more.

As you know, there is much more to a business than just merchant account services. That is why we have also included a Merchant Related category that includes information about ecommerce web hosting, shopping cart software, small business loans, and other useful information that business owners need to know to get his/her new business venture off the ground. No matter what type of merchant account information one is looking for, we have it covered. If you just don’t understand what a merchant account is or how merchant accounts work, or if you need more information about high risk merchant accounts, 100Best Merchant Accounts provides details to help you make educated decisions about the best merchant service is for your business.

If you are a merchant account provider and we don’t have a review of your company on our website, please visit the Get Listed page for details about how you can submit your company for review. We do only review the best merchant account providers that offer valuable services to business owners. If your business is a reputable, honest business that provides services that are useful to business owners, we would love to hear from you. Take a minute to check out the redesign and share your thoughts with us about what you like and what we can add to better answer your questions about merchant services.

What Is a Merchant Account and Why Would a Non-Profit Want One?

A merchant account allows a merchant to accept credit card and debit card charges, either through a Point of Sales system (POS) where the physical card is swiped, online, or both. Although a merchant account may sound like something that is at odds with what a non-profit is about, the fact that it allows donors to use a credit card may work to the non-profits advantage. Whereas with a donation made with cash or a check, the donor only reaps the benefit on his or her tax return (and in his or her heart), with a credit card, the donor can also earn points, miles, etc., making this kind of donation more popular.

What Stands in the Way of Non-Profits Getting Merchant Accounts?

The key is to keep the set-up fees, monthly fees, and transaction fees low enough to make it worthwhile.  This may be a bit difficult to figure out, because the fee structures can be quite arcane, so if you’re not experienced in this area, a financial adviser can help you sort it out. If you’re doing your own calculations, look for terms like:

• application fees
• set-up fees
• gateway setup fees
• monthly fees
• reports fee
• account fee
• statement fee
• transaction fee
• per item fee

In addition to the fees, if you are collecting donors personal and credit card information, you will need to meet PCI compliance standards for safely maintaining that information on your servers. This introduces a whole additional area of oversight and expense.

If you’re planning a large fund-raising push, it’s very likely worth the investment of time and effort to figure out how to do this. If you’re not getting regular credit card donations, you could end up paying a great deal for the occasional use. Now, if you could just get a donor to cover your credit card processing fees . . .

What Are Some Merchant Accounts for NonProfits that You Should Consider?

There are sevveral merchant account providers that are recommended for nonprofits. These include The Raiser’s Edge and DonorPerfect, both of which focus on the specialized needs of non-profits.

What Are Some Alternatives to Non-Profit Merchant Accounts?

A merchant account is not the only alternative for accepting credit cards.  A third-party processor uses its own merchant account and holds the donation for you, exacting a transaction fee for its service.

You could consider creating a donation system on your website that incorporates PayPal for example. Through PayPal, donors can use their credit card information without you’re having to know or maintain it. It takes a little longer to get your money, but it may be worth it, especially if you can convince your donors to add a little to their donation to cover any transaction fees. Network for Good iand Democracy in Action are other third-party processors through which your donors can make donations.

When it comes to finding home business merchant accounts the business owner may need to look for a high risk merchant account provider, typically a merchant account provider is taking more risks with a home based business. A home based business often consists of a single individual with no business experience or business credit history to show how stable his/her financial assets are. If the business owner has previous business experience or has had a merchant account with a previous processor this may have some impact on how easy it is to open a home business merchant account.

The first thing a business owner needs to decide is how he/she wants to accept payments. Will all orders be placed online through shopping cart software, PayPal, or some other online payment processing method? Or will the business have customers that come directly to the home. Will the business accept mail or telephone orders? Each of these things will help determine the type of credit card processing tools a business will need. Some things the merchant account provider may need to know include how long the business has been open, credit and financial history of the business owner (unpaid loans, bankruptcies, liens, judgements, etc), and any previous merchant account providers the business owner has dealt with.  

Be honest about personal and business financial history, it is easier to explain a black mark on your credit up front than to have it thrown in your face later and have to try to explain why you were “covering it up”.  Expect to pay slightly higher fees, because a home based business is a more “high risk” type of business, most merchant accounts will charge slightly higher rates for their services. Be sure to ask about discount rate, transaction fees, equipment fees and charges, minimum or maximum volume allowed, reserve fees, chargeback fees, as well as what type of ecommerce features and tools the merchant account will support and work with like shopping cart software, payment gateways, virtual terminals, and the web hosting provider your business will be using (if applicable).

Read some merchant account reviews to see whom other business owners use for their merchant account services and then talk to the company yourself. Ask every question you can think of about fees and rates charged for any type of service or purchase or circumstance that you can foresee ever happening. Find out how the company deals with chargebacks, what kind of fraud protection they provide, and ask for a disclosure of ALL rates and fees that may be charged, read through it all, even if you think most of the circumstances will not apply to your business. Businesses often face a number of situations that are not expected or anticipated.

Check out the merchant websites listed below to learn more about these highly recommended merchant account providers:

Merchant Warehouse

Charge.com

In light of all that has happened with credit card companies because of the most recent recession, credit card companies are being prohibited from certain industry revenue practices these huge companies used to count on to make money. As a result, new credit card processing fees to the merchant and the consumer are popping up everywhere. Some of these changes include lowering credit limits and switching from fixed to variable interest rates. There are also several new, different types of obscure fees that consumers need to watch out for including reward redemption fees. Many consumers and credit card users might pick a credit card company based on the fact that many will offer various rewards. However, just because it is a reward that does not mean you should expect it to be free. This type of fee is usually associated with airline miles redemption. However there are some ways around being charged the fee. Each credit card company is different so if you are looking for a way around being charged the fee, be sure to check with your credit card company to be sure.

Another one of the most obscure, but becoming increasingly common credit card fees are foreign transaction fees. This credit card fee is charged to conduct transactions that involve a foreign bank. This is something international travelers must be very cautious of when traveling. Be sure you know and understand exactly how much the fees are before you plan to use your credit card while traveling or you could come home to an entire mess of fees. Other fees include reward recovery fees. This usually happens when the user is late with their payment and they will get their reward fees taken away in addition to the late fee the user is also charged. Activity fees are also charged to customers who don’t use their credit card. If you have your credit card for emergencies only be sure to make sure and sign up with a credit card company that will not charge you for not using your card otherwise you will end up paying regardless.

When it comes to merchant account services it is important for both consumers and merchants to know and understand all of the fees and interest rate information that is associated with their merchant account and credit card account. Another type of fee that is a bit more common is the payment protection fee. While this fee has been around for a lot longer than the newer fees popping up, it is becoming more expensive. However, users are typically concerned about knowing if their credit card information has been stolen or compromised. This is why many credit card users will be willingly charged this credit card fee. However, some credit card companies are better than others. Be sure to shop around to see which companies offer the best security for a reasonable price. Other fees now are beginning to include the paper statement fees. Most credit card companies are working to develop a paperless system that can actually save both the customer and them money. However, if a person still wants a paper statement each month, they are going to have to be willing to pay for it. Knowing and understanding all of the fees associated with each credit card company is important in understanding which merchant account services are the best option for you and your business.