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Merchant Account - FAQ
This section is intended to be more than just an F.A.Q. section for our own services, but rather a comprehensive guide to the merchant account process. If there is a question you don't see an answer to, please feel free to contact us and we will add it to our database.
Q. What is a merchant account, and do I need one?
A. A merchant account is set up with a financial institution to allow you to accept credit card payments directly from your clients. Unlike with most third-party services, money collected through your merchant account is deposited directly into your checking account within 2 to 3 business days. You need a merchant account if you want to take credit card payments from your clients using your own business name, and having the money deposited directly into your business checking account.
Q. Do you offer merchant accounts to businesses outside the United States?
A. Yes. The Premium Managed Account is available for businesses worldwide. Please Contact us for more information about this type of account. Q. Do I
Need a Shopping Cart for Online Sales? A. Yes, you need a Shopping Cart to sell products and services from your website. Our Premium Managed Account comes built-in with Free Shopping Cart software.
Q. How long does it take to get set up? A. From the time
we receive your application, it generally takes 1 - 3 days to receive your approval.
A. We have a 98%
approval rate, so it's very unlikely that you wouldn't get approved. We
will go over all the details of your business before you apply, so we will do
our best to be sure that you will get approved. If, for some reason, you
are denied, you will be refunded your setup fee, less a $25 processing charge.
A. Yes. We do not accept Adult, Casino or Gambling Businesses
as well as accounts where a principal business owner has an
open bankruptcy are not allowed to apply.
Q. What if I don't get approved?
Q. Are there any businesses that you do not allow to apply?
A. Funds are deposited
directly into your checking account, within 24 - 48 hours.
A. A chargeback
occurs when a customer disputes a charge on their statement by contacting the
credit card company instead of contacting you. If a customer does not recognize
the charge on their statement, or if they believe the amount was wrong, they may
call their credit card company and ask them to investigate. Thus begins
the chargeback. The merchant bank will charge you a fee for the retrieval
of information, and if it is determined that the customer is right, there will
be another fee for the chargeback itself. The customer will be refunded
their money directly through the credit card company and your checking account
will be debited. Eventually, if your account has excessive chargebacks,
the bank may choose to cancel your account. The more you do to protect yourself
against chargebacks, the better off you'll be. There is a great forum on
this topic at merchant911.org. It's absolutely free and they will provide
you with tools and information to help you cut down on the amount of chargebacks
and fraudulent orders you will receive.
Q. What is the difference between qualified, mid-qual, and non-qual transactions?
A. Qualified discount rate is applied for all transactions meeting the "normal" operating guidelines as outlined below:
* All Merchants
Close batches daily
* Retail (Terminal) Merchants
Magnetically swiped & electronically authorized charges
* Internet / MOTO Merchants
Electronically authorize charges using AVS and including order numbers for Visa
and MasterCard transactions
Mid-Qualified discount rate is applied for all transactions meeting the operating guidelines as outlined below:
* Retail (Terminal)
Merchants
Manually keyed orders using AVS & order number on Visa and MasterCard transactions.
* Internet / MOTO Merchants
There is no
mid-qual rate for Internet / MOTO merchants.
Non-Qualified discount rate is applied for all transactions meeting the operating guidelines as outlined below:
* All Merchants
- Not Closing batches daily
- Not using AVS & providing order numbers on manually
keyed or Internet transactions for Visa Cards
- High Risk Merchants (Visa Transactions Only)
- Following Card Types:
: Business and Corporate cards
: MasterCard/Visa Business cards
: Procurement cards (Government)
: Visa Signature cards
: MasterCard World cards
Q. What is the statement fee?
A. The statement fee is charged by the bank each month to process and send you your statement.
Q. What is the gateway fee?
A. The gateway
fee is charged by the real-time processor you have chosen for your account (if
you signed up for an Internet account. We use Authorize.net as our gateway.
Q. What is the AVS fee?
A. The AVS fee
is charged by the processor to allow you to use the Address Verification System
on your Internet and MOTO charges to protect against fraudulent orders.
This is in addition to
your regular merchant account fees.
Q. What is the Overlimit fee?
A. When you apply
for your merchant account, you indicate how much monthly volume you expect to
process. As such, your account is approved for that amount and if you go
over you may be subject to an overlimit fee. You may be able to avoid the
overlimit fee in any given month if you believe your sales will be over the top
by calling customer service and letting them know in advance. If your sales
will continue to be over the limit for the following months, you can simply ask
them to bump you up to the next level, which may require some paperwork.
Q. How do I get set up for Discover Card and American Express?
A. When you sign up for your merchant account, you are signing up to accept MasterCard and Visa transactions only unless you choose to add Discover Card and AMEX at the same time. Please note, they do charge different discount rates than your regular account, and they send you separate statements as well. Please be sure to ask for more details.
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