Merchant Account Services Review

In today's digital and physical marketplace, retailers simply must accept debit and credit cards to survive. Electronic transactions have replaced cash as the primary method to accept credit cards in highly developed countries economies. Merchant account services allow these transactions to take place; therefore, if you don't have a merchant account, you cannot accept credit or debit card payments. If you can't accept these payments, your business cannot survive in the modern economy.

We rated and ranked all the best merchant account services available today. When our research concluded, the top three products Flagship Merchant Services, Merchant Warehouse and National Bankcard earned our coveted TopTenREVIEWS Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. We also created informative articles on merchant account services.

Merchant services are not just for accepting credit and debit cards. The best merchant services allow you to accept multiple forms of payment, including electronic and paper checks, money orders and traveler's checks. Some merchant account services even allow you to turn your smartphone or tablet into a mobile cash register so you can accept payments literally anywhere if you have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. We've created this site to provide you with the best merchant account comparisons and reviews.

As with any business venture, there are risks associated with accepting digital payments. It's much easier for criminals and con artists to counterfeit digital payments or steal other people's payment information and use it to purchase goods and services from retailers. The best merchant account services have built-in secure processing procedures and fraud protection to shield retailers from being stuck with the bill in the case of fraudulent purchases.

Merchant Account Services: What to Look For

Although the actual processing of payments is nearly universally the same across all merchant account services, the best companies have high approval ratings, get your account up and running quickly, have low start-up and monthly fees, offer great customer service and posses a wide array of hardware for their clients. It takes a combination of all of these things to stand out in the merchant account service marketplace.

Average Approval Rating
This term means something a bit different in a merchant-account context than it does in common usage. The approval rating for merchant account services refers to the percentage of applications a company approves. The higher a service's approval rating, the higher the chance you have of getting a merchant account through that service. This is an important number to know, especially if the service charges an application fee.

Cost per Month
It does you as a retailer very little good to accept payments if the merchant account service takes more in fees than you make in profit. The best merchant account services offer low monthly service fees as well as low per-transaction costs.

Start-up Cost
Any merchant account service that makes it too expensive to start accepting payments shouldn't warrant your consideration. Some services can cost as much as $300 before you can even accept a dime in payments. The best services charge you nothing to set up a merchant account.

Account Set-up Time
In addition to having low start-up and monthly costs, the best merchant account services turn your application around within a day or two after you submit it. Lesser services can take up to a week.

Customer Service
Allowing a company to handle your payments involves a huge amount of trust. If a company does not have great customer service, it doesn't deserve to handle your livelihood.

Internet-based Features
More and more companies are moving to a primarily online business model. Therefore, virtual terminals and gateways are features we look at very carefully.

POS Swiper Features
Brick-and-mortar retail outlets are not going away, no matter what the digital evangelists may say. You will always be able to walk into a store with money and walk out with goods or services. The best merchant account services provide a wide array of point-of-sale hardware for your physical retail outlet.

A merchant account is a simple but important thing. When you are shopping for a merchant account service, always keep in mind that the service needs you more than you need it. There is no reason to go with anything less than the best company you can find.

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