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What is a Merchant Account & Payment Gateway?
A merchant account is a special account that is setup for a business
to accept and process credit card orders. After processing a
customers credit card the transaction goes through a series of complex
stages. The money transferred through the merchant account is then
deposited into the business's checking account within 2 to 3 business
days. The payment gateway is the Authorize.net, PayPal,
CyberSource, LinkPoint, SecureNet, NELiX TransaX, etc. software which allows you to process payments through your
merchant account on your website.
What is Automated Recurring Billing?
Automated Recurring billing allows you to
submit customers for automatic recurring payments to your company on the
payment schedule you set. Earth Skater provides custom programming and web
development for Authorize.net ARB recurring billing in ASP / PHP / .NET.
Requirements for a Merchant
Account
Here are the typical requirements to obtain
a merchant account with Earth Skater:
- Your Social Security Number or business Tax ID number to
prove you are a legitimate business.
- Checking or savings account information to deposit your funds
- A printer and fax machine to print, sign, and fax your
merchant application contract
- A copy of a voided check
required to prove this is your bank account
- A web site address with your item or items for sale
for review
- Your website must have your shipping / return / refund / cancellation policy information
Explanation of Credit Card Processing Solutions
In order to process credit and debit cards through your merchant
account you must decide which processing solution is right for you.
Real-Time Processing - The solution for
businesses on the Internet. Real-Time allows you to automatically process
credit card orders through your merchant account with no assistance needed on
your end. Everything is automated, and the funds transferred into the merchant
account, from the cardholder, is deposited into your business checking account,
within a few days. All Real-Time solutions are secure and the purchase of a
secure certificate is not usually required.
Virtual Terminal / Point of Sale - If you expect to receive orders via phone, fax, or mail then
your merchant account and gateway should include a Virtual
Terminal solution. A Virtual Terminal is a secure website point of sale
page where you login and manually
type in a customers credit card information to process a transaction. A Virtual Terminal can be accessed securely from any
computer connected to
the Internet. Most all Real-Time processing solutions
also come with a Virtual Terminal at little or no additional cost. Virtual
Terminals can also double as good mobile processing solutions. |
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