Reviewing the Best Merchant Account Providers

Today we’re highlighting the services of one of the leading providers of credit card processing services – CardAccept (www.cardaccept.com).

CardAccept specializes in merchant services that have helped online and traditional businesses in the United States to accept credit cards since 1993. The company provides the tools for secure real-time online ecommerce and off-line credit card authorizations.

The company has also been on the vanguard of merchant account providers who have not only made the application process easier, but more affordable as well – two moves that have made the benefits of credit card processing available to scores of online business people.

Concerning the latter, CardAccept has waived fees for items that other card service companies charge for, including:

• Merchant account application fee
• Setup fee
• Internet credit card processing software (includes Web terminal)
• Checks by Web/Phone/Fax
• Web shopping cart
• Programming charges

For those not conversant in the merchant services universe, waiving those fees can save a business a lot of money as some providers will ask – and sometimes get – more than $1000 for those goods and services. And that’s before the merchant has processed their first transaction.

When it comes to the fees that all credit card processing providers charge, CardAccept’s rates fall below under the industry average. For example the standard monthly statement fee ranges from $12 to $20 per month; CardAccept’s is fixed at $10 per month. While most charge 35-50 cents for a transaction fee, CardAccept is only 25 cents.

This can become a major issue for an online business person who may be looking at a processor that is advertising deep discounts or low rates. Those companies advertise artificially low “teaser rates” in their proposals, while the real, and often much higher, rates are buried in the fine print of the contract. Or, the low rates apply only to a specific merchant category, such as supermarkets or gas stations.

An additional advantage to working with CardAccept is that they handle all aspects of the business, meaning customers are never dealing with a third party. That means that the company can offer superior customer service because everything is under their direct control.

It also speeds up the process of getting funds into your account – usually funds are deposited into a business’ checking account within 48-72 hours, not once or twice a month like with some third-party processors. This also eliminates the practice of some third-party processors who withhold a part of the proceeds from each sale for up to three months to protect against chargeback’s.

When compared to the industry standard, CardAccept needs to be high on the lost of companies that any online business owner is considering.