5 Types Of Merchant Accounts For All Businesses

Accepting credit card payments are a key function for a business. When making transactions across the globe, online or in person, credit cards are one of the most common forms of payment.Credit card processors provide the systems to accept payments in many ways. Depending on your business, you should be using a merchant processor that has experience in your industry. Moreover, choosing between the various options can be a challenge.

To make the process easier, we have put together the different types of merchant accounts that your business might be a good fit for.

Retail Merchant Accounts

Traditionally, businesses that have face-to-face customers would need a retail merchant account. In these accounts, customers physically walk into a location or meet a sales representative in person. Then, the payment is processed by swiping the credit card into a point of sale system. Or, if the credit card has a chip, then it would need to be inserted into the POS system. Since the sale is happening at the retail level, this type of merchant account would work for many brick and mortar businesses. If you have a physical retail store or location, your business would probable use a retail merchant account.

Ecommerce Merchant Account

A second popular type of merchant account, an Ecommerce account serves many online businesses. These accounts would help online retailers, subscription services or Software-as-a-Platform companies collect payments. In order to receive payment, the customer simply enters their credit card information into a secure webpage. The processor handles all of the sensitive data so that the information is encrypted. Once the input is received, the payment processor charges the amount to the customer and they are directed to a confirmation page. To take payments entirely online, make sure you have an ecommerce merchant account.

High Risk Merchant Accounts

If you operate a business where there is a chance for many chargebacks, then you may need a high risk merchant account. In many industries like airline travel, debt collection and high priced ticket items, there can be many charge backs along the way. In this case, a high chargeback merchant account would help your business maintain profitability and protect your account. Although the costs might be higher for each transaction, this type of account would allow your business to keep accepting payments and worry less about losing money on high priced items due to charged backs.

Restaurant Merchant Accounts

Similar to retail accounts, your business does accept payments via swiping the credit card. However, customers who pay with a credit card also need to add their tip for service. With a restaurant payment processor, your servers can charge the card and then add the tip after the customer specifies the amount they desire. This added functionality allows a restaurant business to charge customers with the tip added after the initial charge. If you are a restaurant business owner, then the specialized merchant account would work nicely for your location.

Mobile Merchant Accounts

Gaining more popularity, mobile merchant accounts are great for many types of business. With a mobile merchant, you can process credit cards right from your mobile device. Instead of needing a direct connection, you have wireless access to charge your customers anywhere. This is a great feature for anyone who is traveling for business, sells at trade show events or works between different locations. For example, a contractor can accept payments from his customers on the job site rather than waiting to get back to the office to process a payment. For professional businesses like lawyers, architects, accountants and others who meet clients in different locations, you might find mobile merchant accounts a great benefit to your business.

You can choose between these various types of merchant accounts for business. Keep in mind, the rates for each account can vary because of the risk level involved in each transaction. Moreover, they all have different payment processors that specialize in types of merchant processing. Take a fair analysis of your business and then choose which account will work best for you. If you simply need a traditional merchant account, then you can use a retail merchant account. Or, if you plan on growing an online business, an ecommerce processing account will work best. Additionally, you can try out specialized accounts for high risk businesses, restaurants and business owners on the go. With the number of types of merchant accounts available, you should be able to choose the one that suits your business best.

Merchant Accounts