Payment Gateways and Internet Merchant Account Vendors
Most of our clients that are enabling their online stores ask us for information and a recommendation regarding taking credit cards on the Internet with their e-commerce or BigCommerce Store. 
To process Internet payment transactions, you need both a Payment Gateway and a Merchant Vendor. Some companies such as PayPal are both, but as your online store sales grows and to get the best rates, you will eventually need both a Payment Gateway Vendor and an Internet Merchant Account Vendor. We initially recommend you signup for a No Monthly Fee Payment Gateways/Internet Merchant Account Vendor. These accounts such as PayPal and SecureNet are free and you only pay when you use them. The PayPal Accounts are useful if your customers are members of the growing PayPal Community of Online Shoppers
After you do this, we recommend you contact your local Bank and ask them to provide you with their contact for a Merchant Account. Tell them you already have an Authorize.net Payment Gateway Account with your e-Commerce Store Vendor, and that you want a Credit Card Merchant Account for processing online website payments and other related services (see other services below). This is a fiercely competitive market with hundreds of Merchant/Payment Vendors, many wanting Contact Terms such as a multiple year agreements and Monthly Fees. There are also many fees and it’s usually difficult for almost every business to obtain and understand the entire fee schedule until you get first bill. We recommend you sign a month-to-month agreement and ask for their detailed Fee Schedule before signing an Agreement. You can use the free account while you are negotiating your Agreement. Most banks such as Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo have their preferred Merchant Account Vendor.
We recommend using the Authorize.net Payment Gateway since it is a widely used and reliable platform. These Payment Gateways and Merchant Account Systems need to have 99.999% reliability and uptime. The good news is that the setup of these Gateways and Merchant Accounts are much easier in recent years. We can enable a new Merchant Account very easily. Every business should have multiple Merchant Accounts, one to be used as a backup. At the very least, a PayPal Account can act as a backup alternative for your customers.
A Comparison of Payment Gateway and Internet Merchant Account Vendors
Vendors with No Monthly Fee |
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Vendors with a Monthly Fee |
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