It is mandatory for every organization to have an Internet Merchant Account to accept payment online. Various companies, MNCs, offer the required software to run and maintain such accounts.

Every organization should have a checking account with any bank in the US to maintain an Internet Merchant Account. If the organization has not obtained a checking account, there are institutions that will help in obtaining an account from the bank. Some local banks do not offer Internet Merchant Account service.

Many banks offer the entire product, Internet Merchant Account, right from receiving the payment online to crediting it to the organization’s official account. The Internet Merchant Account is also useful to individuals engaged in web-based business activities.

The Internet Merchant Account is the second of the three layers that exist between a customer and the organization. The first and last layers are the payment gateway and the website respectively.

The Payment Gateway completes the initial process like screening the credit card, registering its details, the product ordered, accepting the customer billing information and the necessary validation. This Payment Gateway subsequently transfers all these details to the Merchant Bank Account along with the payment downloaded in an electronic format from the credit card.

To enable this transaction, the website selling the product or engaged in web-based business, should be integrated with the Payment Gateway and the Merchant Bank Account. Without integration, an electronic transaction is not possible.

The Internet Merchant Accounts come at a cost. Usually, there are three price ranges for upfront application fee, ongoing fixed rate, discount rate, fixed transaction fee, termination fee and miscellaneous fee. The range depends on the volume of the business the organization or the website can generate. To begin with, start from a low volume generating business as the prescribed fee is lower. There is scope for scaling up the business and changing the range of the account.

It is advisable to visit banks to evaluate the offers for Internet Merchant Account. Banks are flexible when they offer the package for Internet Merchant Account provided the applicants convince them on the volume of business generation.

Information about Internet Merchant Accounts can be obtained from the internet as well as the banks offering such services. These banks also advertise this particular service on the internet since it is one of the most popular e-transactions adopted by various individuals and organizations engaged in e-commerce.

James Barrinkeris a online credit card processing expert and writes for merchant account and Payment Processing web sites.

The popularity of Paypal, a service which requires consumers to set up accounts similar to an online banking institution, kept many online businesses from opening merchant services for the benefit of their customers. Disadvantages to using the Paypal system were soon evident, however, as bad experiences with the system were publicized by both merchants and consumers. The stigma of a flawed system was not the only consideration for Internet shoppers and online businesses, however. Many consumers were unwilling to use a system that required setting up an account, memorizing yet another password and using a third party to transmit credit card or bank account information.

The level of convenience available to consumers declined sharply as a result of having to navigate a completely new and often confusing separate web site in order to make a simple transaction. On the merchant side of the equation, the realization that Paypal offered no additional fraud protection and charged rates very similar to and often higher than merchant services providers has caused many to second guess it’s usefulness. Of particular concern is that there is simply no way to determine the amount of lost sales due to consumer hesitation aimed at opening a Paypal account.

Consumers generally feel more comfortable using payment formats that mirror those used by their neighborhood retailers. When purchasing small items especially, many will not go through the trouble of spending an additional five to ten minutes online in order to purchase an item that only costs a few dollars. While the prices of these items may be small, the losses incurred by business owners who don’t offer a tried and true merchant account system can be substantial.

Ed Quinton is a certified merchant services instructor and assists online credit card processor companies.