How to Choose a Merchant Account

There are a number of things that it is advisable to look for when choosing a merchant account. What is of most importance will depend on the business in question, and everyone has their own priorities. Here are some things to think about:

Customer Service and Reliability. This is difficult to assess before you actually use a company, but you can get an idea from reading reviews and other peoples experiences.

Transaction Fees. For high-volume businesses this will be the number one cost, and so should be a high priority.

Regular Administration Costs. Expect to pay extra for statements and the like. These costs can be quite significant to low volume businesses.

Setup Fees. These are a once only charge, and so are not very significant over the longer term. Choosing an account specifically because it has no setup charges may result in higher costs later.

Bundled Extras. If a gateway, software or terminals are included then this will save you money and hassle. It may also be useful that the customer service advisers are familiar with them.

Read the Small Print! Then read it again.

You can never do enough research on this topic, so make sure you read every page of this site and talk to as many people as you can before making a decision.