E-commerce merchant account for small businesses.

Most small businesses are familiar with merchant accounts. What you may not know is that the merchant account you use for your business may not allow online or direct response (mail) sales. The difference in the accounts stems from whether or not you have the card in your hand when the order is placed.

Many banks require that you have a separate account for your online e-commerce sales. A separate account for online e-commerce may mean additional monthly fees for maintaining the account in addition to the credit card fees and transaction fees. And, in some cases, bank merchant accounts require that they use their payment gateway or online terminal (a secure Internet site that allows you to enter credit card orders) which comes at an additional cost. Some of these costs can be several hundred dollars.

If you are considering an online e-commerce solution for your business your first step should be to talk to your e-commerce solution provider. We can help you understand the options your bank or financial institution is offering and provide you with a list of options. In many cases we can reduce your overall cost of setting up and maintaining an e-commerce merchant account.