Comparison Of Internet Merchant Providers In The USA

Having the capability of accepting credit cards and debit cards as payment means is very important for any online business. Customers are more likely to come back again and again to online stores which offer the mode of payment that they are most convenient with. Merchant accounts are commercial bank accounts that allow online businesses to accept credit and debit card payments. Find out about some of the most popular and reliable internet merchant providers in the USA below.

Merchant Providers: Overview

There are quite a lot of Internet merchant providers all across the USA today. With the boom that e-commerce is experiencing, this is not at all a surprising trend. Having a wide array of choices can both be a good and bad thing – good because you have many options and bad because you might experience information overload. Let us look at a few of the top merchant providers in the US briefly.

Charge.com

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Charge.com is a merchant provider which allows your business to accept credit cards and checks via the Internet, phone, or even fax. Charge.com accepts all sorts of businesses and has a 98% approval rate.

CardService International

Having around 185,000 businesses as its clients, CardService International is one of the most trusted names in Internet merchant providers. This merchant provider offer numerous integration tools in order to make it easier for you and your clients to conduct transactions which do not involve cash online. Furthermore, CardService International has expert experience in fraud protection in order to protect your business.

Authorize.net

Authorize.net is perhaps one of the most popular names when it comes to merchant service providers. They are one of the biggest and most trusted merchant service providers in the U.S. Aside from their regular merchant account services, Authorize.net also offers other business enhancing products that make transactions more manageable and efficient for the merchant.

Electronic Transfer Inc.

Electronic Transfer Inc. (ETI) is a very popular name when it comes to Internet merchant providers. They handle all sorts of businesses from small start ups to million dollar entities. Credit card merchant accounts are offered to small businesses, Internet merchants, and even home-based businesses. ETI offers a host of solutions for businesses, including Internet processing and Phone or Mail Order.

Merchant Providers: Rates and Services

When looking for the right Internet merchant provider for your e-business, some of the most important things that you would be looking out for would be the services offered and the accompanying rates. Here is more detailed information with regard to the merchant providers that we discussed in the above paragraphs. To make our comparison more or less uniform, let us take a look at several crucial factors:

Real time processing
Turnkey solutions
American Express acceptance
Diners acceptance
Mastercard acceptance
Visa acceptance
Fees

Charge.com

Charge.com provides real time processing and turnkey solutions. This merchant provider also allows its clients to accept the most popular credit card providers – American Express, Diners, Mastercard, and Visa. Charge.com does not charge a set up fee. However, there is a monthly statement fee of $10.00, a retail transaction fee of 24 cents per transaction, and Internet / Mail / Phone transaction fee of 30 cents per transaction.

CardService International

CardService International also offers real time processing and turnkey solutions. More so, the major credit cards we are considering for comparison purposes are also all accepted by this merchant provider. CardService has various products to fit the specific kind of business wanting to avail of a merchant account. Unfortunately, their web site does not give information regarding the pricing but they do give out this information through their hotline, 1-800-976-6502.

Authorize.net

The features for a standard payment gateway are:

Various connection methods
Customer support
Merchant interface
Virtual terminal/batch upload
Security
Verified merchant seal

Additional features include:

Automated recurring billing
eCheckNet
Fraud Detection Suite

To find out about the specific pricing, it would be best to contact them directly.

Electronic Transfer Inc.

ETI provides real time processing and turnkey solutions and accepts all major credit cards as well. Its pricing is quite attractive, at $9.95 for the monthly statement fee. The Internet processing rate falls to 29 cents per transaction. For its secure gateway services, you can opt for a one time fee of $49 or 10 cents per transaction.