Everyone that runs an online business has to answer the question: which merchant account provider should I choose? There are literally thousands of providers out there that offer similar services. The purpose of this article is to clue you in on what you should be looking for in a merchant account provider.

Price

When it comes down to it, money is the most important consideration. Providers have a wide array of fees that they access. Most providers require a setup fee for the service and then a monthly fee. It amazes me how much some people are paying for these services! Try to look for a company that doesnt require a setup fee and has a low monthly payment.

Another fee that is added is a percentage of each transaction. These interest rates are calculated by how much you process in a month. The more money you process a month, the lower your interest rate will be. Part of the interest rate is accessed by the credit card company (Visa, Mastercard, etc), so there is a limit for how low you can get your rate. The key here is to compare rates between providers to get the lowest rate.

Features

For e-commerce, the provider should have a good interface for your web site. If youre using a e-commerce software such as osCommerce, make sure your provider is supported. If you, or your developer, is designing the system, make sure the company has good support for interfacing with their payment system. Some providers will offer an API (Application Program Interface) so that you have sample code to connect to the payment system. This is VERY helpful if you are designing your own system.

Recommendations

I try to remain unbiased in all of my articles, but I think Ive found the perfect merchant account provider. Paypal, owned by Ebay, has recently got into the merchant account business. They have a very low monthly rate, good interest rates, and a great API!