A Merchant Account enables a merchant to accept payments through debit or credit cards. For a business to exist and thrive in a competitive business world striving towards a “cashless society” a merchant must offer customers the option to pay by card. Therefore any merchant who wants to accept credit card payments should operate a Merchant Account with one of the many institutions providing the service such as Solid Trust Pay.

A Merchant Account such as the service offered by Solidtrustpay acts as an interface between the merchant’s business account and the customer’s bank account. When a credit card is used as a mode of payment, the computer or the wipe machine would collect data such as the card number, expiry date, available funds and credit limit and send that information to the financial institution issuing the card which will verify the details and if the payment is authorized the transfer of funds will be made to the Merchant Account such as the ones operated by Solid Trust Pay, whereupon the Merchant Account will deduct its fees and transfer the funds to the merchant’s account.

There are different types of Merchant Accounts available. These are categorized according to the different rules and regulations relating to the operation of the accounts and according to the fees charged.

Retail Merchant Accounts: requires a card to be swiped through a credit card terminal and have very strict rules relating to the operation of the account and requires a high percentage of credit card sales to be maintained. These accounts charge the lowest fees per transaction and are offered by Merchant Bank service providers such as Solidtrustpay for businesses that are not into online or mail order business and are commonly used in grocery stores and restaurants.

MOTO Merchant Accounts: Mail order/ Telephone Order are used where the card cannot be physically swiped and the card information is manually entered through a point of sale system, terminal or payment gateway. These accounts usually charge a higher rate per transaction.

Internet Merchant Accounts: are for sellers doing all there business online. A payment service gateway or virtual terminal is used process credit card payments.

High Risk merchant Accounts: some business categories are more likely to fall victim to credit card fraud and therefore a higher rate is charged from these businesses in order to minimize the risk borne by service providers such as solidtrustpay.com.

It is common for many businesses to have more than one type of account in operation to deal with the separate channels used to sell goods such as a retail store having an online presence as well.

When opening a Merchant Account it is important to open the right type of account with the right type of service provide reap the maximum benefits for your business. Go to solidtrustpay.com and you will be provided with the right solution for your needs.

Companies like Solid Trust Pay offer easily accessible merchant banking services if you are opening a new business or expanding your existing one. Click on to solidtrustpay.com and follow the steps to open your account.