How To Choose A Merchant Account

Defining the Different Merchant Account Types

In the payment processing industry, every merchant is classified into a specific “merchant account type” category, based on how they collect card information and conduct transactions. To learn which category your business is classified under, we have defined the characteristics of each merchant account type in this article.

There are two main merchant account type categories, “Swiped” and “Keyed,” which reflect the basic methods used to capture card information. Within these main categories are sub-categories, broken down according to the business environment and processing technique.

“Swiped” or, “Card Present” merchants directly interact with their customers face-to-face and capture card information by physically swiping cards through a terminal or point-of-sale system. The sub-categories within this group include:

• Retail Merchants: “Retail” merchants typically conduct business in a storefront or office where they interact with their customers face-to-face and physically swipe cards through a terminal or Point-of-Sale system.
• Restaurant Merchants: “Restaurant” merchants require the ability to add tips to their charges (Note: Restaurants that do not process tips are still considered “Retail” merchants in this industry). Using a special tip function, they authorize a customer’s card for a certain sale amount and then settle that authorization with an adjusted price to include the tip amount.
• Wireless/Mobile Merchants: “Wireless” or “Mobile” merchants need to accept and authorize cards wherever they are located, which is usually on the road. Using a portable wireless terminal, these merchants process on-site, real-time transactions at their customers’ locations.
• Lodging Merchants: “Lodging” merchants (e.g. Hotels, Motels, and Bed & Breakfasts) authorize a customer’s card for a specific sale amount and, depending on the customer’s length of stay, will adjust and settle out that authorization a day or more later to include additional fees such as taxes, etc.

“Keyed or, “Card-Not-Present” merchants indirectly collect their customers’ card information, and, depending on the business environment and technology used, can process transactions in various ways. The sub-categories within this group include:

• Keyed Face-to-Face Merchants: “Keyed Face-to-Face” merchants eventually meet their customers in person to deliver the product or provide the service, but they don’t actually collect card information with the customer or card present. Generally, they take orders over the telephone, via fax, mail, email, or the Internet, and then manually key-enter card information into a terminal, software, payment gateway, or other point-of-sale system.
• Mail Order/Telephone Order (“M.O.T.O.”) Merchants: “M.O.T.O.” merchants rarely, if ever, meet their customers face-to-face. Instead, these merchants collect orders and card information over the telephone, by mail, fax, or via the Internet, and manually key-enter transactions through a terminal, software, payment gateway, or point- of-sale system. Then, once payment for an order is confirmed, the product is shipped for future delivery.
• Internet or E-Commerce Merchants: “Internet” or, “E-Commerce” merchants conduct all business through a website, so all card information is collected and transactions are processed online, in real-time, using a payment gateway that’s built into their website’s shopping cart. So, once the order/sale is confirmed, the card is charged instantly and the product is shipped for future delivery. (Note: This merchant type does not apply to businesses that only market on the Internet, but do not immediately process payments via their website, upon order confirmation.

Credit Card Software or Terminal?

Deciding on whether you want to use a credit card terminal or some form of payment processing software to handle card transactions should is usually fairly straightforward. The answer generally depends on the physical environment in which you will be accepting the charges.

Most simply put, the decision usually boils down to whether or not you will have easy access to a computer when you need to charge cards and what kind of transactions systems you already have in place.

If a computer is readily available payment processing software often provides numerous benefits over traditional credit card terminals. Most users love the reporting features available to them and find it helpful to go back and look up a previous transaction. Payment processing software is also usually less expensive and more user friendly than most new credit card terminals.

There are logical reasons why many businesses may be better off with a terminal however. To start with, many businesses already have invested in some sort of cash register or POS system. While some of these can be integrated with payment processing software, many can not. In these cases, it is usually simpler to use a credit card machine rather than cluttering your valuable counter space.

Another circumstance when a terminal may be preferable is when your computer may not always be on or may be in an inconvenient location. If you need to take payments in real-time and can’t be inconvenienced with accessing your PC, then you may be better off with a credit card terminal.

Selecting Credit Card Processing Software

More and more merchants are taking advantage of the powerful credit card processing software products available to them. These are systems for virtually any type of processing environment from retail stores to websites.

All have their advantages, but selecting the right credit card processing software for your business is very important. Before making a decision merchants should ask themselves a few questions:

Will you be accepting credit cards over the Internet?

• If so, merchants should lean towards using an online payment gateway in conjunction with their shopping cart. Payment gateways are a type of credit card processing software which is hosted by a third party on a server outside of your business. Your shopping cart, or other payment software, communicates with the payment gateway via the internet and it manages the actual transactions. Atlantech Payment Solutions sells several payment gateways including: Authorize.net, PC Charge & PayTrace, which has all the features, flexibility and compatibility standard to these products.

How many credit card transactions will you need to handle at any one time?

• For most merchants the answer is usually only one, but some merchants who have more than one user or customer running transactions at the same time will need a more robust credit card processing software solution. If there are multiple internal users and they are on a network you can use PayTrace. If the users are not on a network, then a merchant can use a virtual terminal such as the one offered by of Authorize.Net. This virtual terminal will allow users to log in using their web browsers and charge cards from anywhere they have Internet access. Transaction information is centrally located and can be accessed from anywhere.

Will you be charging the same customer’s cards on a regular basis?

• Merchants whose customers are frequently reordering or those who bill their customers on a monthly basis may wish to use credit card processing software that stores credit card information and can charge customers at specified intervals. PayTrace has this feature built in and makes it easy to manage charging customers.

If you have any further questions regarding credit card processing software, please feel free to contact our sales team for information and advice on selecting software by calling the number at the top of your screen.