Benefits of the Paid online account over the free OFFSHORE merchant account

The “Online Merchant Account” is a special account, in a bank, which allows the account holder or merchant to accept payments through debit card or credit card from his customers over the net. With most of the businesses now going online to expand their business, the need of having an “Online Merchant Account” to accept payments for online transactions is becoming a necessity now, not a luxury like it was seen before.

The most important factor which is considered by every merchant while choosing his service provider is the rates and fees of the merchant account. All merchants are concerned about the overall costs or the effective rates of the merchant account. These costs are mostly different for each provider and are mostly high for an “Online Merchant Account”. This is the reason why many online companies are nervous about it. The service providers and the banks also want to increase or expand their business and therefore, come up with new strategies. One of their new strategies includes the providing of “Free Merchant Accounts” to their customers. Therefore, it is better for you to understand how the free merchant account differs from the paid merchant account.

With the free merchant account, the service provider does not charge any membership fees or setup fees from the merchant for the merchant account. This implies that the merchant will not have to pay to get registered with the provider and he also receives the payment gateway and set up guide information for free. There is a myth in the market that free merchant accounts are always better than the paid ones. This is not absolutely true and also not totally false. Each of the accounts has its own disadvantages and advantages. It is for you to understand these points and decide which one is the best for your business.

There are no free cups of tea, in this world and more so in the business world. If a bank or a service provider is giving you something for free then they will make for it by charging more in another place. This applies even for Free Merchant Accounts. Though you will be happy that you don’t have to pay any money in the beginning, you will have to shell out more money every month as processing fees and other rates. This is done to compensate for the no registration and set up fee.

However, with a paid merchant account your fees and rates will be much lower and therefore, your monthly bill for the merchant account will be much lesser. For example, there are providers who charge up to $14 for a $100 transaction with free merchant accounts but the highest effective rate with the paid accounts is about 3%, which is $3 for a $100 transaction. Hence, it results in higher profits and savings with a paid account.

Also, the free merchant account will not have customer care or technical service from the provider.

Contact one of our helpful account representatives to assist you in the setup of a high risk merchant account or offshore merchant account for a high risk merchant.