An Internet merchant account allows your customers to pay you online by entering their credit card information directly into your website. This enables you to accept credit card orders without your customers having to fax, phone or mail in their orders. Also, unlike using PayPal or another third-party payment service, the customer is never redirected away from your website during the purchase process.

When you accept credit card orders through an Internet merchant account, the transactions you process are usually approved in real time via a real time Internet payment gateway so that when the customer checks out at your website, the transaction is actually processed within seconds of submitting the order.

Merchants do not have to use a payment gateway with an Internet merchant account. Credit cards transactions can also be processed using credit card processing software or a credit card processing terminal. With these methods, the transaction is manually entered by the merchant after the time of purchase and not processed in real time.

Even if you intend on using a credit card terminal to process your online credit card orders, you will still need an Internet merchant account if you intend on taking the order online via your website. How the order is entered is really not significant. It's how the order is received that determines the need for an Internet merchant account or not.

If you currently run an off-line business and you already have a merchant account, you will probably still need to apply for an Internet merchant account to begin taking online orders since Internet merchant accounts tend to have different rules and regulations than standard retail type merchant accounts do. If you attempt to circumvent these rules and begin processing Internet orders a standard merchant account, you run the risk of having your merchant account suddenly shut down by your merchant service provider.

Since an Internet sale is a card-not-present transaction, there is a higher risk of fraud associated with web-based credit card payments and more stringent processing procedures and a separate Internet merchant account are required by merchant providers.

Regardless of whether you're an established merchant looking to add an Internet merchant account or a new merchant, you're going to want to work with a merchant account provider who has expertise in structuring and handling Internet merchant accounts.

CyoGate specializes in web-based business and in addition to our merchant gateway services we also offer low cost merchant accounts to qualified businesses that allow you to accept both credit card and eCheck payments from your customers.

APPLY FOR A MERCHANT ACCOUNT TODAY!