Main Merchant is online

QuickBooks Merchant Service is the leader in the processing industry, focusing on Customer Service and the best pricing and start up packages. With our FREE Terminal program and meet or beat pricing, we make it very easy for our customers to say YES to QuickBooks merchant Service. With just a few clicks in your QuickBooks you can download your sales, fees, and adjustments right into your software eliminating the need to manually enter the data at the end of the day. It will save you hours of work and time that is better spent growing your business and meeting your customers’ needs. Not only will you save time, you will have more cash in the bank as well.

We also have great start up packages for new and existing businesses, starting with no set up fees, free terminal, free QuickBooks 2009 and your first three months free when you activate your QuickBooks merchant account.

QuickBooks Merchant Service for Terminals has highly competitive pricing and is the only credit card processing solution especially designed for and integrated into your QuickBooks software. We have highly competitive pricing including no setup costs and a card-present rate of 1.64% with no long-term contracts. Save 2 hours per week of work with just one click. You can download all transactions, fees, and adjustments into QuickBooks. No need to waste time entering them by hand. Downloaded transactions are batched in accordance with your bank deposits so it’s easy for you to track your funds. You can also take your business on the road. We have wireless terminals so you can take your business to your customers. It is perfect for trade shows, door to door sales and repair.

QuickBooks Merchant Service for Web Stores is the most efficient way to set up and manage a full-service web store. Now there is a hassle-free way to sell online and accept credit cards on your web store using QuickBooks Merchant Service. We have selected web store companies whose web sites integrate easily with our payment processing service so you can give your customers the convenience of secure credit card purchasing in your web store, process more orders more efficiently and manage your web store finances and your merchant account with the QuickBooks accounting software you already own.

QuickBooks Merchant Service for PC’s automatically enters the transaction into your accounting software. QuickBooks Merchant service is the ONLY credit card processing solution designed exclusively for QuickBooks. Credit card sales are processed and entered into your QuickBooks in just one click so there is no more manual data-entry. You can keep your existing bank account. Plus use our optional card reader to qualify for a low 1.64% card present rate.
QuickBooks Point of Sale automatically tracks inventory and rings up sales faster with item bar code scanning. Save time with bank reconciliation in QuickBooks. Easily identify which Point of Sale card payment transactions were included in the deposits made to your bank account. Personalize customer service with the ability to view customer’s purchase history as you ring up sales. Easily create reports to track products, employee sales, and more. Manage up to 10 stores from one location with QuickBooks Point of Sale Multi-Store Pro. Authorize process and record sales in one step right in your Point of Sale software. Total the sale and let QuickBooks Point of Sale do the rest. Transactions are simultaneously synchronized with QuickBooks in one step and no double data entry involved saving you time and reducing error.

Innovative Merchant Solutions will tailor a credit card processing Account for you. We are proud to be the processor-of-choice for hundreds of thousands of Merchants. Specializing in QuickBooks Merchant Services and Full QuickBooks integration.

A credit card merchant account adds in the productivity of your business. A merchant account lets you start accepting credit card payments through a combination of software and hardware, from customers in any part of the world at any time of the day or night.

Credit card merchant account counts among the effective ways in increasing the sales of any business. This is because credit card merchant accounts entice people to buy on impulse. Therefore, when people find it easy to buy online and doubly easy to pay the items online, then, chances are they would be more willing to buy it instantly. And due to the convenience of the credit card, the business will be able to attract more people to buy online, and when they want to buy, the business must have a credit card merchant account so as to accept the buyer’s credit card.

Credit card merchant accounts are considered as a crucial element in one’s online business. It is the only way to maximize the business’ potential online. In addition, there is definitely no other way to provide additional payment option to the online customers than what credit card merchant accounts can do.

A credit card merchant account gives the business more flexibility in dealing with payments, as it enables you to accept payments by phone and fax. A digital program will let customers call a toll-free number, listen to messages about products and services or select other options, such as “payment” or “catalogue request”, and then finish up by processing a credit card for any purchases made during the phone call. You don’t even have to hire someone to answer the phone; the entire process can be automated, although you may want to have a customer service rep available at certain hours of the day if needed.

Your credit merchant account provides the much needed growth to your business in numerable ways you may not have imagined. For example, in addition to taking credit card payments on location at your store, you can take a wireless credit card processor with you to customers’ residences or places of business and accept payment on the spot. This makes it easier for the customer to pay the charges and not give another thought to the transaction.

Moreover, nowadays, businesses work is based on technology, and where money is the subject matter, credit card merchant accounts is the name of the game

Think of the possibilities for building a super-size client base! Give some thought to applying for a merchant credit account from a trusted lender or underwriter.

A high risk merchant account is an ideal solution if your business deals with online gambling, adult services, pharmaceutical products, travel services, sports wagering, online cigarette or tobacco companies or any type of business that involves a high turnover or an increased risk of fraud. If you think your business is not considered to be high risk you will need a standard Ecommerce merchant account or consider applying for an offshore merchant account. Once attained, a High Risk Merchant Account enables you to process credit cards over the internet for the high risk services you provide.

High Risk Merchant Account Rates and Fees

When shopping around for a high risk merchant account don’t be surprised that you will need to pay a setup fee when a standard merchant account usually requires no or a very small setup fee. This is because the merchant account provider is in risk with your account and a high risk merchant account isn’t so easy to attain. You will be also paying relatively high rates for the credit cards you will be processing.

Difficulty Issues with High Risk Merchant Accounts

If you tried applying for a high risk merchant account and were declined for any reasons consider contacting a third party credit card processor. Some merchant account providers just won’t take the risk of predicted charge backs they estimate in your line of business. Don’t think that if your business is considered to be high risk you can’t get a merchant account just proper research has to be done.

For more related information visit our merchant account provider informational page.

It’s such a delight to see more and more merchants on the receiving end of the highly debated free merchant account. From the increased cash flow, the additional security measures, to the ring of customers around the world – despite the fact that it’s not a totally free merchant account and security being a central issue on the net, the list of benefits goes on and on for merchants.

Ladeedaaa, it’s a wonderful world….

Just a second though – so you think it’s only the merchants leveraging free merchant accounts eh?

Guess again! Customers around the world are all “props to credit cards, props to Internet merchant accounts, we can shop till the break of dawn – in fact, we can go online and when the price is right – shop whenever, wherever (thanks to recurring billing too!) whoopee!!” – although there are more females rejoicing in this fact, it’s undeniable – accepting credit cards has changed the way consumers do their shopping.

Shop 24/7/365

Customers around the globe are spending more time in front of the computers – happily blogging away, surfing the latest celebrity tattle, and you guessed it – shopping online. Given any holiday, shoppers are more than willing to ditch the malls and shop for their gifts and personal knick-knacks. Free merchant accounts allow merchants to sleep the night away and still make money off their online shops.

Increased Customer Confidence

Credit card giants are gearing up their security features to further cash in on the current ecommerce revolution. MasterCard has MasterCard SecureCode, while Visa has Verified by Visa. Studies of both camps claim the security of transactions determine the future of ecommerce – that is, the more secure transactions are, the more secure customers are that their financial information doesn’t fall into the hands of Internet toads – the more likely they are to shop, shop, shop. Benefits merchants too!

The matrix look is OUT!

The veil of secrecy has been lifted. No longer shall customers have to disguise themselves with dark glasses or the blackest of trenchcoats when going into shops guaranteed to make their loved ones cringe. Adult Entertainment & paraphernalia is one of the largest customers of free merchant account, freeing customers from bad fashion, and maintaining their anonymity online. Other businesses to benefit from free merchant account are in the field of pharmacy, online gaming, and travel. Couples who wish to travel without the hassle of going to physical travel agencies to book will be amazed at the wealth of travel agency online stores at the tip of their fingers – or their mouse more specifically.

Pay. Lite.

Everything’s “lite” these days – sandwiches are fat free, sodas and beers have lite varieties. Now would merchants tell us how customers can benefit from all this ‘liteness’? Simple – with recurring billing! This service lets customers shop and pay staggered amounts (set by merchants of course – or sometimes by customers) at their convenience. Large purchases can be made easily(cha-ching! cha-ching!), thus leveraging impulse buying (for merchants).

Yes yes yes. Unbelievable indeed. Seeing it from the eyes of customers, you’d never know that your free merchant account – the one you had set up in 24 hours, charged you no application fees, no monthly fees, and provided the friendliest of customer support despite your unfriendly call – can benefit your customers in ways you never thought before. There are still so many unexplored ways for your customers to benefit, and this can only mean one thing for you: money. Lots of it.

A risky venture demands an equally safe backup plan. And a high risk merchant account is an important part of your protection policy. So if you are involved in a high risk online business like online gaming and gambling, travel, and pharmaceuticals etc. you have to make sure that you are backed by a flexible and reliable high risk merchant account. However, finding a merchant service provider to cover a high risk venture may prove to be a challenging task. Most banks and financial institutions are wary of offering merchant services due to an increased risk of credit card frauds and other payment problems that are a part and parcel of high risk undertakings.

Now by logging onto merchant-accounts.com and applying for a merchant account you will get a number of unique benefits your high risk enterprise deserves. Merchant accounts with AMS will give you the flexibility of offering multi currency transactions to your customers. This is an important feature for businesses that are spread outside the US and UK. Moreover you can call AMS customer support executives any time of the day and get all your queries answered. The customer support numbers of Advanced Merchant Services are toll free so you won’t be charged a penny for any of your calls. AMS moreover offers swift real-time processing and recognizes all major credit cards.

Most merchant service providers take up to several weeks to approve high risk merchant accounts. This is not the case with AMS. We greatly pride our ability to get most merchant accounts approved within 24 hours of their application. You won’t be required to wait or run around.

As far as the rates are concerned, AMS offers the cheapest among all our competitors. This is not just a promise but a guarantee embedded in the official website. If you ever come across a merchant service provider offering a lower price than any of the goods and services offered by AMS we will beat it by 5%. All you need to do is to log on to the Price Bust section of the AMS website and mention the name of site that offering you the lower rate. No site is as pocket friendly as AMS. AMS unlike its competitors is backed by largest conglomeration of processing banks in the United States of America. So whether you need to process thousand dollars or a million, your account is absolutely secure with Advanced Merchant Services. Visit us at www.merchant-accounts.com and cut the risk factor in your business by half.

Nobody’s perfect.

And in the world of business, mistakes are made on the way to success that can either hinder or delay the “planned success” of a business and never has this been truer than for an ecommerce business. Merchants are too quick sign contracts or agreements from ecommerce “helpers” such as free merchant accounts.

Free merchant accounts are not the culprit here. And this wasn’t meant to point a finger on who’s to blame.

Before entering into any business – whether retail, MOTO, or Internet – agreements & contracts are always present. Some merchants who see free on the paper don’t account the fine print on the contract. That’s one of the downfall of merchants. After a month or two, they go running back to their providers with contracts in hand, only to admit defeat that they have no escape from the dreaded contract.

So what are the common mistakes merchants make when getting a free merchant account? Educate yourself on some you can easily avoid:

They don’t look out for hidden charges/fees

As long as summer days are long, and nights are short, so will anybody who’s ever been in business has to make money – and free merchant accounts providers are no exception. It’s sooo cliche, but there is seriously no such thing as free lunch. Merchants can avoid committing this mistake by asking for all charges and fees they might incur when they start processing. This includes but isn’t limited to the discount rate, transaction fees, and monthly processing fees.

They don’t poke around the FINE print.

Our rates are FREE! Often, just a mention of the word free and anyone in the FREE world will scurry to see what they can get without giving. Unfortunately in business, this isn’t the case. Some can give you free coupons but you have to buy the whole newspaper, or get a free lunch but pay for dinner – the point being merchants easily see the word free but they don’t poke around the FINE print. If there’s another word starting with F that merchants should be wary of – it should be Fine with the word PRINT to follow.

They don’t ask when they can access funds

Your merchant account provider should free you of restrictions when it comes to having access to your funds/revenue 24/7/365. Start scouting fast for a new one if they impose restrictions.

They don’t make a background check of the company

Everywhere there’s a thief. It’s up to you to make the necessary precautions. Whether it’s a credit card processing provider, a payment gateway, or a shopping cart, always make background checks. The features of Web 2.0 has made the world a smaller place, as well as placed consumer information within reach. Easily you can get free reviews of merchant accounts, payment gateways, the latest news on celebrities, and what-nots within seconds!

They don’t look for freebies

Although there is no such thing as free lunch, there is such a thing as appetizer! Consider the freebies offered by free merchant account providers as appetizers – free setup, application fees, monthly fees, etc, depending on your provider, can be tasty and make you want to get ahead with the whole meal – or service. Of course, as a merchant you should always be on the look out for providers who normally change their freebie offerings from time to time and take the best deal out there.

When you get an offer sheet, it helps to be a bit skeptical. Don’t look at it with doe eyes – innocent and believing every word spouted by the agent. Knowledge is also powerful – with it, you can attack the agent with a barrage of questions. If you feel they haven’t successfully answered your questions, then start shouting… NEXT PLEASE!

It’s your business after all.

Search for free merchant account in your favorite search engine & most probably, the numbers will come up to more than just a million. In fact, Google alone has 41 million sites for those keywords & half of them are actual free merchant account providers.

If you’re a small start up merchant, you might want to get a free merchant account – however with those numbers looming on your screens, how do you separate the ones that are effective from the ones that are just plain scams?

Free merchant account providers offer a lot of “freebies”, hence the term free. It could either be a free terminal, free set up, or free application fees. Despite the dizzying amount of freebies, one has to stop & see what else they can offer to make merchants’ businesses more productive & cost-effective – how about security tools?

Security measures used by free merchant account providers protects merchants from fraudulent transactions. Billions of dollars are lost every year to these ecommerce criminals, & more often than not, small merchants are the ones feeling the pinch.

How do merchant account providers secure online transactions? Here are the top 3 ways to secure on line transactions:

1. AVS (Address Verification Service)

This pretty nifty security measure is helpful to Internet merchants. For card-not-present transactions, customers are asked for their billing address & this is verified against the address on the file of the card issuer. In case they don’t match, the merchant receives a response code & it’s up to the merchant whether to continue or stop the transaction.

2. CVV2 (Card Security Number Confirmation)

Developed by Mastercard, CVV2 or Card Validation Code 2 is a three digit code you can see printed on the signature panel of MasterCard cards. Merchants can verify in real time whether the customer has an actual card in possession for card-not-present transactions. These codes are never stored by merchants, so customers are assured of their protection as well.

3. 3-D Secure Code

This XML (Extensible Markup Language) protocol was developed by Visa, & later on adopted by MasterCard. Each card has its own password & card-holders can only continue with the transactions if they provide the passwords for their cards. Free merchant account providers display proudly on their sites “Verified by Visa & MasterCard SecureCode”, as a selling point to merchants.

Merchants can also reduce the risk of fraud with a few common-sense tips:

Call the customer to verify the order first before any shipping occurs. Fraudsters order numerous items that they can’t keep track of what they purchased online or even remember the information they provided for the transaction.
Customers will develop a purchasing pattern over time; be on guard for sudden changes.
Take note of merchandise prone to fraud – priority shipments of these items is a tell-tale sign of fraud.
Receipts. Receipts. Receipts. Always keep them safely stored.

By making a conscious effort to secure transactions, & with the help of the security measures used by free merchant account providers, merchants can avoid fraud. When choosing a provider, don’t just rely on what’s free for the taking – make sure what you’re getting is not only economical, but something to enhance productivity & revenue – & in the ecommerce market, security can make or break your business.

In the world of online sales, there are a lot of things written on the page but are left unread between the lines. In other words, you go about selling your products and services but there are lots of things high risk merchant account providers don’t tell you. Not because they could not or would not, but because they would not discuss the issues with you until you have experienced them. A good example is going through possible freezing of your merchant account.

If, as a high risk merchant, you have not exerted an effort to make a research concerning frozen accounts, then you’re in BIG trouble. I’ll keep it short. Once your merchant account is frozen, your present and future business is put under horrible risk. First, because you will lose the ability to process credit cards online. Second, you will be denied merchant account if you applied for another one. You certainly cannot allow this to happen and it will never if you are smart enough to take preventive measures.

VOLUME LIMIT EXCESS

Okay, so what gives? You would think if you made a mistake in stating your processing limits or average ticket size, there is an easy way to get out of the mess. But underwriters and high risk merchant account providers are realistic. If you make more profit than you have actually stated during the assessment period, you will be likely incurring more chargebacks. When this happens, your underwriter is liable to pay the issuing bank the losses. Obviously, the little mistake you made spelled trouble to your provider.

How do you prevent this? Find a high risk merchant account provider that is flexible with your monthly processing volume limit. This means that as soon as your ticket size grows, you can negotiate an adjustment on the discount rate and other fees.

NICHE PRODUCT/SERVICE FLEXIBILITY

Another issue that will most likely cause you trouble with your merchant account provider is your niche product or service. This is pretty easy to figure out and it’s lot like choosing a domain name. Define your product or service in the broadest way possible. Pick pharmaceuticals instead of hoodia. That way if you expand your catalog or change into a different but related product/service in the industry, then it will be easier for the provider to adjust.

REFUNDS

This issue will speak for itself. Is giving refunds to your customers a bad practice? Sure it may hurt your business, but a business also has to maintain a good reputation. One way to keep it is to make sure dissatisfied customers are able to return your products and get their money back, if only because you would want them to buy again and not spread ill words about your company. Above all, you do not want them to commit fraud against your business.

BACKUP ACCOUNT

Two merchant accounts? To some business owners, having one alone can be a pain especially with high discount rates. But there’s also an advantage in obtaining a back up merchant account. There is if your business relies solely in processing credit cards online! If one provider halts processing or encounters a glitch, you have support that will not put inconvenience to your business or customers. Having a backup merchant account is quite tricky but it always serves its purpose.

Frozen merchant accounts are horrible for your business. Now is the time you find out the issues with your high risk merchant account provider before your business goes down the drain!

Get the experience from not just a seller of a high risk offshore merchant account – but a merchant who has been thru all the hoops and has seen everything from “both sides”.

The risks of offshore high risk merchant accounts

Most sellers of such high risk merchant account are delivering low-grade products – or simply take your money and run away (this has happened to me several times in the past). These sellers have never processed 1 single cent themselves from credit cards – and therefore do not know (or care) about the requirements of a merchant. They only know how to sell a useless “solution” that will go down after 1-2 months of use.

These days the scam artist make your account run for 2 months and then suddenly it gets closed – and then you never see the funds from the last 3-5 weeks processing – plus the standard 10% reserve that you normally should get back after 6 months.

A new variation of this scam is that the high volume high risk merchant account processor has very poor reporting system making it difficult or impossible for you to see when and how much you will get paid for which period.

For example a gateway processor that claims to be located in Switzerland (they have no telephone that actually works) and be operated by a Swiss person shows only 7 transactions per page – and has no reporting system whatsoever. This processor claimed that their discount rate was 8% and reserve was 10% – but actually, they kept 53% of all processed amount – and after7-8 weeks the account suddenly closed. This so-called Swiss gate also put a chargeback belonging to a completely different merchant on my account and never removed it even though they promised to do so. Another chargeback I was able to prove that the product was delivered but the chargeback still remained.

Another example was a so-called Chinese gateway processor using a gateway went down (lost their bank connection) also after 6 weeks of processing with them – and never told anything to me – ever – so for 2 weeks all my orders got declined – making my potential customers upset and me very frustrated. Besides the cheating then this gateway is so badly built that you can only use Internet Explorer to access the gateway with and you must disable popup blockers. The DNA-gateway does not permit you to use the mouse for copy/paste of customer info which makes it very slow to use. This doesn’t really matter because they never pay you 1 single cent.

A great way that these sellers also make money is to make up fines from Mastercard or VISA – that supposedly requires 1-4 years litigation. These fines do not exist at all or at a much lower amount – or, are only temporary fines that are refunded to the processor after a short “hold”-period. The processor has already deducted these funds from the merchant – but the merchant never gets these funds again. Ever.

A processor broker/seller having a foreign name – Gany Karim – (this is not his real name – just the name he uses for his customers – so he can not sue me for defamation and supposedly located in Canada sold me those 2 solutions. The total loss was more than 40.000 USD in direct losses – plus I was not able to process for several months waiting for a new solution to be made – which never came. However, all his “fees” that ran into 2.000 USD – including extra fees that were never explained to me – was deducted from my processed funds and funny enough I never saw 1 cent at all.

Before a processor loses his bank connection then the bank has for some time asked the processor to change certain procedures which the processor chooses not to do so. Then the bank closes the processors merchant account and then the processor blames the bank for the problem.

When you ask the processor which bank they use then they will never tell you.

After a couple of years you have forgotten all about it and have moved on – which is what these scam artists hope for.

These processors also have no or very poor customer service (before they close down your account). And after they close down the account – then they have zero customer service and you can not get hold of them at all or not talk to the decision maker.

Other times then the processor sets up another corporation which they process thru. Then in your contract it says that the processor is not liable for losses incurred if your processor is not paid. The funds will then be in the other company (that the processor also owns).

Are there any offshore credit card processors that are not con artists?

Yes, there are some good offshore merchant account processors out there. I use some of them myself for my own websites so I know that they are reliable.

You will get your own MID account and be able to accept VISA, Mastercard, ACH and maybe other cards also (depending upon your business area) – for a small setup fee of $599.

You also get to talk to a real life person – who knows the requirements of a merchant – and uses the very same processor solutions that I sell. So, I practice what I preach so to speak.

Not only has the internet revolutionized how people learn and seek information, but, the world wide web has transformed how people and businesses conduct commerce. With the use of websites and merchant accounts, anyone is able to market to anyone. Yet, given the cost to get a merchant account and the cost to maintain a merchant account, is it possible to sell products and services on the web without one?

Fortunately, the answer to the previous question is “Yes!” There are several options that allow businesses to make sales without the need for a merchant account. These options are:

1) Selling on a website that has its own currency

2) Accepting a private currency as payment

3) Using a third party to provide merchant account services

There are websites that have an internal and unique “currency” that allow business owners to make sales. These sites allow consumers to become members, offering them the ability to transfer traditional funds into their own accounts. With these accounts, members can then pay for purchases. The “currency” for these purchases go from the purchaser to the seller. The seller is then able to request a payout of collected funds into traditional banking systems.

Another consideration is that other websites offer a unique “currency” without the intent to “sell.” These websites allow consumers to “exchange” traditional funds for this alternative currency. Business owners may now decide to accept this alternative currency on their websites. This option allows the website to accept orders without the need for a merchant account.

A third option is to use a website that allows a business to accept its services as a merchant account provider. This is an ideal option. If a provider of financial services is able to accept payment on an owner’s behalf, this precludes the requirement to have a merchant account.

Given the brief overview, let’s consider some examples:

Some websites have an internal “currency” and members decide to load funds into their accounts. As such, business owners may elect to become merchants and sell their products and services to members. As members make purchases, businesses receive the funds within business accounts and may elect to receive these funds into the traditional banking system.

An example of an alternative currency for use by a business is e-gold.com. This website is focused on allowing members to exchange traditional funds into gold. As new funds are deposited into the e-gold system, e-gold.com purchase an equal amount of gold into its reserves. There is always an equal amount of gold to the deposits or exchanges made. Business owners may elect to use the e-gold payment option to make sales on websites. When a business owner wants to transfer his “e-gold” into traditional funds, he makes this transaction.

The third example illustrates how a third party provides merchant services for a website. ClickandBuy.com is a company that accepts payments for websites. Typically, consumers become members of ClickandBuy, providing their personal banking and credit card information. As members of ClickandBuy, members may elect to make purchases from businesses that are also associated with ClickandBuy. As a qualified ClickandBuy merchant, business owners may now “sell” on the web without a traditional merchant account.

Each of the above scenarios allows a company to sell on the web without a merchant account. Each option provides a website with greater flexibility when used. In fact, even if a website has a merchant account, these options increase marketing flexibility . There are alternatives to traditional payment methods on the web. Make the most of them.