General Merchant Account Questions

Q. What is a merchant account?
A. A merchant account is an account setup with a credit card acquiring bank/processor which allows you to accept credit cards for payment of goods and/or services you sell.

Q. What kind of businesses do you accept?
A. We accept retail, professionals, trade shows, mail order, telephone order, Internet based, and home based businesses.

Q. What credit cards will I be able to accept?
A. We set up you so that you can accept MasterCard, Visa, and Discover. You will have the option to select American Express too. American Express requires a separate approval from AMEX. There are no application or setup fees to request American Express.

Q. Do I need a business license?
A. No, you do not need to have a business license, trade name registration, DBA certificate, etc. but it is helpful.

Q. What is the discount rate?
A. Every bank charges a discount rate. The discount rate is the percentage of each transaction that the processing company charges to handle the transaction for you. Our discount rates are exceptionally low for both retail (swiped) merchants and for mail order/telephone order and Internet merchants.

The discount rates quoted by other providers may at first glance sometimes seem to be lower. Be careful. Our mid-qualified and non-qualified rates are often 1% to 2% lower than our competitors. The rate you are quoted by most sales people is the "Qualified" rate. What they don't tell you is that when a credit card transaction does NOT qualify for the "Qualified" rate, (as defined by Visa & MasterCard interchange rates), you will actually pay 1% to 2% more in card fees for that transaction. Often they will also charge additional transaction fees of a nickel or a dime as well for each non-qualified transaction. We don't add anything to our transaction fee of 23¢ when a transaction comes in unqualified.

As much as 30% or more of your credit card transactions WILL NOT qualify for the "Qualified" rate you were quoted.

Our rates are simple and there are no hidden fees;

- Qualified Discount Rate 1.64%: (Card-swiped, retail USA consumer credit or debit card that is not a "Rewards" card)

- Mid-Qualified Discount Rate 2.44%: ( Key-ed in, Internet, Mail/Phone, USA consumer credit/debit card, business, corporate and purchase cards which sales tax is entered separately with our Level 2 prompt during the transaction)

- Non-Qualified Discount Rate 3.54%: (Reward, foreign, business/corporate/purchase cards with no sales tax entered), Most competitors non-qualified rates are as much as 4 1/2% to
5 1/2%.

Some companies use the term "Surcharge" instead of "Non-Qualified", and (+ X%) which is percentage added on top of the qualified rate you were quoted.

To view more hidden fees our competitors charge that we don't click here.

Q. What is the Address Verification System (AVS)?
A. If you sell mail order/telephone order, or through the Internet, you don't want to send a product to a false address and have a risk of receiving a chargeback. The Address Verification System (AVS) lets you enter the customer's home address and compares it to the address on file with their credit card company. If someone uses a stolen card, and wants products shipped to a false address, AVS will detect this for you. Some providers charge an additional transaction fee for AVS. We don't charge additional fees.

Q. Will I receive a statement?
A. Yes. A statement is mailed out every month with the information on all deposits into your account, your total sales volume, and the charges for the month. You will also have access to this information within QuickBooks and online.

Q. How will I get my money?
A. Your money will be deposited directly into your current business checking account. Funds are usually available within 2 business days.

Q. How do I apply?
A. Just fill the online merchant account application, or call us @ 1-800-221-0528 to apply by phone.

Q. How long does the approval process take?
A. Often we can get you approved for a merchant account the same day you apply, if you apply before 1 pm est. It will be the next day if you apply later in the day. Occasionally our underwriters may request more information, which would delay the approval process a day or so.

It is recommended that you apply 2 to 3 weeks before you actually need to begin accepting credit cards. This will allow for time to get you approved, (in case of any underwriting request which can cause a delay), for us to get you the software, and to make sure you are properly trained. Waiting until the last minute to apply for a merchant account is never a good idea.

Q. Is there a service phone number that I can call if I need help?
A. Yes. Upon approval of your merchant account you will have live, toll-free merchant assistance available to you 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year.