For a seller providing goods or services online, it becomes inevitable to have a safe, secure and a reliable payment method, which is easily accessible to his customers. With the constant growth and development of the financial industry, almost all financial institutions are now offering merchant accounts to business owners. The power of the internet has multiplied by leaps and bounds over the years and hence the concept of an E-Merchant account has come up to facilitate online business owners.

Types of internet businesses may vary and some of them even follow traditional means of transactions like bank transfer, COD payment etc. But there is a limit to such methods. So how can you know if you really need an E-Merchant Account?

You can determine if you need an E-Merchant account if-

1. You process a number of transactions at a time

2. You have a complex chain of supply in either number of divisions or because of geographical reasoning

3. You deliver products or services through the internet, since traditional payment mean unnecessary processing

Where do you get an E Merchant Account

Large financial institutions like Wachovia Bank, J P Morgan Chase, and Citibank etc offer E-Merchant Accounts to its customers. The benefit of having an account with these institutions is that they usually develop themselves from a traditional payment processor. This means that they enable you to utilize the traditional payment processor methods, which means more options for your customers. The important thing here is that bigger banks mean more security.

How Much Does It Cost to have an E-Merchant Account?

A single search in Google may bring you across hordes of E-Merchant Account providers since this industry has grown enormously over the years. Since customers always have an upper hand in choosing the right kind of provider, you should keep in mind the cost and never hesitate to question about the details.

Listed below is a standard fee structure for E-Merchant Account utilization-

1. Setup fees - In simple words, this fee is charged for processing your account application. Some providers may charge you with a low setup fee while others do not require a setup fee at all.

2. Monthly fixed fee - This fee is charged for the provider’s network utilization. Interestingly, some providers may offer you a discount of 50-100% if you make a certain amount of minimum payment. The monthly cost may vary from $25-40 per month.

3. Discount Rate or Fixed Transaction fee - This fee is usually stated as an option since providers will not charge you with a fixed transaction fee if they charge you with a discount rate. You may consider this as a major saving.

4. Termination and/or cancellation fee- This fee is usually printed in small footers that may easily escape your eyes. To avoid paying such fees you may review the contract, look for some word-of-mouth information or thoroughly research for options.

5. Refund/Chargeback fee - This fee applies to customers who want a refund for some reason.

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