You have two choices to choose from. You can have the power of owning your own merchant account, or you can use another company's account for a fee. I have explained each method below in great detail along with the advantages and disadvantages of each. You need to decide which method is better for your business after reading the material. However, I suggest getting your own merchant as you have more power and flexibility.
Lets start with the method of using another company's merchant account.
There are many companies available online that allow you to accept credit cards using their merchant account. This service allows you to charge customer's credit cards without owning a merchant account nor having to pay the fees involved for owning one. Some companies may charge a setup fee to get started with them. There are companies such as Pay Pal which are very similar to this type of service, but also have their own drawbacks. Advantages - Less startup costs.