With the proliferation of plastic nowadays, a business that doesn't accept credit cards might not be in business for very long. Just as your customers shop around for the best price on a product or service, so should you shop around for the best deal on a merchant account, which will let you accept payments in plastic. Most merchant account providers use a two-tier system.
Costs are lower when customers hand over their credit cards to make in-store purchases.
This lets the business owner eyeball the card, physically swipe it through a magnetic reader and then match the signature of the bearer with the one on the card. Costs are higher when the card is not physically presented to the merchant, and the order is made via mail order, over the phone or by the Internet. The table below offers examples of merchant accounts and their associated costs from a variety of companies. The information was gathered online or by contacting individual firms. Inclusion in this list is not meant to endorse any particular company, but simply to give small-business owners an idea of the range of merchant accounts available, and their costs.