Merchant Account Cost

There should be no application or set up fee for opening up a small business merchant account (we certainly don't charge one). Depending on the type of credit card processing service that you need, you may have to incur some expenses before you start accepting payments.

• Retail merchants - you will need a processing terminal for your customers to swipe their cards through. You should be able to get it from your credit card payment processing provider for less than $200 or lease it for a small monthly payment.
• Internet merchants - you will need an eCommerce payment gateway to connect your shopping cart with your processing bank and relay the transaction information. Your credit card processing company should set one up for you for free and they will charge you a monthly gateway fee for the service. That fee should not exceed $15.
• MO/TO merchants - unless you need web-based payment acceptance capabilities, you should be able to get a virtual terminal for free. A virtual terminal is the web-based service that allows you to key in your customers' payment details as you are taking their orders over the phone or entering the payment information that you received in the mail. You will need a payment processing gateway only if you will support an eCommerce website.