Page 121 - 597 Business Ideas You can Start from Home - doing what you LOVE! (Beginner Internet Marketing Series)

Step 6. Create Your Executive Office 113

There are four basic types of noninterchangeable merchant
accounts dealing with the basic categories of transactions:

l . Retail (brick-and-mortar storefront)
2. Internet (from a website)
3. Wireless Gust like a retail account but the terminal works

off cell phone activity i f your business is a traveling busi­
ness or in a kiosk that doesn't have phone service)
4. Mail order (catalogs)

Brick-and-mortar businesses that have a retail merchant account
for their in-store credit card terminals must establish a separate
Internet merchant account to accept payments via credit cards
online.

Internet merchant accounts can only be used for Internet trans­
actions and usually have a higher transaction fee than retail mer­
chant accounts. Once established, your Internet merchant account
will be linked with your website's shopping cart program to process
payments using encrypted data and the funds are deposited into
your bank account. (More on this in Step 7.)

Call a few banks and ask them to e-mail or fax over their
i>dledule of rates and charges. Spend some time compar­

these schedules since set-up fees. transaction fees. and

other rates and charges can differ greatly from ban k to bank.
Most banks are very motivated to get your online business.
because they want the reoccurring transaction and monthly
maintenance fees they will make off your Internet sales. Use
this very rare position of power over the banks to play the
banks off each other to get the very best deal.

Hint Many of the banks will waive the set-up charge if you
simply ask. See how far you can get the banks to lower their
fees and charges.