4 ms·
(1) At least in the US, banks are only one way of getting a merchant account. There are decent number of companies that offer merchant accounts. It is a pretty
by zaidf 16y ago
(1) At least in the US, banks are only one way of getting a merchant account. There are decent number of companies that offer merchant accounts. It is a pretty competitive business and there are plenty of companies and affiliates vying to get you under their belt because they get a fraction of a % of sales you do for life. Google around. Banks may not be the best option. In U.S you can definitely get a merchant account for new businesses with little history. I was able to get one at 15 under my brother's name--who was barely 18 and had no prior biz record.
(2) Yes, merchant account can help you avoid 3rd party pages and gives you complete control of the flow of the order process.
(3) Yes it is a bad, bad idea and mostly not officially acceptable to store cc info on your server.
- tow21 16y agoActually, in the UK, banks are pretty much the only way of getting a merchant account, see: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073791016&r.s=e&r.l1=1073858790&r.lc=en&r.l3=1073920405&r.l2=1073858942&r.i=1073791013&r.t=RESOURCES http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESO... (sorry for shitty URL) The only non-bank merchant accounts you can get are Amex & Diner's Card, both of which only work for their own cards.
- omarchowdhury 16y agoHe's referring to Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), which are groups sponsored by acquiring banks to underwrite, provision and maintain merchants accounts for clients.