When choosing an credit card processing agent several aspects
should be considered in addition to the cost. There are many off
line and online merchant account sources to choose from. You should
consider what they have to offer and how they help serve your
specific needs.
One of the best places to start your research is by determining
which credit or debit cards you wish to accept. American Express
and Discover give you the option of applying directly, but
MasterCard and Visa require that you establish service through one
of their sales channels.
As an example, the place you now
how to be a credit card processor bank most likely offers
merchant services and may be the easiest way to start your credit
card payment processor shopping. Often times merchant service are
offered in bundles with merchant products that you may not need or
use. It's worth looking into a banks packaged services, but you may
want your merchant account a la carte.
There are many independent sales organizations that sell
merchant accounts, credit card swipe machines and even software for
online credit card processing. The ISO's don't actually process
payments, that's done through a third party. That third party could
be your local bank or a banking institution out of state.