Ecommerce Merchant Accounts USA

E-commerce has become prevalent in modern retail, and its success depends on conversion. Converting inquiries to purchases involves several steps, particularly when trying to convince strangers on the internet to buy from your store. 

It isn’t unreasonable to think e-commerce payments depend on the traditional payment gateways we’ve always known. However, this trend is changing fast, carving a path for new and exciting innovations.

Up to 74% of customers in B2B have indicated an interest in switching to stores with better payment options. An e-commerce merchant account is integral to these new trends. In this blog post, we will look at what an e-commerce account is, why you as a business owner need one, and the various services that come with owning such an account.

eCommerce Merchant Accounts: What they’re About

Before we begin, we must clarify what a merchant account is. This should set the foundation for an e-commerce account definition and how it can help your business.

Merchant Account

A merchant account is a specially-designed bank account that allows businesses to receive payments of different types. Whether by credit or debit card, mobile payment, or in-person, payment is swift and secure with a merchant account. 

The merchant account allows you to communicate directly with a merchant that can access your customer’s bank to settle transactions quickly. A payment processor company could also be a part of the arrangement. Hence, you can’t have direct access to the account since you have a mediator that takes away the stress of initiating and confirming transactions. 

When a transaction is approved, the funds are transferred to the merchant account where they stay for up to three business days for processing. This is to protect against situations where the transaction bounces and the funds have to be returned, but nothing is in the account.  

You should know that these funds also come with a small processing fee and are charged either weekly or monthly. 

The eCommerce Merchant Account

Specially designed for e-commerce stores, an e-commerce merchant account allows businesses to receive and confirm payments online in the fastest time possible. It is one of the essential tools you need when starting as a new business owner. 

Let’s look at who qualifies as an e-commerce merchant. 

The e-commerce merchant is a term used to describe businesses that sell their products online. They could be any of the following:

The critical factor that all these businesses have in common is online transactions. You need a reliable payment system if your enterprise falls under such categories. 

The e-commerce merchant services provider you choose should come with various integration tools to ensure all transactions are swift and safe for you and the customer, from web dashboards to payment gateways and advanced security measures.

Let’s look at who qualifies as an e-commerce merchant. 

The e-commerce merchant is a term used to describe businesses that sell their products online. They could be any of the following:

How eCommerce Merchant Accounts Work

In essence, a merchant account for e-commerce offers merchants of online stores the same service the POS terminal gives ‘IRL’ businesses. Same procedure, different tools. With the shopping cart procedure, your customer’s information is collected securely and sent to the card company for approval through a special payment gateway.

Here’s how e-commerce merchant accounts work:

The sum of the fees could eat into your profits, mess up your records, and make you run at a loss. In addition, some stores are termed high-risk and will especially need a “high-risk e-commerce merchant account” to take care of their payment solutions. Banks do not particularly love partnering with them as the risk of being defrauded is high.

This is why an e-commerce merchant account from a reliable provider is the best way.

High-risk eCommerce Merchant Accounts

E-commerce stores cover many industries, including those with substantial risk. If your business falls into this category, or your own has built a type of risk mainly by its trading volume, you’re a high-risk e-commerce merchant. Examples of such online stores include businesses with a volatile nature or products with a shaky legal structure, like big pharmaceutical stores. 

Some e-commerce merchant accounts offer dedicated services to help you. These services include:

Why your eCommerce Store Needs an eCommerce Merchant Account

With increased modernization techniques for B2B businesses, everyone is moving beyond offering payment by credit and debit card only. Convenience and reliability is now crucial when a customer is hunting for a new online business to patronize. 

As an e-commerce store owner, you need a reliable payment method that can withstand the challenges associated with your business type. Here’s why an e-commerce account is a good idea for your store.

Diverse Methods of Payment

With increased modernization techniques for B2B businesses, everyone is moving beyond offering payment by credit and debit card only. Convenience and reliability is now crucial when a customer is hunting for a new online business to patronize. 

As an e-commerce store owner, you need a reliable payment method that can withstand the challenges associated with your business type. Here’s why an e-commerce account is a good idea for your store.

Established Presence Online

Since the internet boom, businesses have been steadily growing thanks to its many opportunities. However, the advantages of having an online store are also accompanied by challenges. For example, receiving payments online exposes you to the risk of fraud.

Since your business needs to be online, e-commerce merchant services can comfortably give you the resources you need to thrive online and flag fraudulent transactions. Some select providers offer offline services as well, should you decide to open a brick-and-mortar store.

Increased Security

The security that comes with e-commerce merchant accounts is advanced. It’s necessary that you prove to your customers that you can guarantee the safety of their financial information. On the other hand, you must also protect yourself from falling victim to fraudulent acts. 

PaymentUSA’s operation ensures that not only do you get access to simple management tools for your payments but they are also protected. We employ advanced fraud filters that can sort good transactions from bad ones. Our security system has a superb encryption framework and complies with all PCI regulations.

Services Provided by eCommerce Merchant Accounts

A dedicated payment structure is vital to the growth and success of your business. It is essential to have access to diverse payment processing methods with high security to protect your customer’s financial details. 

Before moving to that segment, let’s find out what packages you stand to gain when you get an account e-commerce internet merchant partnership.

End-to-end Encryption

One of the significant services e-commerce merchant accounts provide is a high level of security. This is a factor that no one should underestimate since your e-commerce business deserves protection from fraudulent acts. 

Thankfully, most e-commerce merchant accounts come with a dedicated security processing tool. This ensures that there is end-to-end encryption all the way from shopping cart to the processing bank and back. PaymentUSA’s compliance with PCI requirements and top-level encryption makes it one of the best providers in the United States.

Payment Processing

Having a merchant account for e-commerce platforms means a specialized payment processing platform is slightly different than what other types of businesses get. This tool is the most essential of all since you need a processing platform that is quick, reliable, and secure. 

Our customers love our speedy payment processing confirmations, and our glowing reviews reflect this! Our dedicated customer support agents will be only too happy to explain how you can be a part of the PaymentUSA family. Please book a consultation to learn more about how swift our processing platform is.

Simple Software

While you strive to provide your customers with an excellent experience, it’s essential that you’re not burdened with lagging software that slows down your operation. The best e-commerce merchant accounts come with easy-to-use software, which should be ready to use and intuitive to learn. Software features should include issuing refunds, tracking payments, and getting regular reports from a well-organized dashboard. 

With our comprehensive software, you can request annual transaction reports at any time and follow up on pending payments easily.D

Shopping Cart Integration

One of the significant aspects of having an e-commerce merchant account is the shopping cart functionality. It’s necessary as unsatisfactory shopping carts are a leading cause of non-conversion for online stores. With our integrated shopping cart, your customers can easily check out. Not many merchant accounts provide this, forcing many of your prospects to be redirected to third-party sites to complete a transaction. 

PCI Compliance

PCI compliance is a standard developed by the PCI (Payment Card Industry) Security Standards Council. PCI is used to regulate all credit card transaction protection. You should be wary of payment processing providers that do not show evidence that they abide by these guidelines. Partnering with them leaves you open to the risk of being hacked and possible lawsuits against your company. 

You can quickly check through the company’s website to confirm if a provider is offering assistance following PCI guidelines.

Regular Monitoring for Fraudulent Activities

Aside from complying with PCI directives, a reliable e-commerce merchant account should be able to offer fraud detection assistance in the form of customizable fraud detection features. From flagging stolen/reported credit cards to restricting bot transactions, having an e-commerce merchant account that can easily detect suspicious transactions on your account is a great plus. 

Remember that your business account will bear the loss if fraudulent activity such as chargebacks occurs. It’s better that you protect yourself with an account that comes with fraud detection features.

Fees Associated with eCommerce Merchant Accounts

Since e-commerce merchant accounts come with special features to meet the demands of your business, there are different fees associated with them. Before we get into them, please note that several e-commerce merchant service providers are notorious for including hidden costs. Always ask questions about how providers charge accounts.

Setup Charge

E-commerce merchants charge this fee when you first set up your account. This fee differs depending on the factors involved – including sales volume, your bank account, and the software/hardware used in your business.

Regular Maintenance Charges

To maintain your account, merchants usually charge a separate fee from the regular transaction charges. The amount here will depend on what software is in use. You can arrange for it to be charged monthly or quarterly. These charges are fixed and consistent.

Transaction Charges

As you might expect, the accumulated charges from transactions are higher than the other charges. Most business owners forget that the different parties involved in the transaction take a cut before approving it. 

There are several methods that payment processing companies use to handle transaction charges. They include:

PaymentUSA’s excellent packages are designed to help cushion the effects of all charges associated with an e-commerce merchant account. Book a demo with one of our customer support agents to explore the flexible payment plans available for your business. 

Cheap eCommerce Merchant Accounts

Most e-commerce stores starting out suffer from a lack of funds and may be unable to afford the high costs of most e-commerce merchant accounts. However, some payment processing providers offer tailored services so you can enjoy the benefits of a cheap e-commerce merchant account. 

If this is your situation, you can still enjoy select services for your startup store. Let’s take a look.

Easy Integration

 As we’ve established, your e-commerce web platform is the backbone of your business. Selecting a merchant that has an integrated tool is necessary to hit the ground running. Miss this factor, and you could delay your launch by weeks just because your payment processing system is still being set up.

Low Charges

Finding a merchant with zero transaction charges is hard. Hunt for reputable firms that can provide you with low fees.

Customer Support

An active customer support network is non-negotiable when selecting a merchant services partner. It is possible to run into issues at any time of day, and having access to 24/7 live support could be a lifesaver. PaymentUSA’s diverse mediums for reaching an agent are always available to assist our clients.

Multiple Currency Support and International Payment Processing

E-commerce merchant services, whether cheap or not, should be able to process payments in various currencies. International payment processing is vital if you want to go global with your store. Also, the ability to support multiple currencies should be a plus when choosing a provider.

Setting Up a Merchant Account for eCommerce

Now that you understand the need for an e-commerce merchant account for your business, let’s move on to how you can set one up for your online store. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Confirming the features you need in an e-commerce merchant account

You must list the essential features you wish to see in your ideal e-commerce merchant account provider. Some of the necessary components are smooth integration, high security, international payment processing, and fast processing times.

Step 2: Compare providers

Find out which of the providers offer the features you need.PaymentUSA is a great choice because we offer:

Step 3: Application

Once you’ve ticked the boxes, it’s time to reach out to our dedicated customer support agents and inquire how to get started. Feel free to discuss what it is you’re looking for, including your future projected sales volumes, whether your business will need a high-risk e-commerce merchant account, and the type of integrations you’re looking for. 

Booking a consultation with our agents will help you get the necessary information and documentation you need when filing an application. 

When it comes to opening an e-commerce merchant account, there are no shortcuts. You need a trusted partner like PaymentUSA to ensure the safety, security and speed of all your business deposits. 

At PaymentUSA, we equip you with the right tools to run a successful online business. With our proven strategies, we help to keep your business in step with modern times by providing services that resolve every payment concern.

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