Why Online Merchant Accounts are More Important than Ever
Online merchant accounts give businesses access to software and hardware that allow them to process their customers’ credit and debit card payments. Businesses that don’t have this infrastructure in place will fall behind as the coronavirus lockdown continues. Customers are demanding more varied online purchasing options and businesses can’t deliver them without online merchant accounts.
Credit card swipe machines cannot suffice when customers are restricted from visiting the business in person. Even after the lockdown lifts, software that makes use of online purchasing options could be an essential addition to a business’s financial structure. The right merchant account provider can offer not only processing services related to online merchant accounts but can update outdated credit card swipe machines as well.
What is an Online Merchant Account?
Online merchant account services encompass many software and hardware services and could include different products depending on the provider. In general, merchant account providers offer software services for websites that allow businesses to conduct transactions with their customers, as well as hardware for brick and mortar stores, such as the latest swipe machines.
There is an important difference between a merchant account provider and a payment processor. The first offers the services and software that makes transactions possible and the other processes the payments between banks. These are sometimes the same company, but more often an online merchant account provider works through a third-party payment processor. This is ideal for most businesses, because it means that they can match the business with the processor that will provide the best deal for that business. A merchant account provider that performs payment processing for its merchants will not have that option.
Why Should Businesses Have an Online Merchant Account?
Businesses that expect to operate online stores during the COVID-19 quarantine need an online merchant account to conduct transactions with customers. Without these services, users will have to resort to outdated methods of payment to interact with stores, such as conventional swipe machines. With the competition for online customers escalating during the lockdown, no business would want to be on the losing side of that battle.
Online purchases are not the only reason to invest in an online merchant account, however. Hardware updates like modern credit card swipe machines and mobile-friendly transaction services can help any business, large or small, keep up with the demand for new and varied purchasing methods.
The Takeaway
Online merchant account services provide businesses with the ability to process transactions from their customers’ debit and credit cards, and also typically offer other electronic payment methods. The services each provider offers may vary, but the software and hardware services are all devoted to improving a business’s infrastructure in terms of processing online transactions.
Visit Charge.com or call (888) 924-2743 to learn about their products and services and how an online merchant account can improve or replace a credit card swipe machine in a brick and mortar sales situation. During the coronavirus quarantine, these online transaction methods work in conjunction with a third-party payment processor to update practically any business for the 21st century.