Merchant Account FAQ

1) What is a merchant account?
2) How long is the approval process?
3) What are the costs, fees and charges?
4) Do you only offer offshore merchant accounts?
5) When will I be paid?
6) Will I have my own billing descriptor?
7) What if I don't get approved?
8) Why are there different rates for different merchants?
9) What are chargebacks?
10) What is a monthly gateway fee?

Answers

What is a merchant account?
1) A merchant account is a facility which allows a business to accept payment for goods and services via credit cards, debit cards, gift cards and other forms of electronic payment. This process has a variety of labels, some of which are: e-commerce, e-payment processing or online credit card processing. Business owners (Merchants) who wish to accept payment via credit cards must apply for a merchant account facility, usually through a payment service provider or acquiring merchant bank.

How long is the approval process?
2) We work directly with our clients to ensure their web sites are in compliance with the card associations and acquiring bank requirements. Upon receipt of completed application forms and all supporting documentation, a merchant ID is typically issued within 5 to 7 business days. Start Up businesses may take slightly longer. Switching to Offshore Processing from another processor is a fast, and simple process, and merchants switching to us from another processer can anticipate a much quicker turnaround.
What are the costs, fees and charges?
3) Set Up, Credit Card Processing and Other Services costs are variable, and depend entirely onthe nature of the merchant's business, risk category, processing history, and monthly transaction volume.
Do you only offer offshore merchant accounts?
4) NO! While we are the specialists in Offshore merchant accounts and as such are able to accept merchants for our merchant accounts in MANY countries including The Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, The United Kingdom, Russia, India, China, Bahamas, Brazil, Israel, Ecuador, Greece, South Africa, Hong Kong, Italy, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus, Peru, Malta, Norway and Sweden, we also offer the most competitive rates for merchants in the United States and Canada with domestic merchant accounts.
When will I be paid?
5) Payment timelines are unique and handled on a case by case basis with each merchant depending on the nature of the merchants business. Typically payments are issued to merchants every week 21 days in arrears.
Will I have my own billing descriptor?
6) Yes. We do not offer 3rd party billing, rather we offer all merchants the opportunity of opening their own direct merchant account. Each merchant account has its own unique, personalized billing descriptor.
What if I don't get approved?
7) We have a 98.17% approval rate, so it's very unlikely that you wouldn't get approved. We go over all the details of your business before you apply, we do this specifically to be sure that you will get approved.
Why are there different rates for different merchants?
8) The rates for merchant accounts vary based on the risk determined to be involved in the transaction. For example, the accounts with the lowest rates will always be the ones where the customer is present and the card is physically swiped and a receipt signed in a face to face transaction. Acquiring banks view these types of transactions as the lowest in terms of risk for fraud, whereas online transactions and transactions where orders are taken by phone or mail are generally considered higher risk as neither the customer nor the card is present.
What are chargebacks?
9) A chargeback is what it's called when a transaction is reversed. In other words, rather than adding money to your account it is deducted. Chargebacks can occur for a wide variety of reasons, such as double-charging, credit card expiration, bank error and customer disputes.
What is a monthly gateway fee?
10) A gateway fee is a monthly fee assessed for access to the online internet merchant account gateway for processing of transactions, and is usually billed directly through your merchant account by your processor. The gateway fee can be as high as $200 per month. In addition to gateway fees, there are usually per transaction fees ranging from $0.65 to $0.95 that the acquiring bank will levy.

Service Rates

Offshore Processing Merchant Account service rates depend on three main factors
1) The Risk of the business category,
2) The Volume of monthly transactions,
3) The Processing history of the business.

Pricing

Our pricing is extremely competitive with no hidden charges. Just click the apply link and fill out the form and we will send you detailed information and pricing. No client is too small or too big – we can have you up and running in no time.

Already have a merchant account…

But you are looking for better service, better rates, faster settlements? We can help. We will analyze your current processing and tell you if we can do better. Just click the apply link, fill out the form and we will send you information.

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