Merchant Account & Credit Card Processing

Pricing Information	Industry Standard	FDIS RATES
Visa® & MasterCard® Discount Rate*	1.85% +	1.59%
Transaction Fee	.35 - .50 ¢ Each	.30¢ Each
Credit Card Machine - Terminal & Printer	$395-$995	$229.00
Monthly Customer Service Fee	$12-$20	$10
Credit Restrictions	Very Strict	Many Approved!
*There is a monthly minimum of $25 total discount rate charged. It's only charged if you don't meet the monthly minimum required. The monthly minimum is the discount rate or $25, whichever is greater each month. For example, you sell $1500 in a month. $1500 x 1.59% = $23.85. The credit card processing company will charge you $1.15 to meet the monthly minimum.

Retail Merchant Account (Card-Swiped)

Our Retail Merchant Account is designed for merchants who do a majority of their credit card processing at their retail storefront. At least 70% of their credit card processing transactions take place in person and their customer's credit card is swiped through the credit card machine. If you don't swipe at least 70% of your transactions then you need to sign up as a mail/telephone order merchant account with a discount rate of 2.39%.

Let's back up a moment and examine what is a retail merchant account? It is an account that is setup between a merchant, a bank, and a credit card processing company. It is not a bank account. A merchant account is an agreement that allows the merchant to accept credit cards from their business. After a transaction has been approved and settled, the credit card processor deposits the merchant's funds directly into the merchant's bank account. This deposit usually takes place within 2 to 4 business days. The bank account can be at whatever bank the merchant chooses.

A retail merchant account has a lower discount rate because over 70% of the transactions take place face-to-face where the card is actually swiped. Because of this there is less fraud involved than non-swiped transactions. Due to less risk to the credit card processor, they pass this on to the merchant in the form of lower rates than an Internet merchant account where the card is not swiped.

A credit card machine is required for a retail merchant account. It is important when shopping for credit card machines to look around for a merchant account provider that doesn't lease machines or sell them for exorbitant prices. Many leases are for long terms and are not cancellable. In addition, some merchants don't even end up owning their machine at the end of the lease. It is much more advisable for a business to search for a merchant account provider that sells credit card machines at a reasonable price.

* All equipment offers are being made by Instamerchant, LLC. Restrictions apply. Call for details.