Free merchant account burning questions
<div align="justify"><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2">As a young, idealistic netrepreneur, I had delusions of grandeur when I first started building my site. I found out the hard & expensive way - back in the days, starting an ecommerce site was just as difficult as trying to hike Mt. Everest without a sherpa.. I had no inkling where to start. In fact, my first ecommerce site failed – not only due to fraud, but due to my arrogancy and lack of forethought.<br /><br />Good thing though, information is quicker to get these days, and starting an ecommerce site is more uncomplicated with <strong>merchant providers</strong> packing all you've ever needed in one package.<br /><br />If you're a budding merchant, you would need a <strong>merchant account</strong>. Let me give you a few questions you might want to ask your merchant account provider – who knows, it just might help you.<br /><br /><strong><br /></strong></font><ul><li><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2"><strong>Free Merchant Account eh? Is it free? If not, what's for free then?</strong></font></li></ul><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2">Sorry to burst your pretty bubble, but it isn't. You can't barter your product for a merchant account – barter isn't popular anymore(we're out of the stone age as well), nor are exchange deals. However, although the services aren't free, your agent can provide you with some freebies according to your taste. Free setup? Yes. Free Application Fee? Yes. Free Terminal? Yes. A word of warning though: there are some providers who overcharge you on other fees to compensate for the freebies they give you. <strong>Double check the fine print.</strong> Which leads us to..<br /><br /></font><ul><li><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2"><strong>What fees do I need to be aware of?</strong></font></li></ul><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2">Transaction fees. Discount Rates. Monthly fees. Accepting credit cards entails fees to make your head spin. Hold on to your head – ask your agent for a comprehensive list of charges, which includes Address Verification Fees, Annual Fees, Batch Transaction Fees, Cancellation fees, Chargeback fees, Refund Issue Fees, virtual terminal fees, and monthly minimum fees. Of course, this isn't as comprehensive, so persist, insist, and you won't be baffled when you get your monthly statement.<br /><br /></font><ul><li><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2"><strong>Does it come with a payment gateway?</strong></font></li></ul><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2">A <a href="http://www.securepaymentgateways.com" target="_blank"><strong>payment gateway</strong></a> allows the secure facilitation of credit card transactions from one financial institution to another. Without this, your transaction operation is crippled. Some merchant account providers are compatible with some payment gateways, some aren't. Choose one that is compatible with the merchant account provider, or if you have your eye on a certain payment gateway, then by all means go with the one compatible with it.<br /><br /></font><ul><li><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2"><strong>What's real time and batch processing?</strong></font></li></ul><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2">When you start charging your customers' credit cards, you can choose whether to process in real-time, or off-line. Realtime processing authorizes and charges the customer in real-time. Now. The very moment the purchase is made. Batch processing captures the credit card information, and at the end of the day(or night), they can all be processed at the same time. This is done by the payment gateway.<br /><br /></font><ul><li><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2"><strong>What kind of protection do you offer customers(and indirectly, merchants)</strong></font></li></ul></div><div align="justify"><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2">In order to safeguard the customer's card information, your free merchant account provider should have at least a Secure Socket Layer (SSL). It uses 128 bit or higher encryption. If your provider has one, then you just saved yourself money instead of getting a separate SSL certification.<br /><br /><br /><br />Pop these questions when having that delicate conversation with your <strong>free merchant account</strong> agent. Make sure they answer in a clear and comprehensive manner. Any scanty answers should be looked at suspiciously (they might be hiding something) and could cost you more than you agreed upon – including losing your business.<br /><br />Starting your own ecommerce site can indeed be difficult and complicated, but with the help of a <strong>free merchant account</strong> and the wealth of information on the net you can refer to, building your own site can be as easy as learning your ABCs.</font></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2">Read the 2nd part of this article here:</font></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><strong><a href="http://www.freemerchantaccount.biz/free_merchant_account_burning_questions_part_two.html" title="free merchant account"><font face="verdana,geneva" size="2">Free Merchant Account Burning Questions Part 2 </font></a></strong></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div> <a href="http://www.onlywire.com/submit?u=http://www.freemerchantaccount.biz/free_merchant_account_burning_questions.html;t=Free%20Merchant%20Account;tags=Free%20merchant%20account,%20credit%20card%20processing" target="_blank" title="Like this article? 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