Opening a Merchant Account for Main Street Sites
If you have decided to open a merchant account account to use with
Online Registration, please read the following before creating your account. If you are not sure which payment processing option will be best for your business, please refer to the section on
difference between payment processing options to learn more about PayPal vs. merchant accounts.
Merchant accounts and Authorize.net gateways
Merchant accounts are just bank accounts that are used for credit card processing. Many banks issue merchant accounts. We recommend using e-OnlineData for your merchant account if you haven't already selected a bank.
Regardless of which bank you select, the merchant account must support using Authorize.net as an internet gateway. Virtually all merchant accounts support Authorize.net, even so - it would be best if you confirmed this with your bank prior to opening the account.
Merchant account fees
Please note that unlike PayPal, merchant accounts and Authorize.net gateways have some fixed monthly fees. These fees typically include:
- A monthly statement fee of around $10
- A monthly Authorize.net gateway fee of around $15
- A monthly minimum of $25 (this fee doesn't apply if $1200 in charges are processed in a given month)
On the other hand, internet merchant account discount fees are typically around 2.3% as opposed to the 2.9-2.5% PayPal generally charges.
Opening your account
Please either contact your preferred bank and ask to open a merchant account for internet transactions, or follow this link
https://www.e-onlinedata.com/symmetrictech to sign up with e-OnlineData, our preferred internet banking partner.