That pesky merchant acount.
If you want to accept credit cards, you need a "merchant account" - that's just the way it is. This is usually through a real bank somewhere who will take the money directly from the credit card companies, say Visa, and dump it in the bank account of your choice. It can be a bank account not at that financial institution, so don't feel like you have to open an account at that bank; if they say you have to, the rest is your choice. For this lovely service, you will pay a monthly fee to the bank with whom you have this merchant account and some may take other fees.
What are the fees like?
I think I am paying $20/month to the merchant account people but that is some sort of minimum no matter how much money I process through cards that month... so it's not ADDED to what I do. Within this fee are per-transaction fees, which I think for me are 30 cents US each. I also lose a percentage of each transaction to the credit card company or whoever is keeping that money. :)
Are the fees different for different types of businesses?
YES. Be aware that different industries and different banks will treat you differently and charge different fees. Also, I found out recently when changing addresses with American Express (who made me close my old account and start a new one) that the company that I found online who had signed me up for all of this had lied about my type of business to get me a lower rate. That's nice, but when I told American Express what I did to start the "new" account at the new address, my rate suddenly shot up. I think I'd prefer to be honest... Also, I believe my rates are a bit higher anyway because as a company that doesn't normally have other people's credit cards in my hands (mostly because many of my clients are in other time zones), I have to use their billing address to prove that I'm not taking stolen cards. I guess the banks see this as a bit of a risk as I can't match signatures and see the person and the like.
