My Merchant Account Blog

Getting Your Money

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

When it comes to having a merchant account, getting your money is just as important. Some people might tell you if you are in the United States and doing more than $1,000 a month, consider a merchant account along with an electronic payment gateway instead of an IPSP (Internet payment service provider) like (some versions of) Paypal and 2Checkout.

There are some reasons behind this. Some processors change a minimum fee a month, maybe $15.00. So if you sold $1,000 of merchandise that month and your discount rate is 2.29%, that would be $22.90. You have met this monthly minimum requirement and should have nothing to worry about with this fee.

In Business to Make Money

Chances are you are in business to make money though. And chances are, you will doing more than $1,000 a month. But let's say that is what you are doing. Is Paypal better for you? Yes and no. It might be cheaper for you when considering the amount of money they charge. guess what though? Paypal is keeping your money until you sign into their website and tell them to send it over. Or you might be able to drive down to the bank and withdraw the money via an ATM. Either way, it is going to take you some time.

Faster Money with a Merchant Account

With a merchant account, your money is going to be deposited into your bank account usually in a couple of days after the batch is completed. Let's say you close your batch on Sunday (usually before a certain time as well - check with your processor). If all the programs run correctly, you should have the money in your bank account on Tuesday.

So you just have to ask yourself is your time worth the $25.00 or so a month you might be spending for a merchant account? If the answer is yes, then get a merchant account. If the answer is no, get a Paypal account.

(Keep in mind that we only discussed $1,000 a month in volume. Chances are, anything over this amount, the scales are going to tilt more in your favor of having a merchant account.)