Merchant Account Alternatives For Your Online Business

Are you leery about committing to your own merchant account? Or have you tried to get one but had your application denied? If so, don't despair. There are alternatives to getting your own merchant account. You will still be able to accept credit card payments online if you use the services of a third party merchant account. This article will take a look at three of the most popular choices for this option.

Accept credit card payments via Paypal

Paypal is probably the most widely used third party, or shared merchant account. It was long popular with online businesses and then when eBay bought Paypal and added it as a preferred method of accepting payments, Paypal usage really took off. That is one of the big advantages of using Paypal to accept credit cards and payments, simply because so many people already have Paypal accounts. Paypal also has terms which are much more favorable to merchants. Suppose you receive $350 for the sale of one of your products. As soon as the sale is made, $350 shows up right away in your Paypal account. You can then spend the money using your own Paypal account or debit card. You can also choose to have the money transferred to your bank which should be completed within 3 business days.

Accept credit cards with Clickbank

Clickbank has been around for many years and has a lot of experience with credit card transactions. You will find that you are only able to sell digital products through Clickbank. So if you are trying to sell software or ebooks, this might be the best choice for you. One disadvantage to Clickbank is that they only release your money two times a month. So if you can’t wait for your money, you may want to stick with Paypal. The way it works is that all the sales you generate from the 1st to the 15th of the month is paid out to you (minus fees) on the first of the next month. A big advantage of Clickbank is that it comes with thousands of built in affiliates just looking for a good product to promote.

Accept credit cards with 2checkout

2checkout works similar to Clickbank except they allow the sale of tangible goods also. In addition, payments are made once weekly. 2 checkout does not have a built in affiliate program but it is extremely easy to set up your order buttons and be ready to go.

The three third party merchant account holders mentioned above are by no means the only choices you would have. There are a few more and new ones seem to come on the scene on a regular basis. However, the three mentioned above have been around for years and withstood the test of time. You can also find a lot of feedback from other customers both good and bad, about each of them which might make it a little easier for you to come to a decision about which one to choose.