At one point in time, getting setup to accept transactions electronically was a tedious and time-consuming process, a task that required more costs and resources than most businesses had at the time. In fact, if you ask most merchants that have an online store, setting up the internet processing account was a tough process, and the discount rate to accept credit cards was much more costly to the business. When you add the (high) discount rate, the added transaction (gateway) fees, the added monthly fees, and the high possibility of fraud and charge-backs, it usually costs a merchant 4-5% per transaction to sell products online.

An internet merchant account is a partnership with a credit card processing company that enables you to process and accept credit cards and checks over the internet. eCommerce websites rely heavily on these methods of payment because of their convenience and speed. Consumers have come to use credit and debit cards as a primary method of purchasing, so if a business does not accept and process credit cards, the consumer is likely to buy from someone else who does. For this reason, and the ease of use and other benefits of eCommerce, businesses are advised to set up internet merchant accounts.

Credit is a major form of payment for goods and services because it is easy to use, and with an internet merchant account eCommerce credit is just as simple. Internet merchant accounts allow online businesses access to the simplest and fastest forms of payment available.

Internet Credit Card Processing requires more security and aggressive fraud controls than retail credit card processing because the credit card cannot be verified by swiping the credit card like you do with a retail merchant account. For this reason it's very important to deal with a company that specializes in internet transactions and Internet Merchant Accounts.

An Internet Merchant Account does not require a shopper's signature and has requirements beyond a typical card-not-present or retail merchant account. If you already have a merchant account, you should verify that the merchant account supports credit card payments over the Internet.