Is There Such a Thing as a Free Merchant Account?

This article raises the discussion of is there really such a thing as a free merchant account.  From here you will be able to draw your own conclusion. 

Do you really think that you can get things for free? Did you know that when you get free things, they come with a price or a catch attached to them?

Take for instance, the free merchant account. It’s been advertised as free, but believe it or not, there are a few costs associated with it:

* You will incur a fee for each transaction that is processed to your account. The transaction fee is for the processing of the transaction.

* If your business gets hundreds or even thousands of sales for your online business at one setting, your free merchant service provider may want to put up a red flag and set up temporary hold of funds. They say it’s to protect you as well as themselves.

* You’ll have to wait at least three to four business days after the transactions before you can access your funds.

* You may not be able to accept currency from several countries due to restrictions placed on them by governmental entities.

The good thing about a free merchant account is that if the brand is well known, it can be used anywhere at any time.

If your merchant account was totally free, you would:

* Not be incurring transaction fees for every transaction that comes in.

* Not having to be concerned about limitations put on your merchant account due to high profit volumes within a matter of a day or two.

* Have access to your funds sooner than three to four business days.

* Be able to accept more currency from other countries to purchase from you.

Free merchant account providers have customer service facilities. However, it seems like you have to wait a long time to speak with a representative. Then they’ll tell you what you think you want to hear. When they give you information about a problem, you expect the problem to be solved. However, that’s not the case and you end up calling them back again. Everytime you get some information from them for your problem, it’s not the right remedy to your issue. Going back and forth with them can be a nightmare, especially if they don’t know what they’re talking about.

There are a few things that are free when you set up your merchant account. One of them is you don’t have to get your credit checked for a free merchant account. You can sign up for one at anytime.

Sometimes, having a free merchant account may be the best thing for you at the time. This is especially true if you’re just starting out with an online business. You will at least be able to learn the basics of having a merchant account, whether it’s paid or not.

It’s important that you keep abreast of the fees that the free merchant account provider takes deducts from your transactions. So the question is asked again, “Is There Such a Thing as a Free Merchant Account?” After reading this article people may beg to differ.

Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

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