Once a merchant account has been set up, business owners can start accepting payments when customers use their credit cards to pay for a product or service. But what sets merchant accounts apart from other credit card processing solutions and how, exactly, do you integrate them with your business? Let’s quickly cover what merchant accounts are, how they work, and why so many business owners use them to accept cashless payments.

Choosing a high-risk merchant account provider isn’t the same as working with other payment processors. You can expect different pricing and contract terms — but you shouldn’t compromise on customer service. Here are six great providers that offer great service, fair pricing, and reasonable contracts for small businesses.

Credit card machines have evolved from having little more than simple transaction processing capabilities to today’s high-tech devices with color touch screens, multiple displays, and the ability to install additional software apps to help your run your business.

Not to be confused with National Processing Company (NPC), National Processing has a great reputation for customer service and transparency. See why it’s one of our top picks for credit card processing.

This article will discuss PCI compliance, why it’s important, and how your merchant services provider treats it. We’ll look at the numerous ways in which providers charge (or don’t charge) for PCI compliance services and what kind of services you’ll receive. We’ll also discuss the dreaded PCI non-compliance fee and how you can avoid ever having to pay it.

If you want to sell online, you need a payment gateway. These days, small businesses have many options depending on how they run their business. Check out the best payment gateways for a variety of business types.

First Data Global Leasing has the dubious distinction of being among our rogue’s gallery of the processing industry’s worst credit card terminal leasing companies. While it offers high-quality products in the Clover line of terminals and POS systems, it’s disheartening that an industry leader such as Fiserv would condone awful business practices by a subsidiary.

Payment service providers (PSPs) streamline the process of obtaining credit card processing services by aggregating all users into a single merchant account. This eliminates the need for a lengthy underwriting process before a merchant can be approved for an account, but also increases the chance of a hold, freeze, or account termination. Your business will not receive a unique merchant ID number if you sign up with a payment service provider. Well-known PSPs include Square, PayPal, and Stripe.

With interchange++ pricing, your transaction statement will include three elements for each transaction: the interchange fee paid to the issuing bank, the card association fee paid to the card brand (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, etc.), and the processor’s markup fees. Note that card association fees are typically very low and do not constitute a significant portion of your credit/debit card processing fees.

If your business needs to send or receive online payments – either domestically or internationally – Payoneer’s payment services may come in very handy. While companies like PayPal offer similar capabilities, Payoneer has a stronger focus on international transactions and claims to offer lower overall costs than its competitors. Read our full Payoneer review for more details.