Instant Merchant Account
There are a lot of companies out there claiming to set up ‘instant merchant accounts’ these days – but often you apply for one only to find yourself waiting weeks and being required to fill out a bunch of paperwork and correspond with the provider by post. Don’t get caught in one of these scenarios – read on to find out what you should be looking for when you sign up for a quick set-up merchant account.
How Instant is Instant?
Just because a provider describes their account set-up process as ‘instant’ doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a working merchant account set up in a short time frame. Even companies which allow you to apply for an account online may take weeks to process your application – in other words, their application process may be instant, but the entire process of getting your account set up and ready to process payments may take a lot longer.
In fact, it’s typical for companies to claim an ‘instant’ set-up even when they take between 2-7 days on average to get an account up and running. Make sure you check the company’s website and find out exactly how long it will take to get the account operational before you apply.
Balancing Set-Up Speed and Price
Quick set-up is a big priority for some businesses, who are hamstrung when it comes to payment processing until they have their own functional merchant account. However, it’s important to take a long-run view of setting up your account and take all pricing factors into consideration as well as set-up speed. Remember that most providers charge an initial set-up fee, flat monthly fees and a percentage of transactions each month. Look at the numbers, consider the volume of credit card sales you’ll need to process and ask yourself what the total cost of using each provider is likely to be to you. Many businesses, in a rush to get set up with a merchant account, don’t consider the long term consequences of the account they’re signing up for.
Fast Digital Application Acceptance
The key to instant account set-up is having a fast, online process for accepting applications. It’s a streamlined online application process which allows providers like eMerchantBroker to help even high risk businesses and people with bad credit set up merchant accounts that can process payments on the same day as the application was submitted. If you’re looking for a high-acceptance, completely online application process with reasonable fees, eMerchantBroker is the way to go.