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An Overview Of Visa Merchant Accounts

Credit and debit card use has been a part of our society for many years now.

Credit and debit card use has been a part of our society for many years now. In fact, every second, an estimated 10,000 credit card transactions take place. Credit cards are practical when there is no cash on hand or when making large purchases. Sometimes, people even gain points, such as airline miles, when using credit cards.

Because so many people use credit cards, businesses should adjust to this cashless sales transaction. In fact, if they don’t up to 80 percent of sales from impulse buying is lost.

One of the most popular credit cards is Visa. In fact, Visa has the most number of circulated credit and debit cards around the first half of 2009. To be exact, 318 million Visa credit cards as well as 346 million Visa debit cards were in circulation in the US as of the end of March.

How do Businesses Begin to Accept Visa Cards?

Only businesses with Visa merchant accounts can accept Visa cards. A merchant account is like a bank account. This is where business sales through credit or debit card gets end up. In addition, it represents an agreement for the business owner, the bank, and Visa that transactions made using Visa cards will be settled.

Visa merchant accounts can be obtained mainly through merchant banks. Merchant banks are regular banks that allow businesses to have an account with them that accepts payments from Visa transactions.

Below are some Visa-recognized banks that provide service in all 50 states. They can be where Visa merchant accounts can be set up:

Unfortunately some businesses have trouble getting Visa merchant accounts. So, ISOs or Independent Sales Organizations can also be turned to to get Visa merchant accounts. ISOs are companies that market merchant accounts for a merchant bank. ISOs are generally more lenient than the banks themselves but their fees may be higher. They are also not regulated like merchant banks, so it is important find out more about them before opening a Visa merchant account through them.

Below are some ISOs that are registered with Visa:

Merchant accounts all involve fees because Visa and the merchant bank both spend to provide the credit card convenience to the business and the buyer. Most common fees are the following:

• Discount fee – typically 2.5 to 5 percent of the total transaction amount that is deducted from what will be deposited into the Visa merchant account
• Transaction or Authorization fee – commonly between 30 to 50 cents per transaction or authorization. This means that every time a cashier requests for authorization to charge what the customer is buying, a fee is charged whether or not the customer can charge.
• Monthly fee – covers the network access fee (to process a credit card payment, a cashier must access the Visa network) and monthly minimum fee. A monthly minimum fee is an industry standard so that merchant banks also earn from Visa credit card usage.

Sometimes monthly fees also cover statement fees and customer service fees. However, if these are not included, these will also be paid for on a monthly basis. More fees may be charged that are not mentioned above.

Being a Visa merchant account holder has many advantages including opening the business to those who only use credit or debit cards. However, a merchant account has many fees to consider. It is important to be able to know if the fees are worth the potential new customers, to know which ISO or merchant bank can be trusted to get a merchant account from, and to know all the fees and rules in having a merchant account before actually having one.

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