Article written as guess post by Total-Merchant-Services.com
Merchant services have come a long way in the past few years. Any decent merchant services provider will offer such amenities as payment gateway for your websites, automatic recurring billing (ARB), and virtual terminals. If they do not have these, then move on to the next. You should be able to accept payments by email, website, or phone. Also, electronic checks should be as easy to manage as credit cards and debit cards.
One of the trickiest aspect of online merchant services is retaining your customers’ data securely. Your provider must have a solution for this touchy aspect of online business transactions. If not, then move on to the next.
Of course, for traditional customers who walk in your door with a credit card in hand you will need a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal to physically run the card. You could get in trouble if you have a customer whose address is near yours and you do not run a physical card. Your provide should also be able to reprogram any POS terminal you already have. This will save you money, time, and headaches.
Lastly, your provider should have some sort of affiliate program in place for you to earn money through referrals. Although you probably will not get rich this way, it might contribute additional income that can boost your company just a little. Retail merchant accounts are a serious feature of any successful business today and you can start with a free internet merchant account at many sites. You could start by looking at www.total-merchant-services.com or by searching for any of the many alternatives out there.