Merchant Account

If you have a traditional "brick and mortar" store, you will need a retail merchant account in order to accept credit cards as a form of payment. If you want to accept credit cards on your website, however, you need a specialize type of merchant account known as an "Internet-ready" merchant account.

What is an Internet-ready merchant account?
It’s a specialized merchant account that handles Internet transactions in real-time without any human intervention.

Why do I need an Internet-ready merchant account?
In order to operate a fully successful ecommerce site, you will need to accept credit cards for online transactions. Internet-ready merchant accounts enable you to handle Internet transactions in "real-time" without any human intervention. Because the risk of credit card fraud is greater when you are accepting credit cards over the Internet, these specialized merchant accounts also provide additional checks that can significantly reduce the chance of credit card fraud. Once the transactions are processed, the merchant account provider transfers the funds received from the credit card transactions from your merchant account to your bank account.

For information about accepting credit cards for your products and services view PayPal Merchant Fees and Options.