Pros of merchant account for an international online store

If you have decided to open an international online store, you cannot do so without a merchant account. This is what they call a merchant account, which is an intermediate link between the buyer and the company's bank account. The money, which is deposited on it, stays in the account for several days.

If the customer has a problem, it can be returned after returning the goods. When everything is in order, the money is finally deposited into the seller's bank account. So, opening a merchant account for an international online store means saving the company from many problems with accounting and taxation. Doing so also has many more advantages.

How does the merchant account work

There are two kinds of merchants account:

• merchant - payment goes through a POS terminal;
• internet - to pay for goods, you need to enter the card data, but it is not required.

For an online store, you need an online account. Card data that the user has entered on the site are sent to the payment gateway, where they are checked for fraudulent activity. If everything is in order, a request is sent to the bank that issued the card, notifying the system (Visa, MasterCard) about the transaction.

Then the bank has to confirm that the card is valid and that the user has the right amount of money in his account. This information goes to the acquiring bank which processes the transaction. It gives the buyer an ID (identifier) which is linked to the online store's account. The specified amount is sent to the merchant account and the customer is informed about it.

If the online store is working with a reliable payment system, which boasts of well-adjusted processes, the payment is made in a few seconds.

Advantages of a merchant account

• Payment in different currencies. The system automatically transfers the client's money to the desired form;
• Safety. A merchant account has a high security level and PSP certificate;
• Speed of transactions. A store that is connected to a merchant account can conduct hundreds of transactions simultaneously, and the system will not have any bugs;
• This has a positive effect on the store's reputation and contributes to an increase in customers;
• Income growth. It's much more convenient to pay with a card than cash, so cashless payments are becoming more popular. In addition, people who have a card, more often act on impulse, making purchases that they would not decide to make with only cash;
• Customer growth. If it's easy to make a purchase in the store, the system doesn't hang around. The customer will come back for a repeat purchase and recommend the online store to friends;
• Purchase at any time of the day. If the online store is connected to a merchant account, the customer can make purchases at any time of the day or night, on a day off.

Opening a merchant account

Before connecting your store to a merchant account, you should analyze the available payment instruments. It is also important to make sure that customers can use the services of the major payment systems Visa and Mastercard. Then you need to prepare documents, including tax returns and papers indicating the volume of sales, approximate turnover, and the average bill.

The next step is to sign a contract with the acquirer bank which will carry out the operation. It is best to choose the bank in the country where the business is registered. All papers will be thoroughly checked because banks value their reputation and do not want to be involved in fraudulent transactions. Therefore, they will thoroughly analyze the state of your business, whether the company is on the verge of bankruptcy, or has no experience. If there is a black credit history, the bank may refuse to open an account.

How to open a merchant account quickly

If you need a merchant account for your e-store, contact IT-OFFSHORE specialists and we will help you.