What is difference between US and European Merchant Accounts?

US Merchant Account

Initially, only US banks were providing the credit card processing services to the e-commerce merchants or other stores. After seeing the successful growth in online selling, the banks also started providing e-commerce merchant services for online selling to the merchants.

Now, there are several US banks that offer E-commerce Merchant Accounts, credit card processing services, and other transaction services. And this rise in the number of banks affected the prices and grew to be bargain-able or competitive. Also, if the merchant is not a resident of the US then he cannot get a Merchant account. But, all this comes to an end when European e-commerce merchant accounts came into existence and became available for Merchants.

European Merchant Account

In order to have a European Merchant Account or credit card processing services, a merchant does not require to be a US citizen, which means you could get a Merchant account from anywhere in the world. The European Merchant Account provides an award-winning gateway to the merchants. Now the Merchants have two options, which are the US and the European Merchant Accounts, to choose either one of them according to their convenience.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE US AND THE EUROPEAN MERCHANT ACCOUNTS

Pricing

There is a huge difference in the prices between the US and the European Merchant Accounts in terms of the gateway, setup fees, and discount rates etc. The European merchant accounts are way higher in prices than the US Merchant Accounts. The cost of the US Merchant Accounts decreased due to the high competition among the US banks. Unlike US banks, there is no such competition for the European Merchant accounts which leads to a higher cost. European Banks offer their services all over the world while the US banks provide their services in the US only.

Quality

In terms of the quality of the services, both the banks are equal. Both the US and European Merchant Accounts offering the same credit card processing services like VISA and MasterCard etc. Even though the banks are using the best credit card processing services and security services there also be a possibility of scams. The quality can be checked in terms of the time of approval, safety, and security etc. As we are all aware that a different gateway technique is used by every credit card processing service, which helps to keep the data safe. Also, there is no difference in the time of approval between both the US and the European Merchant Accounts.

Account Setup and Monitoring:

Availability

Benefits of Credit Card Processing for E-commerce Businesses

Let’s see some benefits of online credit card processing.

SECURITY

It is important for every online merchant to consider the security and stability as the key factor of their business. For the long run of business and retention of customers, a reliable online credit card processing service is a must. The technology that is used for security includes PCI compliance standards. This makes it very difficult for criminals to crack the code and obtain customers data. Therefore, the customers gain confidence to use their credit cards to make a payment without hesitation.

FLEXIBILITY

When an online business touches international boundary, it becomes essential to have a payment processor that can accept major currencies. We, at Merchant Stronghold, create such an E-commerce solution to deal with a variety of currencies. No longer bound by geographical boundaries, limited currency acceptance; the sky is the limit for your E-commerce business.

IMPROVES ABILITY

To make the website visually effective, a merchant invests a lot of time and money. But most of the merchants do not consider it important to invest much time when it comes to payment processing. However, to improve online transactions for your E-commerce business, it is important to choose the right payment gateway. A system that enables the communication between the merchant processor. Also, a PCI compliant website to share customer’s payment details, bank account, and merchant processor. With this, a business owner can carry out transactions 24 hours, 365 days. The payment gateway is designed to handle data collection, encryption and secure transmission of data to the merchant account.

MEET MERCHANT STRONGHOLD

For more than a decade, Merchant Stronghold has proven its worth by providing excellent customer services, resolving queries of clients. And, providing them with the best solution for credit card processing. Go through the list of various options available, pricing, after sale service and compatibility before finalizing a payment gateway for your business. So, connect with our professionals now.

Credit Card Payment Processing for Apparels Stores

Payment Processor for Apparels Store

Three things that your payment processor should fulfill are:

1. Connect from anywhere

2. Connect to any payment

3. Connect via the device of your choice

It is important for the merchant to choose a payment processor that provides a comfortable payment experience to his/her customer so that you can win customers trust as well as his loyalty. It is important to understand what your requirements are while choosing a payment processor. Few “must haves” are:

FLEXIBLE PAYMENT PROCESSOR

Payment processor should work in favor of your business and customer, both. It should be well integrated, should reflect working of the business (how business operates), the type of payment accepted and back-end system. A highly integrated system works as a lifeline for the merchant and the business.

SCALABLE

Payment processor should be able to cop up with the growth of the business, else merchant will end up in wasting a lot of time, resources and money in the up gradation of payment processor.

SUPPORTIVE

There are times when things do not work as planned. Choose a payment processor provider that is by your side when needed. The provider should be available either by phone or through email or live chat whenever needed.

Painless Payment Processing Service

When we talk about payments, the first thing that a merchant would expect is a secure and uncomplicated payment processor. But it is common to come across certain complications like wrong entry, human error, duplicate authorization etc. While dealing with these issues, it is also important to take care of data security and compliance. So choosing a payment processor that simplifies these complexities rather than increasing the mess is a highly important decision that every merchant has to take.

FINAL WORDS

We at Merchant Stronghold are a leading provider of payment processing services. We have a long list of happy customers who are engaged in the apparel industry and hence, we can do the same for you! Our team understands the unique needs of various industries including clothing and they are the best professionals to meet your business needs.

If you are starting eCommerce website, Few things should to know

Launching an E-commerce Website

Let’s look at a few things every aspiring eCommerce entrepreneur should know when launching a new online store:

SIMPLE USER-INTERFACE (WEBSITE) DESIGN

A website’s look and feel is the first impression a customer gets of an online business. Neon signs in the window of a brick-and-mortar store might attract customers, but a flashy website design with all the latest bells and whistles meant to impress visitors may not. The more complicated a website the more difficult it is for a customer to find a product. One important rule to keep in mind is “the fewer clicks it takes a customer to get to what they want, the more satisfied they will be with their shopping experience.” On the technical side, many times fancy website design options don’t perform well and may cause visitors to become confused or irritated.

MARKET RESEARCH AND TARGET AUDIENCE

Before launching an eCommerce website, get to know your competition and target audience. Competition for a local business may be limited to other stores in the same neighborhood. Well, competition for an online store can be worldwide. Make sure there is a market for the products or services. Find out if these products or services have something new or better to provide customers than the competition. Target audiences can vary as well since not all people who shop traditional stores shop online.

BUSINESS MODEL B2B AND RETAIL

Business-to-business (B2B) is the sale of goods, services or information to businesses instead of consumers. It is predicted that B2B sales will soon exceed sales to consumers. Of course, online sales to individual consumers, called e-tailing, will continue to be a popular choice.

WEBSITE MARKETING

It’s surprising that some people still believe the myth that, “if they create a website, people will automatically find it.” This worked in the 1989 fantasy sports movie “Field of Dreams” when a farmer heard the words, “If you build it, he will come.” And, it works to some extent for brick-and-mortar stores in attracting the attention of passersby on their way to somewhere else.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & ONLINE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

It is important for customer service. It’s nearly impossible to ignore a customer when face-to-face in a brick-and-mortar store. But, it’s easier when the only contact us via phone or email. Plus, communicating over the phone and through email can feel more impersonal. In all situations, merchants need to make sure their customer service departments respect and treat their customers well by being open and accessible, responding quickly, fairly and honestly, and providing solutions to complaints and inquiries.

Online Inventory - Just like traditional businesses, eCommerce businesses need to keep track of inventory for the products displayed for sale on a website. Using an automatic inventory system keeps product information and availability up-to-date 24/7. An inventory system is best integrated into a website during the planning and design stages. And, must have built-in protection from fraudsters and hacking attacks.

Credit Card Processing Provider for Bars-Lounge & Disco

Hаvе уоu соnѕidеrеd using a POS ѕуѕtеm in уоur bar? Bесаuѕе оf thе regularly fаѕt-расеd еnvirоnmеnt, POS ѕуѕtеmѕ fоr bars offer mаnу bеnеfitѕ. With a POS enlist, уоur bar саn simplify thе ordering process and еvеn еntеr the rеаlm of tаblеѕidе ordering. You саn additionally track уоur invеntоrу, hеlрing уоu guarantee thе ѕесuritу of your bаr. Besides, POS ѕуѕtеmѕ аrе uѕеful in kеерing track оf рriсеѕ and other essential infоrmаtiоn. Rеаd оn tо learn mоrе аbоut the imроrtаnt Bеnеfit of POS system fоr bаrѕ.

Speedier and Easier Trаnѕасtiоnѕ 

First, POS ѕуѕtеmѕ for bars аrе incredible fоr ѕtrеаmlining your transactions. Your ѕуѕtеm will bе capable tо quickly ascertain tax, which аllоw оrdеrѕ to bе handled mоrе quickly. Yоur еmрlоуееѕ will аlѕо hаvе еаѕу get to tо thе entire menu аѕ well аѕ individual bar tаbѕ – аnоthеr wау to inсrеаѕе еffiсiеnсу. Overall, having a POS ѕуѕtеm in your bar will make everything move quicker, whiсh iѕ vital fоr аn аlrеаdу quick paced environment.

Invеntоrу Management 

Another major advantage tо uѕing a POS register in your bar iѕ thе certainty thаt уоu will be capable tо much mоrе еаѕilу credit card processing mаnаgе аnd trасk your invеntоrу. Nоt only саn thе POS system trасk liquor/alcohol sold in cans and bottles, yet уоu can аlѕо input receipts to keep track of thе ingrеdiеntѕ for mixed drinks. Additionally, уоur еmрlоуееѕ can rесоrding what ѕресifiс brand оf liԛuоr wаѕ utilized tо make the еасh drink, following your invеntоrу down to thе bottle.

Holding Еmрlоуееѕ Aссоuntаblе

A POS ѕуѕtеm makes уоur bar muсh more secure bесаuѕе it hоldѕ еmрlоуееѕ ассоuntаblе. With inventory tracking, уоu саn keep tabs оn whеthеr оr, not your еmрlоуееѕ аrе оvеr-роuring оr giving аwау frее drinkѕ. The bесаuѕе еасh individuаl employee will hаvе hiѕ оr hеr оwn login соdе, уоu саn also еаѕilу track which еmрlоуееѕ are the ones саuѕing you tо соmе uр short.

Consistency Between Lосаtiоnѕ

If уоur bar hаѕ multiple lосаtiоnѕ, thе funсtiоnаlitу оf thе POS ѕуѕtеm bringѕ even mоrе аdvаntаgеѕ. Nоt оnlу саn уоu more еаѕilу keep track оf уоur оvеrаll inventory, both bеtwееn lосаtiоnѕ аnd fоr each individuаl location, but you саn аlѕо ensure thаt уоur prices are соnѕiѕtеnt bеtwееn lосаtiоnѕ. 

You can contact us for more information and set up your Point of Sale today!