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What Is A Merchant Account

Opening a merchant account is the first step to accepting credit cards. Before you open one, it's important to understand what a merchant account is and how it works.

A merchant account is a specialized bank account that your business uses to accept credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, electronic check transactions, and other types of payment. These payment methods are convenient for your customers, and they help you get paid faster.

To begin accepting credit cards, simply contact an acquirer (the financial institution or other organization that provides card processing services to merchants), contact your bank where your business has its deposit accounts, or choose from this list of Network Acquirers. Network Acquirers are financial institution who are registered service providers with the major Card Networks such as VISA®, MasterCard®, Discover® (and others), who authorizes and fund transactions.

Card Network Acquirers

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Note: The information listed above is provided as a service from Credit Card Focus to merchants interested in accepting credit cards for payment. Credit Card Focus cannot guarantee or otherwise ensure that any listed financial institution will agree to proceed with a merchant relationship. If a relationship is established, its terms are entirely between you and the financial institution.