Businesses that want to give customers the facility of making payment via their credit cards or debit cards need to have specialized types of bank accounts called merchant accounts.

What Are Merchant Account And Who Facilitates Them?

Merchant accounts are created when agreements are entered into by merchant acquiring banks to accept payment on the one hand of the purchase transaction, and card-issuing associations to facilitate the credit card and debit card payment methods, on the other hand. For example, a bank (merchant acquiring bank or merchant acquirer) will accept payment made by a credit card from a card issuer (card issuing association such as Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, and American Express).

Others in the Merchant Account Equation
There are two other very important parties that make merchant accounts necessary as well as possible. These are the actual merchants who opt to subscribe to receive merchant accounts facilities at their places of business, and the customers who use the service that is being offered.

How The Customer Benefits From Using Merchant Accounts
Customers who are holders of credit and debit cards usually acquire them to obtain the convenience they are associated with. Two main conveniences that card payments facilitate are:

Merchant Accounts

Not having to carry large sums of cash around.

Some individuals worry that it might be relatively unsafe to carry around large amounts of money to do their shopping transactions. If persons are seen having cash on their person then it might attract the wrong kind of attention and that person could be robbed and possibly harmed in the process. Having a payment card such as a debit or credit card eliminates the risk of being mugged for cash.

Can shop from any location.

Increasingly, more and more people are moving away from shopping at physical stores and are opting to shop for their goods and services using the internet. As a result, many merchants have developed an online business presence using tools such as websites and blogs where users got to select and make their purchases.

This online method of shopping is largely facilitated by the use of credit and debit payment cards to pay for goods and services purchased.

How Businesses Benefit From a Merchant Accounts

Savvy businesses have noticed the market trends with regard to customer likes, dislikes, concerns, and shifts in purchasing methods are evolving. Businesses will reap revenue benefits from having merchant accounts as part of their operation as they literally allow customers to live the way they think is best for them. For example, persons who do not want to carry cash will opt to shop at a business that offer merchant accounts services rather than one that only accepts cash. Similarly, a person with little time on their hands to move around to physical store, or a person who does not like too much social interaction can shop from the comfort of their preferred location using merchant accounts facilities that are present on the merchant’s online website.

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