I am frequently asked about how I am able to receive money when people purchase my products and services online. It has been more than two years now, but I remember the first time this issue came up for me. At that time I was advised to get a merchant account right away, so that I could take Visa MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. I didn’t know which merchant companies understood internet marketing, so this was a long and confusing process to go through.
This is my advice if you are just starting out online: get a PayPal business account and use that until you are making $500 a month on a regular basis. This is free to set up, and once you go through a simple verification process, people will be able to use their credit cards on money from their PayPal account in order to pay you. The customer service is good, and you can either transfer the money into your checking account or request a debit card to use your money.
As soon as you start making more money you will want to geta merchant account. There is only one company that is used by just about all of the people making more than one million a year on the internet, so they understand how the internet is different than a traditional store front. That company is PowerPay, owned by Jud Smith. His team goes out of their way to make sure the process is a smooth one for you, and that you can get started quickly. They have even waived the $99 start up fee if you go through my link and tell them I sent you. Let me know how this works out for your business.
This was so helpful. I chose PAYPAL.
Suzan Schmitt and I were just having this conversation earlier in the week. Thanks for confirming that I’m on track with using PayPal prior to jumping right into a merchant account.