Free Setup Merchant Account - Easy or Elusive?
by P.H. Dewitt
Believe it or not, there are still so many free things you can find in the web. With no strings attached, that is. Free blog accounts, free downloads, free tools for your ecommerce site. I have yet to convince people that free isn't always what they want though, especially when we're talking about spam! And free downloads always come with spyware, so you do this upon your discretion. When it comes to acquiring a credit card processor, a free setup merchant account is one of the little things you can be thankful for.
Many merchant account providers attract high risk merchants solely by offering them free setup and tools. Setting up a merchant account infrastructure is an expensive and time consuming process, especiallly for start ups. But thanks to a free setup merchant account, this can be done in as quick as 24 hours.
Does it also come with strings attached? Depends. A free setup merchant account is free, but after having your infrastructure set up, what else do you need? Get your credit card transactions processed, of course. This demands time, cost, and effort from your provider, and this is when your fees are required to keep your account running.
Your best bet is to find a merchant account provider that offers free setup. Not only will this help you cut costs, you may also avail of other offers they may give to keep you ahead of the ecommerce competition.