Learn the Difference Between Payment Gateway and Merchant Account

Merchant account is the basic necessity for the businessman and apart from that a smooth payment gateway.  Both have an equivalent ratio for the smooth and balanced working of the business.

Merchant Account

A type of account that allows accepting online payment from the customers through many ways under legal wings of the payment service provider.

Merchant The account is created under the mutual agreement between a merchant and merchant’s acquiring a bank, so to further proceed with future online payment.

Meaning Of Payment Gateway

A payment gateway is a software program that works behind the scene. It is basically a process that enables the flow of the payment securely. It’s a secure way to transfer your customer’s money safely into your merchant account. It’s really very important to have a payment gateway for the following reasons:

• It creates a trustworthy aura between you and your customers.

• It maintains a good graph in the competitive world.

• Prevents your money from fraudulent activities.

• Keeps you away from any future threat.

Short Overview

Above mentioned content shows the nature of the account, now below we can compare both of them:

• Merchant Account is an account where the funds are deposited and payment gateway is the channel from which we receive our payments.

• Merchant account holders get their amount through the payment gateway

• Merchant Account holds the money, which they earn from selling their goods/services and with the help of a payment gateway, they get their amount secured under the safety of the acquiring bank.

• Payment Gateway gives a piece of evidence for the particular transaction for future Disputes.

MerchantStronghold

A place where you will get solutions to every query. We undertake many responsibilities such as Opening Merchant Accounts, Merchant Account Underwriting, Secure Payment Gateways, High-Risk Merchant Account & Low-Risk Merchant Account profile management and much more.

If the vision is still vague, you can approach us frequently through our website https://www.merchantstronghold.com/or through our telephonic support, we are available here 24*7. Contact us on +1 (888) 622 – 6875.

Advantages Of Mobile Payment For Transportation Service

If you are traveling to big cities, local commute (taxi or car) is the option most of us would

like to opt for. Your taxi driver may only accept cash payment which may cause you trouble like no cash, shortage of change, security issues etc. So it is better to use cashless payment methods, especially if you are related to the transportation industry.



Advantages

Mobile payment has many advantages over the traditional method of payment i.e. cash payment. When you are in the transportation industry, there is a lot of cash flow on daily basis, which most of the time is with the drivers as they are on road, providing services. It is not possible for the drivers to come back to the main station to deposit cash after every trip. So he has to carry cash along with him all day long until he is off duty. Due to which they become a target and may end up in unfortunate incidences (robbery). It is best to use a mobile payment method for security purposes, better services, and greater revenue. Let us discuss a few of the advantages of mobile payment in detail:

Effectiveness

It is very common for a customer to not have the exact amount or a change with him, resulting in wastage of time in arranging the difference for the customer. When you accept the payment through mobile, it merely takes 20-30 seconds to swap the card and get the customer’s signature. This will increase the effectiveness of transportation service and time saved can be utilized in serving the next customer, resulting in greater revenue.

Convenience

In today’s world, the flow of virtual money is more than hard cash. People like to use credit/debit cards instead of paper money. It is easy to carry, convenient and a secure way of making payments. The transportation industry is rapidly growing, which increases the demand for multiple payment methods for the customer’s convenience and safety. Most of the customers availing transportation services prefer making the mobile payment rather than paper money, as it is the most convenient.

Control

If you have more than one driver i.e. multiple drivers, it becomes important as well as tedious to control and manage funds effectively. You need to find out an organized way to watch your money. By using credit card processing, you will be able to keep an eye on payments made by clients, what each driver earned, everything you want to know with the help of an online merchant portal.

CONCLUSION

Apart from these three advantages, there are many more advantages of using mobile payments. The above-listed advantages help service providers to manage his/her business more efficiently, increase profitability as well as provides security. With the help of such payment processors, payment is directly deposited into the merchant account, so there is no chance of losing a payment.

What is Credit Card Processing & How does it work?

Credit card processing is not a new concept. Everyone claims to know the process: swipe the card, hit the button and the transaction is complete in a blink. But do you really know the process? Do you think that it is as simple as it seems? It actually is a much more complex procedure than what you witness. The fact is swiping the card and signing the recipe is the first and the last step of the procedure. In between lays multiple steps that include more than one person working invisibly for the customer to complete that particular transaction.

Let us understand the transaction process in just three steps

STEP 1: AUTHENTICITY

At the point of sale, a cardholder gives the card to the merchant to swipe the card on POS terminal to make a payment.

Credit card details are sent to the acquiring bank, which forwards the same to the credit card network

Authorization request includes credit card number used for the payment, expiration date, billing address, card security code and the payment amount.

Credit card network clears the payment and a request is sent to the issuing bank for authorization.

STEP 2: AUTHENTICATION

When the issuing bank receives the authorization request, it validates the credit card number, checks the availability of the funds in the cardholder’s account, verifies the billing address and validates Card security code (CVV number).

It is up to the issuing bank whether to approve or deny the request. When they make a decision, it sends back the suitable response through a proper channel (credit card network and acquiring bank).

Once the merchant receives the authorization, the customer is provided with the receipt at the completion of the sale.

STEP 3: CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT

In the clearing stage, the transactions get the post to the cardholder’s monthly billing statement and in the merchant’s statement.

For settlement, service provider routes the batched information to the association member, which in turn forwards all the approved transactions to the corresponding issuing bank.

The merchant sends all the approved authorizations in a batch to the acquiring bank by EOD.

The merchant account gets credited for the cardholder’s purchases by the acquiring bank (minus merchant discount rate). At this time, the issuing bank posts the transaction information to the cardholder’s account. The cardholder receives the statement and bill is paid off.

Then the issuing bank transfers the funds (minus interchange fee, which is shared with the credit card network) within 1-2 days. Then the credit card network pays from the remaining funds to acquiring bank as well as the acquiring processor.

Protect Your Online Business With Cyber Security

Cyber Security for Online Business

Thе Internet аllоwѕ businesses оf аll sizes аnd frоm аnу location tо reach nеw аnd larger markets аnd рrоvidеѕ opportunities tо work mоrе efficiently bу uѕing computer-based tools.

Whеthеr a business iѕ thinking оf adopting cloud computing оr juѕt uѕing email аnd maintaining a website, cybersecurity ѕhоuld bе a раrt оf thе plan. Theft оf digital information hаѕ bесоmе thе mоѕt commonly reported fraud, surpassing physical theft.

Evеrу business thаt uѕеѕ thе Internet iѕ responsible fоr creating a culture оf security thаt will enhance business аnd consumer confidence. Thе Small Biz Cyber Planner 2.0 iѕ аn online resource tо hеlр small businesses create customized cybersecurity plans.

Cyber Security tips to Protect your Online Business

Broadband аnd information technology аrе powerful factors in small businesses reaching nеw markets аnd increasing productivity аnd efficiency.

However, businesses nееd a cybersecurity strategy tо protect the thеir оwn business, thеir customers, аnd thеir data frоm growing cybersecurity threats.

• Train employees in security principles:
• Protect information, computers аnd networks frоm cyber-attacks:
• Prоvidе firewall security fоr уоur Internet connection:
• Create a mobile device action plan:
• Make backup copies оf important business data аnd information:
• Control physical access tо уоur computers аnd create user accounts fоr еасh employee:
• Secure уоur Wi-Fi networks:
• Employ bеѕt practices оn payment cards:
• Limit employee access tо data аnd information, limit authority tо install software:
• Passwords аnd authentication:

A secure network iѕ a robust network. Cyber-attacks саn hарреn in minutes аnd аrе оftеn vеrу hаrd tо detect. Make ѕurе thаt уоu tаkе аll essential steps tо prevent a security breach.

Merchant Service Provider for Courier Business - Merchant Stronghold

If You're looking for best, easy and reliable Merchant Service provider for MCC 4215 (Courier Services –Air and Ground). Merchant Stronghold can help you with this. MSH knows exactly what you are looking for. You know that Courier Business is not new and it's been there for hundreds of years. At first, it was simpler, but modern methods have changed it completely. Not long ago, delivery or courier services had to do transactions in the office; waiting for checks to clear and taking payments was a bigger task than delivering products.

Merchant Stronghold is making business simpler for courier services all over the globe. Using mobile, secure and reliable payment gateways, businesses don't need to stress over lengthy payment processes anymore. Mobile, Secure and Reliable Merchant Services provider for MCC 4215 – Courier Services. Using Merchant Stronghold's credit card processing services.

Courier services business can accept credit cards at the time of delivery or/and even before delivering the product and/or services. We offer the mobile solution with the goal that customers can do transactions by means of their cell phones. Virtual Terminal is provided given to businesses so they can even host the gateway on their website. If businesses have customers who call in or want to make the purchase of emails; Transactions can be made via Merchant Stronghold’s gateway. Our applications are focused on secure processing with low fees. Our services include:

● Lowest Set up fee is the industry

● Interchange plus 2.95% rates

● Monthly fees are negligible

● Daily Funds Settlement

● No Additional hardware necessary

You don’t have to sign up for a custom merchant account, every account is as per the clients. Therefore, you will get multiple benefits such a mobile app support, flat transaction fees for credit cards and debit cards, and much more. Our accounts are scalable, you can add multiple accounts to a single account. Each individual working on your E-commerce site will own an account linked to the main account.

Why us?

We are a “business-centered” services provider that specializes in customized merchant accounts. Every business has unique requirements, not all courier services are the same. We listen to client’s requirement and delivery merchant services that push the business towards success.

Merchant Stronghold can assist all type of businesses, we integrating new methods in our old system, & design everything from the scratch. We welcome businesses under MCC 4215 (Courier Services –Air and Ground) to new and interesting opportunities.

So, get going| Merchant Service for your courier business,  sign up – Merchant Stronghold

Which are the Best High Risk Merchant Services in 2018 for Small Businesses

Therefore for a business to keep its competitive edge, you need to offer the options for payment that your customers prefer, and that is debit and credit cards.

As a business, accepting cards for payment is streamlined by setting up a merchant account. A merchant account acts as an intermediary to navigate the complexities of payment processing and ensures that you receive funds as quickly as possible, and helps avoid your business is the victim of a scam.

Let’s take a look at the best merchant services available to bring your business up to speed to accept payments.

1. Payline

A suite of services for the small business

Payline is a merchant service that promises to make it easy to accept credit card payments and offers a variety of plans to suit each business's needs. They offer a variety of services including mobile, online, in-store, enterprise and integrated payments, and also offers Payline Medical for the healthcare field, and business loans as well.

Payline offers a Payline Gateway, that can be used as a plugin on a business website to accept payments, and also a ‘virtual terminal,’ that is used to manually enter payments received over the phone or through the mail.

2. Payment Depot

Payment Depot allows the small business owner to become a member, and then offers wholesale rates to its club of members. For the monthly fee, the higher plans even include credit card reading equipment. Payment Depot is trusted by such notable businesses as Subway, Sprint and Domino's Pizza.

3. Flagship Merchant Services

Flagship Merchant Services is a full-service provider. It offers a month to month contract that can be canceled at any time. In addition, each account includes a dedicated account representative and online reports that can be imported into accounting software. For bricks and mortar retail the firm offers a free credit reader, and for online transactions, it includes shopping card setup for your business website.

4. PayPal Merchant Services

PayPal Merchant Services is the business version of the ubiquitous online transaction tool. It features secure transactions that PayPal is known for including fraud protection and risk modeling, a customer service team, and allows a variety of payment methods including mobile and in-store credit cards. Logically, it also provides support for acceptance of PayPal from the 200 million account holders.

5. Square Payments Processing

Square Payments Processing is a merchant service designed to accept “every payment.” It will attract smaller and new businesses starting out with its promise of quick setup, no long-term contracts, and no monthly fees.