What Is an Internet Merchant Account?

An internet merchant account is an online banking facility that enables businesses to accept payments by debit or credit cards.

To accept payments online you need a merchant account, a payment gateway and a method to process each payment.

When your customers want to buy your goods and services, whatever way the payment is made to you, the place where you deposit that payment is an account. In the case of an ecommerce transaction the place to deposit your payments is in an internet merchant account.

Online customers can pay with credit or debit cards through a payment gateway. A payment gateway is a secure facility that transports card details between the relevant parties of an online payment.

Payment processing is the means by which a card transaction is shared between the relevant financial parties and is ultimately turned into a payment that is ready to be deposited into the merchant’s account.