• What is a third-party merchant service?
• List of Third Party Merchant Services

What is a third-party merchant service?

If you're starting a new online business, third party credit processors are a strong option you should consider. By going through the third party merchant servicess, you'll need less paperwork, and it is easier to get started with credit card processing.

Third party merchant services are a company that can accept credit card orders on behalf of you or your company. This makes obtaining a merchant account for your company unnecessary, although it could be worthwhile if you sell enough goods to warrant the expense involved.

Third party merchant services own merchant accounts with the additional rights to use that merchant account to accept credit card orders on behalf of other companies. They take care of the entire purchasing process. This includes shopping cart, credit card authorization, customer service and billing inquiries. When customers are ready to buy, they click on a link on your site and are taken to a secure order form on the third-party server. You are notified, usually by e-mail, that a transaction has been processed. Your only responsibility is to ship the order. Some processors handle returns.

Because they manage all aspects of transaction processing, third-party processors allow small-business owners to save money on administration and customer service. You don't need to manually verify transactions or respond to billing questions.

The main advantages of using a"Third Party Service" are that

• You don't have to buy or lease hardware and software,
  
• You don't have hefty setup costs,
  
• You don't have to wait for getting approved,
  
• You simply link your products to the validation service who then accepts credit card payment on your behalf. They check the card, process the card and send you a monthly payment for the amount you are owed.

List of Third Party Online Credit Card Processing Services:

• 2CheckOut
• Verotel
• ClickBank
• PayPal

2CheckOut
Website:	http://www.2CheckOut.com
Setup Fee:	There is a 1 time only set up fee of $49.00, after that you only pay for sales, sell nothing, pay nothing.
Monthly Fee:	None
International:	Yes
Orders By:	Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover/Novus, Diners Club and JCB and derivatives of those brands, and online checks.
Processing Fees:	5.5% commission on each sale plus a $0.45 charge per sale.
Extras:	When an issuing bank sends a chargeback dispute, the bank also charges a research fee. This fee can range from $10 to $30 depending on the bank. 2CheckOut reserves the right to pass the bank's charge back fee on to supplier involved, at our discretion.
Notes:	The admin area allows you to set options so that you can ensure everything is working properly without an actual credit card or check being billed.
Max Item Limit:	None

Verotel
Website:	http://www.verotel.com
Setup Fee:	None
Monthly Fee:	None
International:	Yes
Payment By:	Accept all major credit cards, electronic checks, and 1-900 phone billings.
Processing Fees:	13.5% - 15.0% Credit cards, 20% - 30% 1-900 transactions
Extras:	Verotel will charge USD $ 15.00 plus the value of the transaction per chargeback. Customers will receive an invoice on the 1st day and 16th day of every month. Verotel 1-900 transactions will appear on an invoice on 1st day of the month, at least one full month after the month in which the transaction occurred.
Notes:	Verotel offers only credit card processing for websites offering content. Please note, tangible products and services can NOT be sold with a Verotel account.
Max Item Limit:	$75

ClickBank
Website:	http://www.clickbank.com
Setup Fee:	There is a 1 time only set up fee of $49.95, after that you only pay for sales, sell nothing, pay nothing.
Monthly Fee:	None
International:	Yes
Payment By:	Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Eurocard, Bravo, Visa Debit, Mastercard Debit, and Novus. They accept online checks from the USA and Canada.
Processing Fees:	$1 + 7.5%
Extras:	ClickBank only sells specific types of products. All products must be: 1. Deliverable entirely over the internet via web pages, downloadable files, or email. 2. Deliverable to every customer within 24 hours of purchase. 3. Backed by appropriate technical support pages, written in English, and hosted at your own web site.
Notes:	A reversed charge is a chargeback if the customer first filed their complaint with their bank or credit card company. In some cases the banking network will assess an additional "chargeback fee" against us. If this happens we may be forced to debit the fee from your account. This fee may range from $5 to $25 and is dependent on factors beyond our control. Luckily, for responsible site owners chargebacks are extremely rare.
Max Item Limit:	The price limit is the maximum retail price that can be assigned to one of your products. The standard price limit is $50. In rare circumstances we can approve products priced at $250 or more.

PayPal
Website:	http://www.paypal.com
Setup Fee:	None
Monthly Fee:	None
International:	Yes
Payment By:	Accept all major credit cards and electronic checks.
Processing Fees:	Merchant Rate: 2.2% + $.30 Standard Rate: 2.9% + $.30
Extras:	Payment Options including the Shopping Cart, Subscriptions, Single Item Purchase buttons and Donations
Notes:	Merchant Tools including Instant Payment Notification, Password Management, Auction Tools, and Permissions.
Max Item Limit:	$10,000