4 Great Merchant Account Resources

The problem with getting accurate information on merchant accounts and credit card processing is that everyone is trying to sell you something. Getting useful, unbiased information through all of the sales chatter isn't an easy task.

To that end, we've compiled a list of great resources on merchant accounts and credit card processing. Please contact us if you have a suggestion for a resource that we've missed.

Visa Merchants
The section of Visa's website dedicated to merchants is arguably the most comprehensive resource on bankcards and credit card processing. If it has to do with merchant accounts, you'll find a thorough explanation on Visa's site. Although it's a great resource, the sheer volume of information available can be intimidating – especially for new businesses new to credit card processing.

Start by checking out the "New Acceptance" section to get your feet wet. After that, check out the "Marketing Center" to download Visa brand marks, pick up marketing materials and more.

I can't talk about all that Visa's site offers, but their FAQ is definitely worth mentioning. If you've got a question about credit card processing that you don't know who to ask, you can send Visa an email for a quick, accurate answer. Their FAQ email is listed at the bottom of the merchant section of their website.

MasterCard Merchants
The merchants section of MasterCard's website offers much of the same in-depth information as Visa's, but I especially like MasterCard's PCI-360 training materials. PCI-360 is aimed at educating folks about the ins and outs of payment card industry data compliance.

PCI - 360 is presented in webinars and training via MasterCard's website. Take some time and check it out - PCI Merchant Education

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a good source for general, easy to understand information about the bankcard industry. I especially like entries on merchant accounts, interchange, issuing and acquiring banks. Obviously merchant accounts are important, but the relationship of banks and interchange is also very important to understand. I think Wiki's entries do a good job of summarizing the important information.

• Merchant Accounts
• Interchange
• Issuing Bank
• Acquiring

MyProcessors.org
This website uses a graph to create a generalized visual representation of how the payment card industry is structured. It's important to understand that this tree graph isn't entirely accurate because merchant service providers can do business with multiple companies. Tying accurately depict the state of the industry at any given moment would be near impossible. With that said, the website does a great job of portraying the complexities and tiers of the processing industry.

Another note about this website is that it only includes merchant service providers that are registered with Visa and MasterCard. If it were to include unregistered ISO and agents, the graph would impossible to maintain and unreadable. Regardless, I think it's a great educational tool for business people that who are trying to understand the who's who in the processing industry.

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