At Canada Card Processing we use Elavon’s Virtual Merchant for most our clients websites that want to transact by allowing their customers to check-out using a “buy button” on their site(s).
Now remember before you apply for an e-commerce merchant account you need to make sure there is a clearly stated link(s) on every page that leads to:
- Your privacy policies
- Your terms of use
- Your refund policies
- Your shipping policies
- Contact page with phone #, address, and email address
Note: Make sure the information found on your contact page is the same contact information that will be listed on your application. Just remember merchant account underwriters are looking for transparency and if they do not feel your website is being transparent you can end up with a decline on your application.
Shopping Cart Compatibility
Make sure your shopping cart is compatible. I highly recommend using 1Shoppingcart.com if you do not already have a shopping cart. Their solution is compatible with most merchant account providers and gateway providers. You can demo their product here.
The only requirement the Virtual Merchant has for shopping carts is that it is SSL (secure socket layered) which just means the little lock bar shows up in the browser url. If you do not have this then your account cannot be approved. Another benefit to using Virtual Merchant (and this is the reason why we promote this product over others) is that 9 times out 10 you do not require a gateway to connect the merchant account to your shopping cart(s).
This can save a merchant big dollars. Virtual merchant has their own internal gateway that will connect to your shopping cart (at no extra charge) where with most other merchant account providers you will also require to pay for additional gateway services to make it all work correctly. The only time you would require a gateway is if you want to have recurring billing that automates directly from the checkout process without having settings of “https pending”.
Here is a list of compatible shopping carts that work with the Virtual Merchant Product:
https://www.myvirtualmerchant.com/VirtualMerchant/supportlandingvisitor.do#_self
E-commerce Rates:
- Visa & MasterCard Discount Rate: 1.97%-2.50%
- $19.99/monthly admin fee
- 15-35 cents per transaction
- $5.95/month statement fee
- $10/month minimum processing fee
- $50 application fee (non refundable)
- $150 one time set-up fee
- 3 year agreement ($195 to terminate early)
E-commerce – 5-7 business days for all steps
- Complete agreements
- Sent to merchant processing company for approval of merchant account
- Merchant processing company will verify the website or ask to see model of site if not yet active
- Web developer receives an email with instructions on how to connect website to the back end
- Web developer can call the support desk to have any questions answered on set up
- Customer can then start processing once website is activated
Click here for a Internet Merchant Account Quote.
