TYPICAL FEES FOR MERCHANT ACCOUNTS

Merchant account is covered with various fees that are charged for maintaining the accounts. Different merchant account providers offer different rates for merchant account services. The fees for merchant account start from the setup period to the expiry of the account. These fees are mandatory for the merchant account holders. These days, the setup fees are not charged to the merchant who applies for a new merchant account.

The application fee or the setup fee, if charged, is a one time cost to the merchant account holder. Some merchant account providers charge the setup fee and some service providers do not charge for it. However, the setup fee for the merchant account will cost the merchant about $0 to $100. There is also anther fee or rates for the merchants. This is called as the software or hardware fee. This costs $ 99. The merchant can purchase the software or hardware for the merchandise business or can even rent the software from the service providers. if the software is on rent, then it will cost the merchant $ 20 per month.

Another fee called as programming fee is also charged to the merchant. This is also a onetime fee. The fee ranges from $0 to $100. This fee is charged for the pre set programming of the software that is used in merchant accounts. The programming fee is charged at the beginning of a new merchant account. When a merchant changes or transfer the merchant account from one service provider to another, the programming fee is charged otherwise it is a onetime fee. Discount rate is another type of fee that is associated with the merchant accounts. This fee is fixed for the merchants. A percentage of amounts are charged to the merchant for the value of sales. Each time a merchant sells goods or products, some percentage of money should be paid to the merchant account provider over the sales value. The discount rate varies from 1.49% to 4% on each transaction. The percentage is determined by the type of merchant account that a merchant holds. Discount rates are applicable for all types of merchant accounts but the rates vary according to the type of account.

Each time a merchant processes transaction, some fees is imposed on the merchant account which is called as transaction fee. This transaction fee is fixed for all transactions. The transaction that is made between the customers and the merchant may be large or small, but a fixed amount is charged. The transaction fee may be fixed after a mutual agreement between the service provider and the merchant account holder. This fee ranges between $ 0.20 and $ 0.50 for each transaction. The merchant account providers charge these fees to the merchant for maintaining the merchant account on behalf of the merchant. A merchant account holder does not need to handle all the processes and transactions, himself. In fact, the service provider handles all the internal workings of the merchant account services. By paying the fees, the merchant account holders can easily provide excellent services to the customers.