There are many merchant accounts out there. Usually, large credit card companies and banks provide merchant accounts. The issue with these accounts, though, is that you will pay a significant cost to begin an account (usually at least $500 but possibly over $1000) as well as a monthly fee and a significant per-transaction fee. These fees are on a sliding percentage scale, so the more sales you get, the lower the per-transaction fee. However, when your business is starting out and your transaction levels are low, these fees can be quite significant. Also, the monthly fees add up quick. Some accounts will waive the monthly fee if you have a certain number of transactions a month, but that number is usually very high for a new business.

In addition, you will sign a contract when you get a merchant account and will have to finish out that contract or possibly face penalty fees.

Here’s the short of it – if you are going to run a physical business location as well as a website, you are pretty much limited to getting a merchant account. Search the internet for “merchant account” and you will have many to choose from with fee disclosures on the sites. Just pick the account with the lowest fees and shortest contract. Some will include card reading machines too, though you will pay a rental fee. However, if you are only going to have a website to sell off of, your best bet is to get a PayPal business account until your business has a year or two to get going.