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MOTO Merchant Accounts - Overview

  

  

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MOTO Merchant Account Details

Mail order merchant accounts, or mail order telephone order (MOTO) merchant accounts are utilized by card not present businesses (CNP). MOTO merchant accounts carry the same risk factor as an Internet merchant account, and therefore usually have the same rate and fee schedule.

Any business that transacts the majority of their credit card sales when the customer is not present, and does not have the need for real-time Internet transactions is an ideal candidate for a mail order merchant account.

MOTO Merchant Account Qualifications, Rates & Fees

Credit card processors impose stricter guidelines on mail order merchant accounts, and the accounts can be more difficult to obtain than retail merchant accounts.

Some processors will not accept mail order businesses that are less than a year old, and those that will often have higher rates and fees. However, there are a few processors that will underwrite a new MO/TO business if they agree to a merchant account with a contract. Keep in mind that contracts are not always the best thing for a new business.

Where processing quotes for a retail merchant account may remain more steady from processor to processor, mail order merchant account quotes may tend to vary more widely. The main reason for this is the higher risk factor and unwillingness of some processors to underwrite the accounts at all. 

Article Courtesy of:  MerchantCouncil (www.merchantcouncil.org)

For more information on MOTO Credit Card Processing or to find out how much money you can save by switching to CCS, click here for a free rate analysis.