e-Commerce Merchant Account Basics
Many Web merchants require a solution which provides services that go far beyond simple payment processing. These services may include e-store infrastructure and hosting, promotional services, product fulfillment, digital rights management, fraud detection, subscription management and more. Over the past decade, a number of full-service e-Commerce solutions have risen to meet the needs of these merchants.
These vendors tend to fall into two camps depending on the primary products they handle. Some vendors focus on digital goods like software, electronic books and other digital content including games, image, videos and music. Some examples of this type of provider are
Digital River (with subsidiaries
Reg.Net and
regNow.com),
Click Bank,
Plimus,
Amazon Web Services and the newly announced PayPal API. Other vendors focus on physical merchandise. Some examples of this type of provider are
2 Checkout (2CO),
CCNow,
Yahoo Stores, and
Amazon Marketplace.
Adult content generally has its own set of e-Commerce solutions providers. Certain Internet Payment Service Providers (
IPSPs) specialize in adult content and typically allow the speediest and most complete solutions. They may process payments, host content, manage subscriptions, handle disputes and often manage referral income and costs (see
Affiliate Marketing). Several examples of IPSPs that will host adult content are
Epoch,
CCBill and
Pangea Webhosting
. In cases where adult sites command enough volume, certain banks will take on the business directly, which can result in substantial savings. Typically these banks will not advertise this fact, and they will only take on the business if there is an existing personal relationship. For more information on adult oriented payments, see
IPSPs) specialize in adult content and typically allow the speediest and most complete solutions. They may process payments, host content, manage subscriptions, handle disputes and often manage referral income and costs (see
High Risk Merchant Accounts.
Like adult content, gambling has its own set of e-Commerce solutions providers. Because of regulation, these vendors possess core competencies that focus on detecting and eliminating money laundering. There are relatively few vendors that handle gambling, and these are almost always found outside of the U.S. Online gambling is against the law in the United States, and penalties can be severe. If you intend to engage in this type of activity, always solicit the advice of experts including legal counsel. For more information on adult oriented payments, see
High Risk Merchant Accounts.
Since the e-Commerce space evolves very quickly, many companies claim to do everything. Be sure to perform due diligence. If you have a specific requirement, attempt to contact other merchants in your industry to discuss these vendors or simply contact us for more help.