Merchant Account FAQs

A merchant account is a type of bank account that allows businesses to accept credit and debit card payments. It acts as a holding account where funds from card transactions are deposited before being transferred to your business bank account. You need both a merchant account and a payment gateway (like Authorize.Net) to process cards online.

A payment gateway (like Authorize.Net) is the technology that securely transmits card data from your website to the payment networks. A merchant account is the bank account that receives and holds the settled funds from those transactions.

You need both. START Merchant Services provides a bundled solution — merchant account + Authorize.Net gateway — so you don't have to coordinate two separate vendors.

Visa's rules (April 2026) require a customer service email or phone number, your country shown during checkout, an address for customer mail, and your policy on orders shipped in parts. Underwriters also look for a refund and cancellation policy, prices, terms, shipping details and a secure HTTPS checkout before they approve you. See our full website requirements guide.

Most merchants are approved within 1 to 5 business days, and some can start accepting payments in as little as 1 day. Once your merchant account is approved, we set up your Authorize.Net gateway within 24 business hours for most clients.

High-risk businesses, such as CBD or firearms sellers, can take longer because the bank asks for more documents. A complete application is the fastest one: missing documents and a website without a refund policy are two of the most common reasons an application stalls. See fast merchant account approval or how long merchant account setup takes, step by step.

1. Gather your details: business name, address and tax ID, owner ID, a business bank account, and your website if you sell online.
2. Apply: fill in the merchant account application.
3. Get approved: the bank reviews your business, usually within 1 to 5 business days.
4. Get your gateway login: we set up Authorize.Net and you create the API credentials that connect your site.
5. Connect how you take payments: your shopping cart, your website or the virtual terminal for phone orders.
6. Run a live test: a small real sale, then a refund, and check the deposit reaches your bank.

Each step in detail: how to open a merchant account, and setting up the Authorize.Net gateway.

Yes, in many cases. START evaluates applications based on multiple factors — not just personal credit. Business history, processing volume, industry type, and time in business all play a role. We work with a network of banking partners and can often find a solution for merchants who have been declined elsewhere.

Common reasons include: industry classification (high-risk), poor personal or business credit, excessive chargebacks, incomplete application, or a website that doesn't meet card network requirements. If you've been declined elsewhere, contact START — our bank network often has options that traditional processors don't.

Interchange plus (also called cost-plus pricing) means you pay the card networks' actual cost for each sale, called interchange, plus a fixed markup from your processor. The two parts are listed separately on your statement, so you can see what the networks charge and what your provider charges.

Example: 1.80% interchange + a 0.20% markup + 10¢ = 2.00% + 10¢ on that sale. START prices merchant accounts with interchange plus. Learn more in our interchange plus pricing guide.

No. START Merchant Services charges no termination fees, no annual fees, and no address verification fees. We believe in transparent pricing — what you see is what you pay.

Tiered pricing sorts your sales into a few buckets, usually "qualified," "mid-qualified" and "non-qualified," each with its own rate. The processor decides which sale lands in which bucket, and you can't see what each card actually cost.

Interchange plus passes through each card's actual interchange cost and adds a fixed markup. When a customer pays with a lower-cost card, such as a regulated debit card, the saving reaches you instead of staying with the processor. See interchange plus vs. tiered pricing, with a cost comparison.

There's no single number, because interchange is the same whichever provider you choose and depends on the cards your customers use. What you're really comparing is the provider's markup: the percentage and per-transaction fee added on top of interchange, plus any monthly fees.

Two checks help. First, get the markup in writing, listed separately from interchange. Second, work out your effective rate: your total fees divided by your total card sales on a recent statement. For a reference point, Authorize.Net's pricing page (checked September 2026) says merchants on interchange plus often pay "closer to 2.2% - 2.5%" overall, compared with its own 2.9% + 30¢ flat rate. Your rate depends on your business and card mix.

More detail: what a good interchange-plus rate looks like. Want to know yours? Get a free statement review and we'll show your effective rate.

Businesses are classified as high risk based on industry type, chargeback history, processing volume, or the nature of products/services sold. Common high-risk industries include CBD/hemp, firearms, nutraceuticals/supplements, adult products, travel, subscription/continuity, and telemarketing. See our high risk merchant accounts page for the full list of industries we serve.

Yes. START has agreements with 5 banks for CBD/hemp payment processing. We navigate the regulatory complexity of CBD banking so you don't have to. Visit our CBD merchant accounts page for details.

Yes. Authorize.Net is a payment gateway — it handles the technical transmission of payment data, but it doesn't hold your funds. You need a separate merchant account with a bank or processor to settle and receive funds. START bundles both: your merchant account and Authorize.Net gateway setup, ready within 24 hours of approval.

Most major shopping carts connect to Authorize.Net, including WooCommerce and Shopify (through Authorize.Net's Shopify app since 2025). Features such as saved cards, recurring billing and eCheck depend on the cart and plugin. On Shopify, Authorize.Net says Customer Information Manager and Recurring Billing aren't available through the app. See our guide to Authorize.Net shopping cart integrations.

Authorize.Net's pricing page (checked September 2026) lists the Advanced Fraud Detection Suite, Automated Recurring Billing and Customer Information Manager (saved customer profiles) at no monthly fee, and every plan includes the virtual terminal, digital invoicing and transaction reporting. eCheck and Account Updater are add-ons with their own fees. Which in-person and digital wallet features work depends on the processor behind your merchant account. The Verified Merchant Seal is being retired by Authorize.Net. See Authorize.Net pricing and fees.

Most businesses use a shopping cart plugin. If you're connecting a site yourself, Authorize.Net's current options are: Simple Checkout (buttons, payment links and QR codes, no coding), Accept Hosted (a payment form hosted by Authorize.Net, the smallest PCI scope), Accept.js (your own form, with card data sent straight to Authorize.Net) and the Authorize.Net API for custom builds. SIM, DPM and AIM are deprecated, so a site still using them should plan to move.

See our guide to Authorize.Net integration methods for a comparison and what replaces each legacy method.

Yes. The Authorize.Net virtual terminal lets you manually enter card details from any web browser — no card reader required. It's included with every account and is perfect for phone orders, mail orders, and MOTO (Mail Order/Telephone Order) businesses.

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a mandatory set of security requirements for any business that accepts card payments. Yes, you need it. Using Authorize.Net's hosted payment forms dramatically reduces your PCI scope — card data never touches your servers, which simplifies the compliance process. Learn more on our PCI compliance page.

The top strategies: display clear refund/cancellation policies, make your business name (DBA) recognizable on statements and in order confirmation emails, enable AVS verification, use CVV matching, and include policies with all physical shipments. See our full chargeback prevention guide.

Yes. START is a Registered MSP/ISO with Elavon for Canada, covering merchants from Vancouver to Halifax. We can process in Canadian dollars or US dollars, and support cross-border U.S./Canada businesses. Learn more on our Canadian merchant accounts page.

Yes. We set up Australian businesses with an Australian merchant account in AUD through our Australian acquiring partner, a U.S. merchant account in USD, or both: two accounts, set up and managed together by START. We place high-risk Australian businesses too. See our Australian merchant accounts page.