It goes without saying that practically almost every retail and commercial establishment and operation in the country accepts credit cards. And in order to transfer credit card funds from the card holder's account to yours, you need a merchant account. But there are different kinds of accounts, each one with varying usage.
The most basic of the merchant accounttypes is the retail account. Most brick and mortar stores use this kind of account. The merchant account requires the use of a credit card terminal, which is basically the device that stores credit card information every time it is used in a store. It also allows for the immediate verification of the card. The need for the credit card terminal makes it an account solely for physical use (internet merchants, needless to say, cannot use this kind of account). Unlike the other two merchant accounts, the retail account requires that the card be present during the transaction. Retail establishments such as groceries and restaurants, as well as small hotels and hospitals, rely on the retail account for credit card processing.
The Mail Order-Telephone Order merchant account(or the MOTO account) is mainly used by establishments wherein the credit card isn't always present (basically when the transactions are done over the phone or through mail). The merchant simply punches in the credit card information instead of swiping the card. The terminal for this kind of merchant accountis attached or connected to a computer.
Hotels usually have this kind of account, since they require credit card payment over the phone. Mail order purchases use this kind of processing as well.
The Internet account, meanwhile, is used for Internet transactions. This account is connected to the website of the merchant. The website's shopping cart application, in turn, is connected to payment service gateway that processes the credit card payments. Most Internet accounts, however, have their own custom made shopping cart applications or forms for purchasing purposes.
Internet stores, obviously, use an Internet account for credit card processing.
Out of the three merchant accounttypes, the MOTO account has a higher transaction fee due to the absence of the typical swipe credit card terminal.
