Throughout this guide you’ll find some words and phrases that you might not understand. For your benefit and better understanding, we’ve included definitions for some of those commonly used words. This should help clear up any confusion that might otherwise occur as you use this guide.
Merchant Account Provider: This is the company that helps set you up with the proper merchant account and provides the software or equipment needed to perform credit card transactions. They may also be able to provide you with other payment acceptance services such as debit card processing and online checks. Merchant Account Providers are also known as Independent Service Organizations (ISO) or Agents.
Secure Gateway Provider: These companies ensure that the connection between the merchant web site and the Merchant Processor are secure.
Merchant Processor: They are the ones that actually process the credit card/check transaction.
Virtual Terminal: This is the “online terminal” that allows you to manually type in credit card orders via your web browser. It usually comes with a Real-Time processing solution.
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