To start accepting credit card payments, choose a payment processor or merchant account, connect it to a business bank account, and add a way to take cards: a reader or terminal in person, a payment page or gateway online. The decisions that matter are the pricing model, the contract terms and how fast deposits reach you.
What do you need to accept credit card payments?
You need three things: an account that lets you process cards, a way to capture the card, and a business bank account for the money to land in. The processing account is either a merchant account with a dedicated processor or a sub-account with a payment service provider that onboards thousands of businesses under one master account.
Expect to provide your legal business name, your EIN (or Social Security number if you are a sole proprietor), a business address, the owner’s identification, the bank account for deposits, and a description of what you sell. Processors ask about average ticket size and expected monthly volume because both drive their risk view of you. If you have not separated your banking yet, start with how to open a business bank account; deposits into a personal account create bookkeeping headaches and make your revenue harder to document later.
- In person: a mobile card reader, a countertop terminal, or a full point-of-sale system that also tracks inventory and staff.
- Online: a hosted checkout page, a payment gateway connected to your website or ecommerce platform, or emailed payment links.
- Over the phone or by invoice: a virtual terminal or an invoicing tool with a pay-by-card link.
Merchant account vs. payment service provider: which fits your business?
A payment service provider is the faster, simpler start: sign-up is usually online, approval can take minutes, and pricing is often one flat percentage plus a per-transaction fee. A dedicated merchant account takes more underwriting but usually prices closer to the underlying cost, which tends to matter once monthly card volume is meaningful.
The trade-offs are practical. Payment service providers approve almost anyone up front and manage risk afterwards, so sudden volume spikes, large tickets or a run of disputes can trigger a hold on your funds. A merchant account reviews you before approval, so holds are less of a surprise, but contracts can include monthly minimums, early termination fees or a separate lease on equipment. Before you sign either, find out how many business days it takes for a card sale to reach your bank, whether there is a monthly or annual fee, what triggers a reserve or hold, and what it costs to leave.
What does it cost to accept credit card payments?
Every card fee has three parts: interchange, paid to the bank that issued the customer’s card; network assessments, paid to the card brand; and the processor’s own markup. You can negotiate only the markup, so the pricing model your processor uses decides how visible that markup is.
Flat-rate pricing bundles all three into one number, which is simple but hides the markup. Interchange-plus pricing passes interchange and assessments through at cost and adds a stated markup, which makes statements longer but comparable. Tiered pricing sorts transactions into “qualified” and “non-qualified” buckets and is the hardest to audit.
Debit cards are the one place federal rules cap part of the cost. Under the Federal Reserve’s Regulation II, a large (“covered”) issuer may not receive an interchange fee above $0.21 plus 0.05% of the transaction, plus a $0.01 fraud-prevention adjustment. The Fed’s 2024 data show what that cap does in practice: on dual-message networks, covered debit transactions averaged $0.22 in interchange, about 0.45% of a $49.68 average sale, against $0.61, or 1.41%, on transactions from exempt smaller issuers. Credit card interchange has no equivalent federal cap and is typically higher, which is why your mix of debit and credit changes your effective rate.
If you are thinking about passing fees on, check first. Card network rules generally do not allow surcharges on debit cards, and some states restrict credit card surcharges, while cash discounts are treated differently. Rules change, so confirm with your processor and your state before you add a fee at checkout.
How card sales affect your business funding options
Card processing history is one of the clearest records of revenue a small business has, and funders read it. Steady monthly card volume, low dispute rates and deposits that land in the same business account month after month make a file easier to underwrite for almost every product, from a merchant cash advance to a line of credit.
Some funders collect directly from card sales, taking an agreed percentage of each day’s card batch until the advance is repaid. That percentage is the holdback on an MCA, and it means the processor you choose can become part of a future funding agreement, so a processor that makes switching hard is worth avoiding. Businesses that take few cards are not shut out; deposit-based funders underwrite bank statements instead, as our guide to an MCA without credit card sales explains.
The Broker Shop is a broker, not a lender. We put one application in front of the funders among our 50+ lending partners whose guidelines your revenue meets, so the offers compete. It is free to apply, and checking your options won’t affect your credit score.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to start accepting credit cards?
With a payment service provider, approval can take minutes and you can take a first payment the same day once a reader or payment link is set up. A dedicated merchant account usually takes a few business days for underwriting. In both cases, ask how long settled card sales take to reach your bank, since that is when the money is usable.
Can I charge customers a fee for paying by credit card?
Sometimes. Card network rules generally do not allow surcharges on debit cards, some states restrict credit card surcharges, and surcharges usually require advance notice and disclosure at checkout. Offering a discount for cash is treated differently from a surcharge. Confirm the current rules with your processor and your state before adding any fee.
Sources: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System — Regulation II: Average Debit Card Interchange Fee by Payment Card Network (2024 data) · Federal Reserve — Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing)
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One 2-minute application is matched to the funders whose guidelines you meet. It's free, and checking your options won't affect your credit score.
See What I Qualify For →The bottom line: Choose the processor by its contract terms, deposit speed and pricing transparency, not just the headline rate, keep every card sale flowing into one business account, and your card history becomes a record that works for you when you need funding.