merchant services

Outsourced payment-processing services, usually for credit, debit, and ATM card transactions. Merchant services vendors may also handle check guarantees or e-payment processes for e-commerce sites. Payments are processed either through point-of-sale terminals, electronic cash registers, stand-alone PCs, LAN systems, or directly on the Internet. Generally, in exchange for a fee, the vendor will handle authorizations and deposits and will give the merchant a consolidated monthly billing statement. You must be cautious about choosing a company for merchant services because many of them are notorious for sending spam. That's less of an issue when you apply for a merchant account, since you do that through your bank.