What do you want to learn about payment processing?

Our CEO David Goodale was recently interviewed by Giacomo Panico of CBC News Ottawa to explain what card testing is, and how it can be a problem for e-commerce merchants.

Online coaches, health and fitness experts, and wellness practitioners have tremendous value to deliver. However, building your audience, establishing your brand, and cementing a visible place in your industry is not easy. David speaks to Laura Wood of the Wellness Business Hub about how to know if you actually have knowledge that people will find helpful, how to grow your audience, the importance of integrity and reputation, and particularly: how can anyone have expertise in so many different areas. Laura shares advice from her 15 years of experience in helping wellness practitioners grow their businesses online.

A BIN number, which stands for Bank Identification Number, is made up of the first 6 digits of a credit card number. These first few digits of the credit card contain information about the card such as which bank issued it, and the country it was issued from. David explains what you should know about credit card BIN numbers, and also how they can be an effective in spotting fraud.

The third and final in our fighting chargebacks series is how to fight item not received or services not rendered chargebacks. While winning a chargeback is always an uphill battle, these are some of the easiest to win chargebacks because all you really need to do is prove that the customer received what they paid for. In fairness, with some businesses it's easier to prove than others. David provides examples of different types of businesses, and how you can work to prove a customer received what they paid for.

In this episode of the podcast David speaks to Rob Pacinelli of The Best Media to learn how small businesses can use AI to automate the composition of emails. In particular, David talks to Rob about quality control and how you can protect your brand and reputation while still taking advantage of some of the automation benefits that AI offers.

For e-commerce and card-not-present merchants fraud chargebacks are usually the hardest ones to win. The challenge is that you have to prove the cardholder is who they say they are, and that they actually ordered the item or service in question. Ultimately, if the cardholder didn't actually buy the item or service in question you can't win, so in this discussion David also talks about ways to validate orders.

Some businesses are harder than others when it comes to establishing a credit card processing solution. Surprisingly, construction and contracting businesses can sometimes have a problem with banks and processors holding onto their cash. In this video David explains why construction companies can sometimes run into a problem when opening a merchant account with a payment processor, and what you can do about it.

Merchants have to keep chargeback percentages under the allowable Visa and Mastercard chargeback thresholds. (For more info on chargeback thresholds see: https://www.merchant-accounts.ca/visa-and-mastercard-chargeback-thresholds-2023.php). The problem is that some types of businesses simply get more chargebacks than others. David explains a strategy that some businesses can employ to lower their chargeback ratios, and prevent you from ending up on a Visa or Mastercard chargeback mitigation program.

Most credit card processors will ask for a copy of the most recent balance sheet and profit and loss statement when you apply to get a merchant account. David explains why payment processors care about company financials, how it can impact your application, and what you can do if the financials for your company are not as good as you'd like.

Merchants that are put on the match list lose the ability to process credit cards. Making things worse is the fact that it's difficult or impossible to get off the list. David speaks to Bryce Van De Moere and Jeremy Stock from Global Legal Law firm to learn what you should do if you find yourself on the match list.

Merchants can get declined for a number of reasons like bad credit, a high risk product or service, or the risk of chargebacks to the credit card processor is too high. However, you should always be able to get a clear explanation of why you were declined. A good strategy is to always find out why you were declined, and specifically: what you should work on improving in the future. If your credit card processor can't tell you why you were declined this is a sign of a bad credit card processor.

When you are selling to a customer that's located in another country you don't need to worry about exchange rates. If your customer is from another country (like a Canadian business selling to a US customer) you can issue the charge as normal. The customers card issuing bank will calculate and assess any exchange rate that is necessary. You will receive the exact amount of money that you expect. David also explains the option of multi-currency processing so that there is no exchange because you actually can choose (if you want) to charge your foreign customers in their local currency.

It's completely reasonable to revisit the fees that you pay once in a while. However, in fairness to the processor there has to be some reason why your rate should be lowered. In this video David explains when you should ask for a rate reduction, and how you should approach the conversation so that you can build a compelling reason and increase the likelihood that the processor will agree with your request.

Certain types of businesses are more difficult to administrate from a payment processing perspective than others. In this video David explains what Visa HBR and Mastercard BRAM fees are, how much they cost, and why they apply to some businesses but not others.

MCC stands for Merchant Classification Category. Every type of business that accepts Visa or Mastercard has a MCC code associated with their business. David explains why the MCC code used for your business can impact the approval rate for your transactions (the wrong MCC code can result in more declined transactions), as well as the costs that you pay when opening your merchant account.

How long of a contract should you be willing to sign when setting up credit card processing for your business? In almost all cases the answer should be monthly. Long term contracts should be avoided. David explains how to get a monthly agreement, and a few exceptions to the rule when long-term contracts can be beneficial.

An original credit transaction is where a merchant sends money (gives money) to a cardholder. It's a unique service, but merchants should be very careful when using it.

When you work with a payment processor it becomes a long-term partnership. It requires a deep integration if you're doing e-commerce payments, and will have a long-term cost impact on your business. Outages are problems along the way can cause a major issue. In this video David explains when and how to look for references when searching for a payment processor for your business.

How to pick a good credit card processor for your business. David gives advice so you can ask the right questions, avoid mistakes, and figure out which payment processors have the potential to be a good solution for your business.

In this quick video, David explains the simple math to help you figure out what your discount rate will be per month.

Pre-authorizations are one of the best tools available to prevent fraud. A pre-auth will enable you to return security results for the order, such as AVS and CVV security checks. More importantly, it gives you a chance to evaluate the order and determine if you want to accept the sale. You are fully protected because you can't get a chargeback until you capture the funds from the pre-authorization.

It often seems difficult or impossible to win chargebacks. In this episode of the podcast, we speak to David Pirtle of Chargebacks911, where he explains that the information you provide, how you organize, and being concise can be the difference between winning and losing.

David continues to interview experts who have learned how to practically apply AI to e-commerce businesses. In this episode David speaks to Athiya Rastogi to learn how she built Snapwrite with her co-founder, and how it's helping brands, retailers, pre-loved and vintage clothing merchants to leverage AI and run their business far more efficiently using this new technology.

If you sell expensive products or services you'll find that many payment processors want to hold back some of your funds in a reserve, or may even decline your merchant account application altogether. In this video David explains why this happens, and what you can do about it.

There is a strong argument that 3DSecure (version 2) is the single best anti-fraud tool available to any online merchant. In this video David explains what 3DSecure is, how it works, how you set it up on your website, and different ways that it can be configured.

How much are credit card processing fees in Canada? Use our interchange chart and fee calculator to determine your exact processing costs.

Canadian merchants are protected by the Code of Conduct for the credit card processing industry. It's a set of rules that credit card processors must follow with the intent of protecting business owners from unfair pricing and contract practices. For example, it protects merchants from unfair price increases. In this video David explains the most important things that business owners should know about the code of conduct.

Some merchants that use Shopify express frustration over the Shopify percentage based fees that are charged per transaction. In this video David explains why payment processors charge percentage based fees (because of interchange fees and chargeback risk), and why most shopping cart software providers charge a monthly fee, but don't charge percentage based fees. He also discusses some options that some merchants have used in an attempt to lower their Shopify processing costs.

Some payment processors have a 'standard practice' of raising credit card processing costs on merchants. This is dishonest and unethical. In this video David explains when rate increases are reasonable (which is very, very rarely), and how to fight back when it does occur.

Have you ever bought something online and been surprised by the duty charged upon delivery, or even a problem getting your package through customs? David speaks to Kat Dej-Panah of Zonos about how to remove these barriers and make it easier when selling to international customers.

Travel is a fun and exciting part of life that we all look forward to. (Or at least we did pre-COVID). Why do travel companies so often have a hard time getting a merchant account? Further to that, how much harder has COVID-19 made it to get approved?

If you've not accepted credit cards previously you may wonder how long it takes to get your money. In this video David explores the most popular funding schedules for e-commerce and brick-and-mortar merchants.

What should you do if your merchant account application is declined? David explains why payment processors decline some merchants, and how to turn it around and get an approval.

Merchants seeking to achieve PCI compliance will have to comply with PCI Version 4 which is the new standard landing in March of 2024. In this discussion David speaks to Robert Spivak of Control Gap to find out the big differences with PCI Version 4.

The debit system in Canada is called Interac. It's totally different from Visa or MasterCard so it works in its own unique way when it comes to making purchases online.

Merchants with businesses that are prone to disputes need to be careful to stay below the Visa and MasterCard thresholds.

How does Visa and MasterCard chargeback arbitration work? When a merchant has fought a chargeback and lost there is still one more chance to turn it around by taking it to the card brands for arbitration.

Making the wrong choice can be costly when choosing a payment processor. David explores 3 of the most common mistakes so you can avoid them when choosing your credit card processor.

David speaks to Vitaliy Naumenko of Cart 2 Cart, a shopping cart migration service that helps merchants to switch and port their data from one shopping cart software platform to another. Vitaliy shares advice not just on how to move from one shopping cart software to another, but also advice on which platforms to choose, and what to watch out for when migrating.

PCI Compliance is often perceived as complex and intimidating by business owners. David speaks to Robert Spivak at Control Gap in order to learn more about how small and mid-sized businesses can tackle their PCI compliance issues.

David explains what to do if your payment processor suddenly starts holding onto your funds, or implements a larger holdback or reserve.

How do you choose the right shopping cart software when building an e-commerce website? If you choose incorrectly you might need to rebuild your website in the future. David shares tips on how to pick the right shopping cart software for your business.

David explains what two factor authentication is, how it works, and how it shifts chargeback risk for fraud onto the card issuer and away from the merchant.

It can be difficult to win a chargeback dispute. David explores different ways to shift the odds into your favour.

A positive AVS result is an indicator of a legitimate transaction. In this short explainer video David explains what AVS is, how it works, and things to be aware of when relying on an AVS security result for any particular order.

Do you want to understand how e-commerce works? David explains both the technical components, and also the most important business considerations when building an e-commerce business.

Out of the box WordPress is not e-commerce capable. It needs special technology to enable e-commerce capability.

It's easier than ever to build a website. That doesn't mean it's going to be an effective website. In this episode of the podcast David speaks to Ryan Thrash, CEO of MODX to talk about the importance of choosing the right platform when building your website.

Many Canadian businesses want to charge customers in USD. It's very easy to send payment links to customers to collect payments in USD using our EasyInvoice solution. In this video David explains how to send payment links to customers in USD.

One of the most frustrating ways to lose a sale is for a legitimate customer to run into problems on your orderform. In some cases a customer will try their credit card over and over, and it will be declined even though it's a valid card and a legitimate order. In this video David explores some of the most common reasons that credit card transactions get declined, what you can do to prevent that from happening.

PCI Compliance applies to all merchants accepting credit cards. WooCommerce can make starting an e-commerce website very easy, but it doesn't necessarily make it a PCI compliant solution. In this video David explores some of the PCI compliance issues to be aware of when selecting WooCommerce as your shopping cart software platform.

David speaks to Greg Writer, Founder and CEO of Launchcart. Greg shares some insights into how he's working to launch a new platform in the e-commerce shopping cart software space, that addresses the particular problems that new entrants to e-commerce run into. Greg explains how they are working to solve those problems, and shares some interesting business insights along the way.

AI such as ChatGPT has, at an almost unbelievably rapid pace, make people aware that it's capable of so much more, and is so much better than most people realized. It's not that dissimilar to the advent of the internet and what eventually became the dotcom bust. Everyone knew it was tremendously capable, but how do you use it? How do you use these incredible tools to improve and grow your business? In this discussion David speaks to Wojtek Hoch about how AI is changing e-commerce.

Many business owners don't understand the difference between a business account and a merchant account. David explains the difference, and why you need a merchant account to process credit card transactions (and why the funds don't just go directly into your business bank account).

David breaks down the current interchange rates for e-commerce merchants in Canada for 2023. These figures were taken directly from the Visa and Mastercard Canada interchange tables. These interchange rates apply not just to e-commerce transactions but also virtual terminal and other card-not-present type transactions.

Card testing is an increasing problem for #ecommerce merchants. Fraudsters are constantly looking for ways to test cards. It's even a problem for payment processors, Visa and Mastercard. In this video David explains what card testing is, why fraudsters do it, and how to stop it, in addition to advice on how to get some of the fees reversed when it occurs.

David talks about the most important things for small businesses to keep in mind when setting up credit card processing. This includes staying away from long term contracts, avoiding cancellation fees, putting your best foot forward for approval, getting lower rates, having automatic rate reductions built into your agreement, and addressing technical concerns so everything works smoothly upon launch.

If you're building an e-commerce website, you don't want to spend all that money and have it not work. That can actually be a legitimate fear too, because if your project is not well planned you could run into issues. In this video David explains the concept of shopping cart compatibility, and how the e-commerce software that runs on your website connects to your payment gateway.

If you sell to customers outside of your country then you are doing international sales. This type of transaction, where the payment is across borders, incur extra fees from Visa and Mastercard. In this video David explains the criteria that determine if a transaction is cross border or not, and how much those fees are likely to be. (As well as touch on the topic of processing and settlement currencies).

We're often asked if it's necessary to type in the customers billing address (or the 3 digit CVV code on the back of the credit card). Technically speaking, the answer is no, you don't have to. However, when you don't enter the billing address (or the CVV code) you will detrimentally impact your approval rates. In this video David explains why this happens, and why you should (almost) always enter the

customers billing address when processing card-not-present payments such as e-commerce or

virtual terminal transactions.

David explains what a CVV code is used for, and how it relates to security when processing e-commerce transactions.

In this article we explain why the credit card surcharging rules don't matter to most online merchants. We also explore what does surcharging mean for online merchants versus brick and mortar merchants.

Some payment processors are more receptive to e-commerce accounts, while others prefer traditional brick and mortar businesses. Find out which payment processors cater to merchants in your industry.

Knowledge of credit card processing pricing models can save your business money. In this article we describe the Interchange Plus Pricing model for merchants. We'll compare it briefly to other models, state its advantages, disadvantages and give a practice example.

Credit card security can be a pain to deal with. The best solution is to simply avoid touching or storing cardholder data. In this video David explains how to avoid credit card data, and how it impacts your PCI compliance audit. (Avoiding cardholder data makes it a lot easier!)

High value (large ticket) transactions for expensive items and services are difficult to be approved for. That is because of the chargeback risk associated with large value transactions. In this video David explores best practices when it comes to large ticket processing, and how to get approved to do it for your business.

There are many critical components to an e-commerce business, and it goes far beyond just having a website. How effective are you with the leads that you generate? How tightly integrated are your systems, and is your customer support on point? Your CRM platform is the central repository of your customer information, and it makes all the above things possible. In this discussion we speak to Michael FitzGerald of OnePageCRM to find out what businesses should keep in mind when choosing a CRM platform.

We explore the most important things to know when setting up credit card processing for your business. Cost related issues, best practices, and advice on how to get approved when you apply for a merchant account.

Building an e-commerce website is a huge investment. Picking the right development agency is critical. How can you work your agency to get the best result?

osCommerce was one of the most popular open source e-commerce platforms of all time. It was free, flexible, and you owned it. However, it also had a lot of bugs which grew over time as the platform became dated. David interviews Vadym Gurevych and Vlad Malyshev, the minds behind the re-launch of osCommerce. The new version of osCommerce (V4) is a complete rebuild of the core engine and all modules. David also learns about the day to day working life of an e-commerce development team living and working in Ukraine during the invasion.

A somewhat common complaint for aggregators such as PayPal is the freezing or holding back of merchant funds. In this video David explains why this is occurring so you can try to address the problem and help get your funds released.

Recurring transactions are seen as lower risk transactions, and have lower interchange costs. If your business does recurring billing you should make sure that you are taking advantage of this by coding your transactions properly, and ensuring that you are on interchange plus pricing. If you do this properly you'll instantly reduce your processing costs.

Businesses can save a lot of money by routing their credit card transactions intelligently. This technique is called 'interchange optimization'. If you process a high volume of credit card transactions to customers located in different countries the cost savings can be very significant. In this discussion David explains the concept of interchange optimization and how it works.

3DSecure can be implemented in a number of ways, and is often a poorly understood service. In this episode David speaks to Josh Cohen from www.Paay.co, which is a provider of 3DSecure authentication services. We talk about the significant differences between the original and the updated version 2 of 3DSecure. Used correctly will certainly reduce fraud as a reason chargebacks

Many people don't understand the difference between a void and a refund. Using a void in the right situation can reduce your fees and prevent chargebacks. If you process credit cards it's important to understand the differences between the two, and the limitations of voids, which can't be used in every situation.

PCI Compliance is a complex topic that can leave businesses, and especially smaller merchants, intimidated at the prospect of accepting credit cards. In this entry we explore what merchants should know about the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

Why do some businesses get lower credit card processing costs than others? In this video David explores the criteria that cause some businesses to get lower rates than others and techniques that you can use to reduce your processing costs.

David breaks down the current interchange rates for e-commerce merchants in Canada for 2023. These figures were taken directly from the Visa and Mastercard Canada interchange tables. These interchange rates apply not just to e-commerce transactions but also virtual terminal and other card-not-present type transactions.

Without trust people don't purchase. How do you build trust? How do you maintain trust? Especially if at a small company? Today, we speak to Chris Errington of Metontec to learn how to better engender, build and maintain trust, and even find out what it really means.

If you operate a business in the travel industry such as an airline, cruise line, tour operator or hotel business, it is often difficult to establish payment processing. In particular, these types of businesses must often post a lot of collateral (give money) to the payment processor to hold on hand to offset potential chargeback risk. In this video we explore why this happens and what you can do about it.

A chargeback is a dispute between a customer and the business. In this video we explore what a chargeback is, and some of the reasons that chargebacks occur.

If you get too many chargebacks your merchant account can be shut down. In this video we explore what you should do to keep your account in good standing if you've been targeted by fraudsters and suddenly start receiving a lot of chargebacks.

How do you win new customers? What is the intersection between advertising, marketing and sales? In the latest episode of the vlogcast we talk to Keith Walthers from Mad Ads interactive, who shares his expertise on the customer buying journey, and how to win more customers for your business.

E-commerce shopping cart software is what keeps track of the things that customers want to buy as they browse your website. In this discussion we explain what it is, and the things to be aware of when selecting a shopping cart software platform for your business.

The Journey is a series that tells the personal stories of business owners. Today we speak with Justin Loncaric, a career realtor and serial entrepreneur about the importance of finding the right expertise, what he learned when building his real estate team, a growing food delivery business, and his newest project helping home owners get interest free financing to perform much needed upgrades before selling their home.

It's common for merchants to have security reserves, rolling reserves, or holdbacks from the credit card processor. In this discussion we explore how to reduce or eliminate them. Learn how to eliminate your security reserve...

Building an e-commerce website can be expensive and overwhelming. It's of those areas it's really easy to spend money. In this discussion with Josh Bartolomucci from Foxy.io, we explore how to implement e-commerce websites quickly and affordably by using low code e-commerce tools.

In order to accept credit card payments a business needs a merchant account. In this article we explain what a merchant account is, how to get one for your business, and the costs involved.

Hello, David here at Merchant-Accounts.ca. Today I'm going to tackle a very frustrating topic. Sometimes it's infuriating. What do you do when you get a chargeback and you lose it and it's completely unfair? What's left? Stay tuned, I'm going to do my best to help in one second.

In our second vlogcast we talk to Simon Cooper from Hybrid Ideas about why good design is about more than being pretty. It's strategic and should be created with the intent of accomplishing a specific goal.

In our first episode we speak to Feargal Harris from Numinix. We explore many different considerations when starting an e-commerce business in 2021.

You may have noticed a lot of declined transactions when selling to international customers. In this video we explain why international (cross border) e-commerce transactions get declined, and what you can do to minimize it.

If you've ever been confused by the difference between a merchant account, a payment gateway and processor you are not alone. In this discussion we break down the role each of those elements play, and how they affect your overall processing costs.

Using Video to Spot and Stop Credit Card Fraud In the past the best way to manually screen suspicious orders was to call the customer on the phone and ask them questions. Now, with modern web based video technologies it's possible to validate customers in a way that was never previously possible.

What is a discount rate? There is a lot of confusion when it comes to pricing in the payments industry. The most important cost of all is the discount rate. Learn what the discount rate is and why it's the when processing credit card transactions.

Understanding future delivery risk in the credit card processing industry. Why do payment processors have holdbacks or reserves on your merchant account? In this discussion we explain the concept of future delivery chargeback risk, and explore how to reduce the collateral held on your merchant account.

What are credit card assessment fees or card brand fees? Visa and Mastercard charge a very small fee called a card brand fee (also sometimes called an assessment fee). We will explore these costs and explain when they are incurred.

Interchange rates are usually updated twice annually, with the main update being in April. Interchange rates are being adjusted again in 2020.

How much does credit card processing cost? In the latest episode of our merchant education series we tackle the seemingly simple topic of costs. In addition to exploring the discount rate and interchange costs, we outline and provide some metrics for the actual rate you should be willing to pay for your business.

Everything to know about multi-currency payment processing If your business transacts across borders, how do you ensure that you've optimized your payments solution? Our CEO David Goodale sets out to demystify the most complex area of payments: multi-currency and cross-border e-commerce payments. This is a detailed exploration of everything to know about multi-currency payment processing.

When is a virtual terminal less expensive than traditional POS equipment? For processing card-not-present transactions. If your business takes orders over the phone, online, by fax - or basically in any way where the customers is not physically present, then a virtual terminal will be less expensive than traditional POS equipment.

Today we have a review of ShopFactory. It's a shopping cart and CMS system in one and it's been around since 1995. It has some unique functionality that sets it apart from others in the shopping cart software space.



Find out if ShopFactory may be a good fit for your e-commerce store...

Cross border fees are applied any time an e-commerce transaction crosses a border. It's important to have an understanding of these fees if you operate an e-commerce website that targets foreign customers.

Credit card tokenization can lower your processing costs and improve the security of your business. Even though it's easy to setup many business owners do not understand what credit card tokenization is or how it works.

Visa is addressing some of the most common chargeback related complaints from merchants. Going forward, chargebacks are a thing of the past and will now be known as disputes.

On November 1st 2017 Mastercard made some big changes to their interchange rates which will impact credit card processing rates for e-commerce transactions. Standard e-commerce rates increased for Core, World, and World Elite Mastercard credit cards. At the same time, SecureCode and Masterpass enabled transactions for those same types of cards decreased.

It is extremely frustrating for merchants to be notified of an increase to your credit card processing rate. In many cases, these increases may be unfair and add unnecessary additional expense to your business. Fortunately, there are protections in place that can help protect your business should this happen to you.

It's very common for Canadian businesses to sell online in US dollars. However, many Canadian business owners do not realize that it's easy to receive your deposits from credit card sales in USD without having to convert it into Canadian dollars.

Establishing credit card processing for an airline can be very difficult, especially for young airlines, but also even for well established carriers.

We have recently started a vlog series to demystify some of the most commonly asked questions about e-commerce. The first discussion in the series is to help merchants understand the components of an e-commerce website.

Some card issuing banks have a fee that causes problems for online businesses when selling to international customers. We are talking about the extra international transaction fees that some card issuing banks charge to their cardholders. In these cases customers may complain if their credit card was charged more money than they expected.

In the credit card processing industry the pricing models used can be very difficult for business owners to understand. The process of getting quotes and choosing a merchant account provider is difficult at the best of times, and especially so when different potential providers use different pricing models. However, you can make this process much easier on yourself if you understand qualified/non-qualified pricing, and how it differs from interchange plus pricing.

There are an ever-evolving and increasing number of payment types that e-commerce merchants can implement to better satisfy and cater to customers. Visa has released a new payment method called Visa Checkout which helps make it easier for shoppers to quickly and easily complete a transaction when purchasing online.

One of the worst situations to find yourself in is being stuck in an unfair credit card processing agreement. They can be costly and difficult to get out of. In this article we'll explore ways to get out of the agreement at painlessly as is possible.

As part of a new series we will be exploring many of the newest, and often task-specific shopping cart platforms that are available. The first one in this new series we are looking at is Moltin. It's a developer friendly cart platform that isn't meant for everyone - but should be well received by the web development community.

Cross border fees are one of the most poorly understood aspects of credit card processing. Many merchants do not understand why they happen, how much they cost, or when they should apply. In this article we'll examine what causes cross border fees to occur and how much they cost when processing international e-commerce transactions.

A lot of folks use aggregator services like Paypal because they are free and easy to get started with. However, what business owners don't realize is that getting a proper merchant account and gateway solution is actually very easy. In this article we explore some of the most common misconceptions people have about getting a merchant account for their business.

Pre-authorizing a credit card is easy, it can save money on discount rate fees, and is a fantastic tool for fighting fraud. With that in mind, why do more merchants not use pre-authorizations when processing payments on their website?

Volusion was one of the first remotely hosted shopping cart platforms available to online merchants. It's been under development for over a decade and is still going strong.

There are literally hundreds of choices on the market when it comes to choosing a shopping cart software. Choosing the right one for your situation can be a daunting task, but by understanding the different types of platform that exist you can whittle down the options to a cart that is well suited to your project.

In our latest shopping cart review we tackle VP-ASP, a powerful ASP based shopping cart that can be owned outright and hosted on your own webserve

Discount rates used to be simple, flat, and easy to understand. Unfortunately, with the prevalence of rewards and points cards that's often no longer the case.

Some merchant account applications are easily approved while others are declined or require security reserves. Product risk plays a major role in determining whether an application is approved.

Kevin Larsen was a man with an idea. He wanted a better way to monitor his young children using his smartphone. He took that idea, engineered a prototype, manufactured a product, built a Smartphone app and launched an online brand - the Uberwatcher!

Fraudulent transactions are more than just an annoyance. They can have a significant detrimental impact to any online merchant. It's important to spot fraud and prevent chargebacks from happening.

FoxyCart is shopping cart software takes a very different approach to building an e-commerce website. In fact, this was the most challenging review I've ever worked on because it's just so radically different than most existing shopping carts.

Is there anything cooler than hand crafted one of a kind swords and katanas? If there is, I'm not sure what it is. I was lucky enough to have a chance to speak with work with Pam Morgan at ProSwords.com and learn about her very interesting business.

Continuing with our quest to review and test the most popular shopping cart software platforms, this week we took 3DCart for a spin. 3DCart is a popular remotely hosted cart platform that was begging for an in-depth review to compare to rivals Shopify and Big Commerce.

I recently spoke with Don Cormier at CMS Intelligence to find out about their revolutionary new CMS system, and their experience with implementing a payments system.

If you had to identify the most common complaint merchants make about Paypal it is probably that an account has been suspended or shut down without warning. What may be unexpected is that these complaints for the most part are without merit. The problem is that the person using Paypal did not understand the fact that Paypal is a payment aggregator, or what that could mean to their business.

I recently had a chance to work with Cora LaRussa, Charity Manager at Ethiopiaid Canada. Ethiopiaid is a fantastic organization doing great work for people living in Ethiopia.

It's time for the first contest of the new year. In fact, we are planning on running this as an ongoing contest with a chance to win each month. By simply following us on Facebook, recommending us to a friend, or interacting with a question on our wall you will have the chance to have your monthly fee waived.

We have recently chosen McAfee to provide PCI scanning services for our clients. McAfee is one of the most recognized names in internet security, and has a fantastic offering for small businesses that want to ensure a secure online transaction environment.

After several months of concepts, iterations and testing we have finally launched the new version of our website. This is the fourth version of the Merchant Accounts.ca website since the original launch in January 2001. To celebrate the re-launch we've come up with a fun contest that will help us to ensure a smooth re-launch.

If I setup a CAD merchant account now, can I add USD processing later on if I need it?



When setting up a new account some of our customers become concerned about configuring their store in the best way possible. This can be challenging if you are in the startup phase because you often don't know exactly where your products or services may gain traction and become popular.



Fortunately, we work with our clients so that you can modify your account in any way needed.

Shopify Review Shopify is an increasingly popular hosted shopping cart choice for many merchants. Of particular note, it is a home grown Canadian shopping cart that emphasizes ease of use and customer support. I've taken the opportunity to do a detailed review of the cart system.

Merchants often do not realize how to read their processing statement and determine the effective rate they are being charged per transaction.

We are sometimes approached by merchants that already own POS hardware but would like to switch and begin using our payment services. In some cases that is possible but it depends on several factors.

Merchants are often confused by the monthly minimum. It's a fee that most merchants should never pay because it's only meant to be charged on dormant accounts. Generally speaking, the monthly minimum will have far more impact on a small business, or a seasonal business that is slow during certain times of the year.

A client recently contacted us because they were researching to select the right shopping cart for their business, and were wondering how much work it is to keep their Quickbooks in sync with the orders on their website.

Big Commerce is one of the most popular hosted shopping cart solutions on the planet. I roll up my sleeves and dig into the cart to see what all the hype is about.

When your credit card processor performs the action of processing a transaction on behalf of your company they incur a cost from Visa or MasterCard. Knowing the costs that your processor will incur will help ensure you are not caught off guard by unexpected pricing, and will help ensure you get the lowest processing rates possible for your business.

It is true that having poor credit or a bankruptcy will make it harder to get a merchant account, but it shouldn't make it impossible. Here we discuss the issues to be aware of when applying for a merchant account if you have poor credit or a bankruptcy in your credit history.

Canadians have been slow to adopt mobile payments technology that will allow you to process credit card transactions using an iPhone, BlackBerry or Android phone. However, this is not the fault of merchants or business owners, but is largely because of a technology constraint that arises from the chip and PIN technology that makes Canadian credit card transactions more secure.

American Express has finally provided a solution that will enable Canadian merchants to take AMEX payments online in US dollars. The solution is late to the table, and there are some problems with it, but overall this is a very positive development for Canadian businesses competing online, particularly when targeting customers in the USA or internationally.

In 10 years we've worked with some of the largest brands in the world. We've worked with home based businesses. We've worked with everything in between.



Merchant Accounts.ca has grown into one of Canada's most recognizable names in the e-commerce payments industry. January 10, 2011 is our 10 year anniversary as a Canadian merchant account provider.

Here I am with the first blog entry of the new year. 2010 had some major changes in store for Merchant Accounts.ca including a large migration project involving many of our Canadian clients onto a new and improved payments system.



Moving forward into 2011 we are looking at another exciting year. It most certainly will be an exciting year, because we are only several days away from our 10 year anniversary as a Canadian e-commerce payments provider! I can't believe it's been 10 years, but the calendar doesn't lie. During that time I've worked with many interesting clients and businesses, and I consider myself a very lucky person to have worked with such great people.



Going forward into the new year we are looking at the launch of a major new service offering to our clients. I can't release the official details yet, but it's tentatively scheduled for early in the second quarter of the year, so stay tuned to find out more information.



Seeing as it's January first (happy new year!), and that I should actually be taking a day off today, I am going to pry myself off the computer and finish up by wishing every one of our clients and business partners the best of success in the new year!

I have to admit that I am late to the Facebook game. That is quite unusual considering how involved I am in SEO (search engine optimization) and how it has become a mission critical part of... is it every internet connected business on earth? Perhaps that perhaps may be an overstatement, but I should have neglected setting up a Merchant Accounts.ca Facebook group for so long.



Please take a swing by and add Merchant-Accounts.ca to your facebook account. Also, don't forget about our Twitter .