According to smallbusiness.yahoo.com,when Western Union first gave charge cards to their best customers in 1914, no one would have guessed that over $2 trillion would be charged in 2003. As ubiquitous as credit cards are, their use is still growing. The exploding world of online commerce is playing a part, as is the increasing usage of credit cards in business-to-business transactions. While some businesses could not open their doors without a credit card processing service, it is more of a question for others.

Types of credit card processing:

1) Bank: Banks can be the easiest source to turn to for credit card services; many offer service packages for businesses that include merchant services.

2) Third Party Processor: Third party processors dedicate themselves to handling credit card processing. As such, they take care of different aspects of the transaction process such as authorization, billing, reporting, and settlement.

3) Independent Sales Organization: An independent sales organization (ISO) is essentially a registered credit card merchant broker who represents one or more third party processors.

4) Financial Service Provider: MasterCard and Visa requires establishing a merchant account through an intermediary.

5) Association: Small business and trade associations often offer credit card processing at discount prices



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