If you want to accept credit card payments from your customers, you must have a merchant account. This is a business service set up with a financial institution (typically a bank). The merchant bank authorizes the payments, processes funds from respective credit card companies, and transfers the collected funds into your business's checking account. Merchant account services and processing fees vary depending on the merchant account provider.
You can have a merchant account through Sage Payment Solutions that will allow you to handle credit card information and process credit card transactions through Sage 50 using Sage Exchange. There is also a Sage Payment Solutions merchant account that will allow you to store credit card information in Sage Exchange, but not process credit card transactions. You can also have a merchant account that is not associated with Sage Payment Solutions that you use to process credit card transactions outside of Sage 50.
Credit card information and transaction data are transmitted (via a swipe terminal, the Internet, or a voice phone call) to the merchant account provider, which authorizes the transaction. After the payment is authorized, funds are transferred to a holding account set up with the merchant account provider. Funds from the holding account are deposited daily or weekly into your business's checking account. (Contact your merchant account provider to determine when funds are deposited into your bank accounts.)
Note: If you have a storage-only merchant account with Sage Payment Solutions, credit card information is stored in a secure online application (Sage Exchange), but no credit card authorization occurs.
Credit card transactions processed each business day are accumulated and deposited into your business bank account as a single amount. In addition to your bank account statements, you will receive a statement from your merchant account provider that lists daily transaction totals during the statement period and fees that were charged.