Internet Merchant Account for Credit Card Processing UK

In order to accept payments online you will need to have an Internet Merchant Account and an Online Payment Gateway.

A merchant account is a particular bank account for businesses and organisations to accept digital payments. They’re specifically for processing and settling electronic online payments, rather than bank accounts used for general banking transactions, such as deposits and withdrawals.

Find out more about What is an internet merchant account?

Setting up a merchant account

Merchant accounts are offered by bank and payment providers, which are usually called merchant acquirers or acquiring banks. You’ll need different merchant accounts for face to face payments, phone payments and online payments.

The main criteria for getting a merchant account is a positive credit rating, which takes into account the age of your business or organisation, your credit history and any previous merchant accounts.

Take a look at our guide: 6 essential merchant account questions to ask.

No merchant account yet? We can help!

If you're looking for an internet merchant account you've come to the right place. We work with over 250+ international acquirers worldwide, so whatever territory or currency you want to accept payment, we've got you covered.

Read more about Setting up a merchant account.

Looking for a payment gateway?

If you already have an internet merchant account and looking for a payment gateway, you've come to the right place. Take a look at our gateway price plans below for details.

Flexible, simple payment gateway

If you already have an internet merchant account, we can provide a payment gateway that can be customised to suit your business or organisation.

Features:

Gateway Standard

Bespoke

Gateway Advanced

Bespoke

Gateway Enterprise

Bespoke

Transactions Included

350

850

Lowest transaction fee based on volumes

No setup fee

Bespoke set-up available

Visa Checkout + PayPal

Digital payment links

Phone payments

Fraud management tools

Standard

Advanced

Standard support line

24/7 support line

Minimum contract applies

International payment methods

Additional alternative payment methods (eg ApplePay)

Fully customisable

Account management

Give your organisation the stability and freedom it needs to drive higher levels of growth by seamlessly automating your payment processes

What is an internet merchant account?

An Internet Merchant Account (IMA) is a vital component of any e-commerce operation. Businesses wishing to accept payments online must have an IMA if they want to accept card payments via the web.

Six essential internet merchant account questions to ask

Although your business bank seems like the most obvious place to obtain your IMA, it is often worthwhile shopping around with online payment services providers. They usually have relationships with a number of acquiring banking partners that they can leverage in your favour to secure more competitive rates.

Setting up a merchant account

A Merchant Account differs from your standard business account in that the bank, usually referred to as the acquiring bank, allows card schemes to make payments, chargebacks, refunds and other payment transactions into it.

How to speed up your online merchant account application

If you want to process payments online, you will need an Internet Merchant Account (IMA). You can accept online payments into your IMA, process refunds from it to your customers and, by arrangement with your bank, settle funds out of it to your business bank account.