Hi all,

I have some confusions regarding merchant account and hopefully you guys will help clear it.

1. If someone is running multiple e-commerce websites (all Internal), can they use the same merchant account (not 3rd party) for all their websites. e.g. If the merchant account is for company name 'Domain.com, Inc.' (www.domain.com) can they use the same merchant account for www.domain1.com, www.domain2.com and so on... is it legal?

2. As I understand, even if it is possible, if a customer purchases the virtual product through www.domain1.com, on their CC statement, the billing will be from 'Domain.com, Inc.' or is it possible to have 'www.domain1.com' or 'Domain.com Inc. - www.domain1.com'. Is their any merchant provider that allows you to do that?

3. Because the product is virtual (prepaid telecom), fraud is a big, big issue. Do I need to code my own fraud protection scripts or some merchant providers have better fraud protection than others. Any recommendation will be appreciated.

4. I am leaning more towards my own merchant account, because first the site looks more professional and second I am reading all these horror stories with 3rd party processors. Anyhow, what is your opinion?

Thanks,
Sam

The web address has nothing to do with anything as it does not represent a company name. Most Merchant Account Providers will tell you that you MUST let your customers know what will appear on their billing statement on the sign up page.

Generally speaking, if you operate each ecommercite on the same merchant account, they must also be part of the same registered company.

As for fraud, the use of cvv2 code and avs (address verification system) will help combat fraud, but you should also do things like phone verifications (ie, you call the customer up), signature/card verification (you have the customer sign the tos or provide a copy of their credit card and have them fax it to you), and IP checks.

With the new Visa regulations, your own merchant account will be more cost efficient in the long run and yes, it does look A LOT more professional. You are allowed greater customization as you can program your own shopping cart and integrate that with your merchant account/gateway, whereas with 3rd party processors you are greatly limited.