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Advantages of an Offshore Merchant Account

By: Vlad Ehrsam

Merchant accounts are necessary for anyone who wants to take credit cards, especially over the Internet. However, sometimes it can be very expensive with fees and deposits to set up and maintain these merchant accounts. By moving your merchant service off shore, however, you can save some money and still experience good service.

In today's marketplace, paying by credit or debit card is commonplace and if you want your business to grow, you must offer your customers this facility. A merchant account handles all your credit card transactions. The money your business receives through credit card payments is deposited here. You can choose to transfer the money to your normal business account or you can use the money in the account to buy supplies.

When you think of an offshore account, you probably conjure up images of something dark and unlawful. The fact is that off shore merchant accounts in the Caribbean, Latin American and Europe are legal. They offer the same services as their counterparts onshore, but at a cheaper cost.

You can realize instant cost savings using offshore merchant accounts. While up-front deposits are a perquisite for all merchant accounts, the offshore ones require smaller deposits up-front. This works to your advantage, freeing up funds to employ in your business.

In a merchant account, a certain percentage of the money in the account is kept aside for charge backs in case a customer returns an item and wants his/her money back. Offshore accounts generally reserve a smaller percentage of your money for this purpose than onshore accounts.

It is common practice to pay transaction-handling fees as a percentage of the transaction amount. But offshore merchant accounts charge more than on-shore ones. But offshore accounts still work out more cost-effective, due the savings you make in other areas.

If you, like most business owners, big or small, are looking for tax breaks, then you should head offshore. With an offshore account, you can claim part of your income as foreign income. It will still be taxed but at a much lower rate than your domestic income. A word of caution though, consult your accountant or tax attorney before going offshore, just to make sure you are not breaking any laws.

In this hi-tech of the Internet, you can easily connect to your offshore merchant, from any global location in the world. And the ease of using the Internet to accept credit card payments 24 hours a day is profitable and convenient. Because you go about business, while your offshore merchant account keeps piling up. And optimizing your profits!

Article Source: Main Articles

Vlad Ehrsam runs a very interesting website at Full Info on Business, visit there today for the latest Business advice, and while you're there sign up for the free newsletter.
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