Merchant account services (which provides companies with debit and credit card payment processing capabilities) have been touted as one of the best business-related developments to have happened in the recent years.

The question now is, how exactly can they affect your business? Can your small online store benefit from a credit card merchant account as much as big companies do? Should you sign up for one too?

To help you answer these questions, here is a list of some of the different benefits having your own merchant account service provides:

- It makes purchasing from your store a viable option for customers who prefer to use credit cards instead of cash.

By having merchant account capabilities, you attract and encourage customers who would rather do business using "plastics" than cash. And, if the ATM and Debit News EFT Data Book is to be believed, more and more people are using their credit cards to purchase products and services. According to the study conducted, in 2007 alone, about 27.2 million credit card transactions will be made. Can you imagine how much business you would lose if you had to turn away every customer who wants to use a credit card?

- Merchant account services allow you to expand your customer base.

Coupled with a good e-commerce web site, merchant account services allow you to expand your customer base to include clients not within easy reach of your store. With these services, processing payments from customers located halfway around the globe becomes a hassle-free and profitable task.

- Having your own merchant account is convenient for your customers.

Many customers consider paying online or with credit cards instead of cash to be more convenient ways of doing business. Simply put, when you give them the option of paying with a credit card, you therefore offer them additional options, and make them happy. And happy customers mean only one thing: better profits.

- Merchant account services allow you to keep better track of customer transactions

A good merchant account system keeps meticulous record of every transaction made at your store using a credit or debit card. With a push of a button, you can extract any information regarding these purchases: the time the transaction was made, the credit card number and what the purchases were.

Convinced of just how beneficial having your own merchant account service can be? Take advantage of these benefits and sign up for your own debit and credit card payment processing service today.