If your enterprise is an online entity, you might have faced hindrances in opening a current account/ business account in the local bank. This account is vital to accept payments online from credit/ debit cards and your business will suffer due to this lacuna. Researches have proven that over 60 percent of online transactions are completed using credit cards.
Given below are three important and basic steps to establish a current account for your online enterprise.
List out your requirements
Your first task should be to make a detailed list of features and services your current account ought to have and then search for a suitable bank Do you need Real-time processing which means the transaction is completed immediately online. The other method is manual completion of the transaction where only information is collected online and the payment is collected manually. The former is expensive and necessary only if your volumes are very high.
Technology requirements
Most banks offer too many solutions as part of a single package. The service charges for the complete package are obviously higher. Sometimes these complete packages won’t be necessary for your website. Ensure that your bank’s software is compatible with your website.
Price of maintaining an account
Most banks have hidden charges which are quite high and you will not know about them until you see your balance reducing automatically. These could be things like transaction fees, fines etc. Given below is a list of tariffs most banks levy on a current account:
Online processing fees
This is a constant fee that the bank charges for every transaction irrespective of the volume of the transaction. This is usually around 2-3 percent.
Dealing fee
Banks have fixed charges in US$ for this fees and generally between $0.25-0.70 per transaction. This would be ideal if you are trying to market cost effective items on your website.
Periodic minimum maintenance fee
These are routine periodic (monthly, weekly etc) fees demanded by banks to maintain your account. These can include statement fee, transaction fee, excess usage etc.
Holdback and chargeback
Some banks withhold part of the transaction receipt to cover their charges in circumstances when the transaction is contested. Sometimes the banks also levy a chargeback fees to the account when these controversies are proved.
Hardware and software requirements and configuration
Installation fees are generally a percentage of the complete setup cost. Find out from your bank if you need to buy any new software to use their platform.
Checkout various banks
Don’t open your account in the nearest bank. Talk to different banks and get quotations from them and then after suitably evaluating facilities offered and how close they are towards your imagined fee. These fees are completely negotiable and don’t worry about your image and just ask for the fees.