Advantages of an Offshore Merchant Account

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If your business offers customers the facility of paying by credit card, (especially over the internet), then you need to have a merchant account. This can be a costly affair as the fees and deposit to be paid to set up and maintain the account are high. You can overcome this problem however, by opening an account offshore. Not only will you save money, you will continue to get the same level of 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.

Off shore accounts are not always shady. In fact, off shore merchant accounts serviced by Caribbean, Latin American, and European countries are actually quite legal. Many of them offer the same level of service you get staying on shore, but for less money.

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.

And offshore accounts hold back less of your money as security to cater for charge backs. Charge backs occur when customers return a product they purchased, On shore accounts tie up more of your business cash in security, so an offshore works better.

One of the disadvantages of an offshore merchant account is the high fees the institution charges as service charge on each transaction. Onshore institutions charge less for this service. The financial benefits of an offshore account however, more than make up for the high fees charged.

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.

With global technology advancing at such a rapid pace, there is no reason why you should limit yourself to what is available on shore. Telecommunications allow you to instantly access your account from anywhere in the world. The Internet allows you to accept credit card payments online any time of the day or night, without you physically present. An off shore merchant account is simply another tool to help 0you maximize your profits.

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