Can I Accept Credit Cards without a Merchant Account?
Technically, the answer to this would be no. However, to accept credit cards without a merchant account you really have to be setup with a billing service that accepts credit card payments on behalf of you or your business. The most common service that most people have heard about is PayPal. PayPal technically has the merchant account with the payment processor so a customer can pay Paypal on your behalf.
A Merchant Account is normally considered to be something setup with a credit card processor where a business charges the customer in the name of the business. Therefore, setting up a merchant account normally means the owner of the business has to submit a detailed financial application, have decent credit, and get approved by the credit card processor. PayPal eliminates all this and charges the customer in the name of PayPal and then PayPal simply pays you or the business. So, it is possible to accept credit cards without a merchant account by the typical definition of a Merchant Account.
