Booklet › Infrastructure › Merchant Account & Card Processing
What a merchant account actually is, and how to find out what you’re really paying.
What is a merchant account?
A merchant account is what lets your business accept debit and credit cards — the account that connects your checkout (in person, online, or by text) to the banks that move the money into your account. Every business that takes cards has one, whether they picked it or it came bundled with whatever register or website they bought.
Free to start
The Free Statement Read
Most businesses have never actually seen what they’re being charged. So we start with a free Statement Read: Eric sits down with your current processing statement — the one you already get every month — and goes through it with you, line by line, in plain words. No rate, fee, or savings number gets said out loud until it’s confirmed in writing. Nothing is quoted on this page, because nothing should be quoted before that read happens.
Get the Free Statement ReadWhat comes with a merchant account
No separate listed price — these come with the account once it’s open.
Payment Gateway
Accept payments under your own business name online, in-store, self-service, and mobile — cards, tap-to-pay, and contactless — with fraud protection built in.
Good fit for restaurants, contractors, and professional service firms across the CSRA that want one checkout across phone, website, and in-person.
Technical details →Merchant Central
Your own portal to see every transaction, track deposits, and manage your account — one place to check on your money instead of digging through statements.
Good fit for clinics, home contractors, and storefronts that want clean visibility once they’re set up.
Technical details →Text to Pay
Text a customer a payment link and they pay right from their phone — no card reader needed. Good for collecting a deposit, a final balance, or a late payment.
Built for CSRA service businesses whose customers would rather get a text than dig out a card.
Technical details →Electronic Invoicing
Send a real invoice with your business name on it, by email, with a pay-now button built right in — the customer clicks, pays, done.
Good fit for home improvement, beauty, and compliance-focused service providers who send repeat invoices.
Technical details →Money Movement
Move money directly between accounts — paying out a crew, a vendor, or a partner business — without routing it through a card at all.
An optional add for CSRA operators with payouts to crews, contractors, or multiple business entities.
Technical details →Business Capital
A cash advance against your own future card sales, offered right in your merchant portal based on the sales history you already have — no separate loan application.
A short-cycle cashflow option for contractors, florists, event crews, and seasonal retail.
Technical details →Developer Payment Tools
For businesses that already have their own website or software and want payment processing built directly into it.
For businesses building custom checkout flows, not the typical CSRA storefront.
Technical details →