Any business which wants to grow in todays world must accept online payments made through credit cards. This would require an Internet merchant account. Small businesses can also open free merchant accounts to save initial costs.

A free Internet merchant account can be opened by involving a third-party processing company. The third party processor company has its own online merchant account. When you authorize this company on your behalf, it starts accepting online payments through credit cards for your products or services. A particular amount is deducted from this sale by the third party processor as a commission. The rest of the money is transferred to your offline merchant account. The commission is often known as a processing fee. This is how the third party processor makes a profit. Hence, it does not charge you anything up front. Usually, the fee charged by a third party processor is slightly higher than the fee charged for an original online merchant account operated by the merchant.

Not all third party processor companies offer free Internet merchant accounts. Some of them may charge a nominal fee. But there are many companies which help you in receiving online payments without charging an initial fee. It is only after the payments have been received that a commission is charged.

Before hiring the services of a third party processing company, it is always advisable to check its past record. Try and go for stable and well-known entities, because there is always the risk of fly-by-night operators vanishing with your hard-earned money.

Filling some basic information and signing an agreement with the third party processing companies can help open such accounts. A free Internet merchant account helps you tap potential online business opportunities even if you don't have a web site.