Merchant Account Marketing

Merchant Account Marketing:

Merchant accounts are marketed to merchants by two basic methods: either directly by the bank that will perform the processing, or by an authorized agent for the bank and additionally directly registered with both Visa and MasterCard as an ISO/MSP (Independent Selling Organization / Member Service Provider). Marketing details are by card issuers like Visa and MasterCard, and are enforced by various rules and fines.

Marketing by Banks:

A bank that has a merchant processing relationship with Visa and Mastercard, also known as a member bank, can issue merchant accounts directly to merchants. In practice it is usually harder to obtain a merchant account directly through a bank than it is through an ISO/MSP, and fees may be somewhat higher.
To reduce risk, some banks limit approval to merchants in its geographical area, those with a physical retail storefront, or those that have been in business for 2 years or more. These limitations along with different customer focus motivate some banks to sponsor ISO/MSPs to do the marketing and customer support directly, leaving the bank to do the accounting and processing.