A merchant account is a service that allows you to accept credit cards. This can be retail (brick and mortar stores), with a terminal to accept credit cards on site at your store, by phone or mail order.

You can also take credit cards and in many cases checks for orders from the Internet by adding a service that provides an online payment gateway.

The merchant account must be set up and you must be approved by the service provider you are applying through.

Any reputable merchant account service will walk you through this process step by step and can have you up and running with accepting credit cards in as little as 3-7 days.