Merchant accounts are necessary for any business to accept credit cards in there name. There are hundreds of companies offering merchant accounts along with most major banks. Merchant accounts can be set up to accept credit cards at a physical location, on the Web or both. Options include setting up credit card processing at a processing house. These services can collect credit cards on your behalf. This is a great option for small business or new start ups that may have difficulty getting approved. Below are a few links to merchant account providers each with a slightly different service.