Compare monthly costs
An IAMS account is not for everyone. Typically, the computed charges will be more for 3rd party processing than they will be with your own merchant account; however, the fixed costs will be less. This makes a 3rd party account ideal for starting businesses where sales volume is not well known. However, IAMS is still one of the lowest cost 3rd party processing services on the Internet today and because of the professional approach and the many tools for managing an account, we continue to service many merchants that have grown to well over $20,000 in credit card sales each month.

Additionally, there are many hidden costs to going it alone. You should expect to spend at least five hours a week servicing a merchant account. This servicing includes reconciling monthly statements and responding to chargeback claims. What are 5 hours worth to you? Conservatively at $30/hour, this is costing you on the order of $600/month. The IAMS service tracks your sales and reconciles your account each month and provides an on-line account statement. Think of us as a full service provider for your credit card management

We respond on your behalf to chargeback claims. With any merchant account, win or lose, if there is a claim, you will immediately be out a $25 chargeback fee. And if you can't successfully refute the claim, you will be out the sales amount as well. At ImagineNation we're experienced in dealing with chargeback claims and successfully refute many of them, getting the funds back for our clients. This service relieves you of the burden of responding. Even a simple retrieval request requires your response with order documentation. Losing just one chargeback claim a month can erase any advantage you thought you had with your own merchant account.
ITEM
Merchant Account
IAMS Account
Estimate of Monthly Sales US$
Number of Orders per Month
Monthly Gateway Fee* $39.95 none
Self Management Cost*** $350.00 none
Monthly Service Charge** $25.00 minimum $18.00
Monthly Statement Fee $12.00 none
Discount Rate 3.5% 6.2%
Per Transaction Charge $0.35 $0.55
$ $
* Gateway Fee  This is a typical financial network interface charge which may be added into the merchant bank charges.
** Service Charge  This is a typical minimum discount charge on internet transactions. If the discount rate times the total sales exceeds this amount then the greater value applies.
*** Self Management  This is a very conservative estimate where there are no disputed charges.

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