Merchant accounts come in handy when you are accepting payments online. Here are a few merchant accounts I use. They are free but they do charge a small fee for every transaction that goes through your account.

1. PayPal: For PayPal users, you must have a premier or business account. PayPal allows you to accept payments from major credit cards and e-checks, and your funds are deposited into your PayPal account. It can accept payments worldwide.

2. Alert Pay: This is a third party processor that works similar to paypal in many aspects. It allows you to accept payments from major credit cards and e-checks, and your funds are deposited into your AlertPay account. AlertPay is used and accepted worldwide and it is highly recommended.

3. Safepay Solutions: This is another third party processor that works similar to paypal, but does not allow Texas residents use their services. It allows you to accept payments from major credit cards and e-checks, and your funds are deposited into your SafePay account. Outside of Texas, it can accept payments worldwide.

4. Linkpoint: This is a merchant account through Cardservices that allows you to accept major credit cards with your IPC business. This option is only available for U.S. residents, and is the recommended option for people living in the United States as it deposits your funds directly into your checking or savings account.

5. Egold: This third party processor works worldwide and handles all transactions in gold. Payments can only be received from customers who have an Egold account, and to transfer your funds from your Egold account you must cash out your gold through an exchange service. Egold is accepts payment worldwide from individuals with an Egold account.