It's important to do some checking regarding your merchant account.

Just because you have a Merchant Account doesn't mean you can take credit card information that is sent through the Internet.

Why?

Because MasterCard and Visa have reportedly stated they will fine merchants from $1,000 to $25,000 a month for not being in compliance regarding Internet transactions.  Keep in mind that this fine is for the merchant - which is your business.

Contact your merchant provider and make sure you can obtain credit card information via the Internet.

It has been stated that if you accept CC payments via any online method, that you must contact your merchant account provider first to see if they will allow Internet transaction to be manually typed in the CC terminal hardware or PC based software. Most merchant account providers don't allow this method with CC information obtained via the Internet. Again, check with your merchant provider to ensure you remain legitimate at all times.

Usually, a CC payment received via the Internet must use some type of online processing (see below for details).

After contacting your merchant account provider, they should tell you how to remain compliant with CC information obtained via the Internet.  They should provide you with the costs (if any) of doing so.