Bank Gets You Online

National -- Typically, when a small business sets up an online retail location, it's a multi-step process that involves contacting a bank, an Internet service provider and various other professionals needed to get the site up and running.

Now small-business owners can go to one source to create and launch a site as well as establish a bank connection. Boston-based Fleet Bank offers an online program for North American companies that sell hard goods (retail products such as CDs, books and cigars) and are at least 1 year old.

You don't need to currently have merchant status, nor do you need to go into the bank to establish the site; everything is handled online. The program also includes a template that helps you create your Web site. (The service is available whether or not you are a Fleet Bank customer.)

The cost for the basic e-commerce package is $995 to get the site up and establish credit card acceptance; the advanced version, which allows you to post more detailed information about your product, costs $1,495. There is also a monthly maintenance and reporting fee of $99 to $249, depending on your product volume.

To obtain more information on the program, contact Fleet Bank at (800) CALL-FLEET or visit http://www.fleet.com

This article was originally published in the August 1998 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Bank Gets You Online.