bcc1234 - 5:42 am on Jul 28, 2004 (gmt 0)

You've got to be kidding.
My first merchant account was with them, and they opened it in two business days over the Internet. I never even had to fax anything or put down any deposits. Just my SSN and the company EIN.

Try asking for a low limit, like 50-100k a year, and then ask for a review and a lower rate in 6 months or whenever you reach 2x of that limit. If you don't get too many chargebacks, you'll be fine.

Of course, all that depends on the industry you are in.