Saving money when you process credit cards for payment adds up quickly. Reducing your overhead without sacrificing the quality of the process matters. Your customers want the convenience of using credit cards to purchase from you. Don’t let those fees get out of control and eat up your profits! Strive to get low-rate credit card processing you can count on.
Evaluate your Needs
Spend some time evaluating what you need for credit card processing. Depending on the type of business you operate, it may be done online or in person. The best providers have flexible options and affordable equipment. Look at the choices and find the best fit for your business. Ask questions too if you aren’t sure of the benefits from a given setup or particular equipment.
Your type of business influences who you can get a merchant account with. Some of them will take on high-risk types of entities and others won’t. If your business falls under a high-risk category, don’t let that intimidate you. It means there is more of a risk of chargebacks and other concerns from your customer base.
Credit card processing is going to be more expensive for high-risk businesses. Even so, the amounts you pay vary from one provider to the next. Always take the time to compare what is on the table. The credit card processing may be similar in how it is set up, but the costs can be very different based on the provider you work with.
Learn about the Company before you Apply
Invest your time to find cheap credit card processing before you apply. Learn about the merchant provider company before you apply. This includes fees, the equipment you have to buy or rent from them, and the length of the contract you commit to. The terms and conditions, as well as the criteria to qualify for a merchant account, should be disclosed.
Never cut corners on customer service, security, or other important aspects of credit card processing to save money. Some providers do have a lower price, but they lack overall commitment and service for the bigger picture. Read reviews to get the pros and cons for each of the providers on your list of options. The input from other business owners can help you avoid problems.
Fees
You can’t get away from fees with credit card processing, but you can try to get the best deal out there. You have to pay a fee for each transaction. This can be a flat fee or a percentage of the purchase price. Crunch the numbers to see which works to your advantage. Some providers lower the fees per transaction when you reach a given dollar amount per month.
That tends to help medium and large businesses with more sales per month. It doesn’t always work out for the smaller businesses and they end up paying higher fees. Evaluate the type of business you have, your anticipated monthly sales, and compare fees among the providers.
Online businesses tend to have higher fees than in-person businesses. This is because fraud tends to be higher online. In-person, a card has to be physically present and swiped or inserted for the purchase to be completed. It is a good practice for businesses to ask for a photo ID when a credit card is presented for payment. Online, scammers have less risk of getting caught if they use card information that doesn’t belong to them.
Terms
A credible provider offering low-rate credit card processing isn’t going to play games. The terms of the offer are easy to understand and disclosed. There aren’t hidden fees worked in that are legal but not ethical. They don’t make it difficult to read the statements either. That is a common ploy for those charging more than they should. They attempt to hide it by making the reports difficult to understand.
If you are locked into a contract with a provider, when does it end? Are there better choices on the table with other providers? It may be worth it to pay the early termination fee where you are and move to a new provider with lower costs. Calculate how much you will save per month, even if you pay that early termination fee. Otherwise, you can push through the remainder of your contract and change rather than renew.
Additional Security
When you add additional layers of security to your credit card processing, it can lower the cost involved. Talk to the provider about options to get this in place. For example, online you can require the three-digit verification code from the back of the card before an order can be complete. You can also require the shipping address to match the address associated with the credit card.
Cheap credit card processing tends to be offered to a business with a lower risk of security breaches. This includes online and in-person businesses. The equipment and the process the provider offers should help you keep credit card information safe so it can’t be hacked. At the same time, security should be in place to lower the risk of fraudulently using a card that doesn’t belong to the person placing the order.
Negotiate
Don’t hesitate to secure a low-rate credit card processing account. Try to negotiate with the provider if the fees are too high or you have other concerns. They may offer you something better so you don’t work with one of their competitors. It doesn’t hurt to ask and negotiate an offer that works to your advantage.
As you compare the offers out there, it gives you information to negotiate with. Share with them what you feel has to be changed before you can agree to work with them. Once you have a merchant account in place, evaluate it annually. There may be ways you can get cheap credit card processing for less than you paid the year before without changing providers. Do all you can to reduce fees associated with credit card processing without compromising the value.
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