By Ellen R. Jones
In the last years a lot of merchants have focused on capitalizing their business on buying and selling their goods online. If you want to boost your sales and have decided to accept payments on e-commerce site, you must sign up for one or another type of merchant accounts.
That account is defined as being similar to a classical bank account. The funds from payments received by credit card are basically deposited into and then transferred out. A financial institution is the one that manages all the transactions by its credit card processor. All funds are processed and approved before they are transferred into the sellers account. They are usually sent every day into merchant's preferred bank account.
But the credit card processors usually do not transfer directly the funds from buyers to your bank account, so you need to get a merchant account that will act as an intermediating account. Through an internet payment gateway, this account will permit you to view and process the transactions in real time and thus making the transaction more safe and fast.
It is not cost-free to open a merchant account. Among the costs are some monthly fees and also fixed ones. If your business is a small one, it may not be so profitable setting up an own those account. An alternative to processing credit cards used by some merchants is PayPal, but this has the inconvenience that the customer is required to have a PayPal account. Also, PayPal is not a very flexible account and it sometimes sets limits on transactions or even freezes the account.
Another option that is worth taking into account is a third-party account if it is too expensive to set up your own one. All the management, security, administration and other details are not anymore your concern. The monthly fees may be higher, but you will save a lot of money on gateway fees or SSL fees.
Tips for Choosing Your Merchant Account
Your business is unique and so, not matter of its size, you must study the specific business types and needs. Check on the existent those accounts already available and focus on their costs rates. When someone offers discounts or savings and other similar features, try to see if they don't have hidden additional charges.
Small businesses can sometimes have some of the same needs as a larger company, but when it comes to communication, processing needs may be different. Some merchant account solutions can be expensive, not to mention needless for smaller businesses. Numerous startup businesses are based out of the home. Consequently, such businesses won't always need high-tech gear for processing credit cards.
Always pay attention to maths and ensure that your costs invested in the account are not greater than the sales increment. Make sure that the selected payment gateway is integrated with your merchant account. Stay up to date to referrals or reviews of previous and current users of the provider of this those account.
It is not so difficult to manage your merchant account. In this case uou will be given a userID and password in order to access the account and monitor your transactions at any time. Bookkeeping is very easy when you own those account and you are able to double check or keep track of all transactions using a monthly statement that is provided to you. If you have a merchant account on your own website it would surely benefits you in many ways. It helps in building confidence of customers in your business a may be a boost for your sales. Even though the procedure to get one might look discouraging due to the concerned research, you may be sure that it is worth for all the efforts.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Making Merchant Account Leads Work For You
By Ben Dwyer
A friend of mine recently submitted paperwork to create a LLC for a new business. Before the ink was even dry on the State's stamp of approval for his new company, his phone began ringing off the hook with calls from merchant account salespeople. He joked with me that he may have to change his phone number or his customers may not be able to get through all of the sales calls.
If you've ever started or managed a business, you know exactly what this feels like. The payment card industry is fiercely competitive and the calls, letters and visits from salespeople can be relentless. The attention can be annoying and even aggravating at times, but as I'll explain in a moment, there is a money-saving silver lining to the cloud of sales pressure.
Merchant account leads are the life blood of a salesperson in the payments industry. If you own or manage a business that accepts credit cards, that's exactly what you are - a merchant account lead, a potential deal and a quote waiting to happen. Don't take it personal, all sales-driven industries are lead-driven. They have to classify leads as numbers in order to calculate accurate metrics on which marketing efforts and sources of merchant account leads are effective.
You can let the sales pressure annoy you or you can use it to your advantage. Think for a moment how much your business spends on merchant account fees. The chances are pretty good that processing expenses account for a large chunk of your monthly businesses expenses. It's in your best interest to continually keep tabs on the best merchant account rates available. The flow of sales contacts make this easy by bringing the market to you. I'm not suggesting that you spend half an hour with every sales person that stops by, but it's advantageous to let them run the numbers top see if they can save you money.
To sales people, the best merchant account leads are those that come with recent processing statements. If you're currently processing credit cards and have statements to give, you can make their job easier and minimize the time spent with each encounter by having statements ready to send or hand out.
Use a dark marker to hide your account number and sensitive information and make a few copies of your merchant account statement each month. When sales people stop by tell them that you're busy at the moment, hand them a copy of your statement and ask them to call you if they can save you at least 0.25% off your existing merchant account effective rate. If you've got the ability, you can also scan your statement so that it's ready to send via email for all the sales people that will contact you via telephone.
If you're not currently processing having statements ready to hand out isn't an option but you can do the next best thing. Make a list of the following information and give/send it to sales people. Ask them to put together a merchant account quote and to contact you with a complete offer. This list should include:
- The age of your business
- The average credit card sales volume you expect monthly
- The amount of an average credit card sale
- How you will be processing credit cards (in-person, online, over the phone, etc.)
- A description of the products and/or services that you offer
This will allow sales people to put together a quote and you won't have to spend the time answering questions.
The next time you start to get annoyed with the flow of sales people. Just remember, you're a merchant account lead and they're a potential source of savings.
A friend of mine recently submitted paperwork to create a LLC for a new business. Before the ink was even dry on the State's stamp of approval for his new company, his phone began ringing off the hook with calls from merchant account salespeople. He joked with me that he may have to change his phone number or his customers may not be able to get through all of the sales calls.
If you've ever started or managed a business, you know exactly what this feels like. The payment card industry is fiercely competitive and the calls, letters and visits from salespeople can be relentless. The attention can be annoying and even aggravating at times, but as I'll explain in a moment, there is a money-saving silver lining to the cloud of sales pressure.
Merchant account leads are the life blood of a salesperson in the payments industry. If you own or manage a business that accepts credit cards, that's exactly what you are - a merchant account lead, a potential deal and a quote waiting to happen. Don't take it personal, all sales-driven industries are lead-driven. They have to classify leads as numbers in order to calculate accurate metrics on which marketing efforts and sources of merchant account leads are effective.
You can let the sales pressure annoy you or you can use it to your advantage. Think for a moment how much your business spends on merchant account fees. The chances are pretty good that processing expenses account for a large chunk of your monthly businesses expenses. It's in your best interest to continually keep tabs on the best merchant account rates available. The flow of sales contacts make this easy by bringing the market to you. I'm not suggesting that you spend half an hour with every sales person that stops by, but it's advantageous to let them run the numbers top see if they can save you money.
To sales people, the best merchant account leads are those that come with recent processing statements. If you're currently processing credit cards and have statements to give, you can make their job easier and minimize the time spent with each encounter by having statements ready to send or hand out.
Use a dark marker to hide your account number and sensitive information and make a few copies of your merchant account statement each month. When sales people stop by tell them that you're busy at the moment, hand them a copy of your statement and ask them to call you if they can save you at least 0.25% off your existing merchant account effective rate. If you've got the ability, you can also scan your statement so that it's ready to send via email for all the sales people that will contact you via telephone.
If you're not currently processing having statements ready to hand out isn't an option but you can do the next best thing. Make a list of the following information and give/send it to sales people. Ask them to put together a merchant account quote and to contact you with a complete offer. This list should include:
- The age of your business
- The average credit card sales volume you expect monthly
- The amount of an average credit card sale
- How you will be processing credit cards (in-person, online, over the phone, etc.)
- A description of the products and/or services that you offer
This will allow sales people to put together a quote and you won't have to spend the time answering questions.
The next time you start to get annoyed with the flow of sales people. Just remember, you're a merchant account lead and they're a potential source of savings.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
What is the Best Credit Card Merchant Account Service?
By Joe Mears
It's a tough question and can depend on your specific requirements. However, there are certain characteristics that everybody needs to have in a merchant account.
First up is low transactions costs. Now when I say transaction costs, what I actually mean is the total fees you will be paying to process credit card orders. It sounds simple and it should be, but it's not.
Rates are a great way for companies in the industry to get a little 'creative' with their advertising campaigns and hide some of their charges that you only find when your first statements come through.
Next is the contract length, why sign a long term contract with a company you don't know? I certainly have no idea, if a company wants you to sign one it would send alarm bells ringing in my head. If they provide great service at low rates, why would you leave anyway?
Then you've got the service levels. Can a company provide for your full business needs? Maybe you are an online business and need an internet merchant account, but what if you want to expand, will your provider be able to offer different payment terminals, or even mobile terminals, to be able to take orders at a big exhibition for example.
The list goes on, but it ultimately ends with a company that will get your transactions done with no fuss, because you won't make anything if you can't take orders. That means there has to be an absolute dedication to customer and technical service and support.
It's a tough question and can depend on your specific requirements. However, there are certain characteristics that everybody needs to have in a merchant account.
First up is low transactions costs. Now when I say transaction costs, what I actually mean is the total fees you will be paying to process credit card orders. It sounds simple and it should be, but it's not.
Rates are a great way for companies in the industry to get a little 'creative' with their advertising campaigns and hide some of their charges that you only find when your first statements come through.
Next is the contract length, why sign a long term contract with a company you don't know? I certainly have no idea, if a company wants you to sign one it would send alarm bells ringing in my head. If they provide great service at low rates, why would you leave anyway?
Then you've got the service levels. Can a company provide for your full business needs? Maybe you are an online business and need an internet merchant account, but what if you want to expand, will your provider be able to offer different payment terminals, or even mobile terminals, to be able to take orders at a big exhibition for example.
The list goes on, but it ultimately ends with a company that will get your transactions done with no fuss, because you won't make anything if you can't take orders. That means there has to be an absolute dedication to customer and technical service and support.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Avoiding Chargebacks With Your Merchant Account
By Matthew Nelson
In order to understand how a credit card chargeback can be avoided, you must first understand how a credit card issuer, and a credit card processor work. The card issuing bank protects the cardholder and the processing bank protects the merchant. The two work hand in hand with the cardholder to insure that both parties come to an agreement over disputed goods and services.
Are you fulfilling your shipment dates and quality commitments according to the expectations you have promised your credit card customers? Are you promptly responding to Cardholder requested returns and refunds according to your policy, and submitting the appropriate credit transactions to your Processor? Are you doing everything you can to verify that the credit card numbers you are accepting for your goods and services are from the actual cardholders, and not from someone else that happens to know the card number? There are several things you can do to help protect yourself from being faced with chargeback fees. By following the few steps listed above, it may help you to better protect yourself.
Are you meeting the terms of your agreement with your Processor regarding charging the card and timing of delivery? You must be aware that the safest way of accepting credit cards is by having the card present. In online situations where verification isn't possible be careful that the card and address is matching along with the CVC in the back of the card.
Many payment processing companies try make themselves look large on the internet, yet are really just big advertisers and high pressure sales people who are not really a payment processing company at all. They will sell a merchant account for whoever pays them the most commission. It is always the merchant who ends up paying for it, usually in the first few months and in merchant account startup costs.
Be sure to find out if there are any fees that aren't openly disclosed. Here is a list of some of the fees that merchants end up paying for because they are unaware of a better solution:
Chargeback fees
Retrieval fees
Termination fees
Gateway fees
Gateway Per Item fees
Hidden setup charges
Non-refundable setup charges
Batch fees
Cancellation fees
Minimum fees
Pass through fees (these vary)
Over limit fees
Voice Authorization fees
AVS fees
Non-Sufficient Funds fees
Bank Setup fees
Daily Close-out fees
Software fees
Licensing Fees
Annual fees
Amex/Discover setup fees
Statement Fees (more for more services)
Customer Support fees
Technical Support fees
Most business owners generally try to find a merchant account provider that offers the lowest possible rates. In some instances, it may be more advantageous to go with a higher rate so you can get the majority of these fees included rather than paying each of them individually added to your monthly bill. The best advice that we can give you is to be sure you know exactly what you are getting before you sign the merchant account contract!
This article has been written by Matthew Nelson. Matthew is the Marketing Director of Capital Merchant Solutions. Capital Merchant Solutions is one of the leading merchant account providers in the nation.
In order to understand how a credit card chargeback can be avoided, you must first understand how a credit card issuer, and a credit card processor work. The card issuing bank protects the cardholder and the processing bank protects the merchant. The two work hand in hand with the cardholder to insure that both parties come to an agreement over disputed goods and services.
Are you fulfilling your shipment dates and quality commitments according to the expectations you have promised your credit card customers? Are you promptly responding to Cardholder requested returns and refunds according to your policy, and submitting the appropriate credit transactions to your Processor? Are you doing everything you can to verify that the credit card numbers you are accepting for your goods and services are from the actual cardholders, and not from someone else that happens to know the card number? There are several things you can do to help protect yourself from being faced with chargeback fees. By following the few steps listed above, it may help you to better protect yourself.
Are you meeting the terms of your agreement with your Processor regarding charging the card and timing of delivery? You must be aware that the safest way of accepting credit cards is by having the card present. In online situations where verification isn't possible be careful that the card and address is matching along with the CVC in the back of the card.
Many payment processing companies try make themselves look large on the internet, yet are really just big advertisers and high pressure sales people who are not really a payment processing company at all. They will sell a merchant account for whoever pays them the most commission. It is always the merchant who ends up paying for it, usually in the first few months and in merchant account startup costs.
Be sure to find out if there are any fees that aren't openly disclosed. Here is a list of some of the fees that merchants end up paying for because they are unaware of a better solution:
Chargeback fees
Retrieval fees
Termination fees
Gateway fees
Gateway Per Item fees
Hidden setup charges
Non-refundable setup charges
Batch fees
Cancellation fees
Minimum fees
Pass through fees (these vary)
Over limit fees
Voice Authorization fees
AVS fees
Non-Sufficient Funds fees
Bank Setup fees
Daily Close-out fees
Software fees
Licensing Fees
Annual fees
Amex/Discover setup fees
Statement Fees (more for more services)
Customer Support fees
Technical Support fees
Most business owners generally try to find a merchant account provider that offers the lowest possible rates. In some instances, it may be more advantageous to go with a higher rate so you can get the majority of these fees included rather than paying each of them individually added to your monthly bill. The best advice that we can give you is to be sure you know exactly what you are getting before you sign the merchant account contract!
This article has been written by Matthew Nelson. Matthew is the Marketing Director of Capital Merchant Solutions. Capital Merchant Solutions is one of the leading merchant account providers in the nation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)