Credit Card Transaction Services Made Easy

Customer support is the most essential. A system that is down or one without adequate support can quickly effect your business’s bottom line.

The best way to evaluate a credit card transaction services is by their customer department:

1. Obtain their customer service/tech support number and call it various times through a day or week.

- See first hand what type of support they provide.

2. Obtain referrals that use that particular companies services and call them and ask:

- How long do you have to typically wait on hold before support reps answer?

- Are their needs serviced quickly?

- Have their rates been raised over time?

- How does the provider deal with chargebacks?

- Have you been charged any unexpected fees that were not clear on the agreement?

- Etc. (I am sure you could come up with a few of your own.)

If you are getting internet merchant accounts then make sure the offer a gateway service and secure processing with a SSL (secure sockets layer) this makes sure that e-commerce transactions secure for you and your clients while purchase goods and services from your website.

Learn how long it takes for your processed sales take to be deposited into your bank account. Every provider is different and some credit card transaction services may require an additional hold on your funds due to the type of business model you are in.

For example, most of the airline companies do not see any of their credit card sales deposited into their account until the flight actually leaves the ground, even if the ticket was purchased a year in advance. However, most businesses are funded within a week and some as soon as 24-48 hours.

Compare variable rates and fees. Remember this is not just your discount rates and transaction fees, but application fees, set-up fees, cancellation fees, monthly minimums, etc.

And finally make sure you READ THE CONTRACT. Do not expect the merchant service provider or sales rep to spell out all the fine print in the contract to you in plain English. Make sure you understand all the fees of your terms of agreement and termination clauses.

One of your best assets will be to find yourself a good merchant account service broker who will walk through the process of getting set-up with payment processing solutions that are ‘right’ for your business model and business needs.