Credit Card Processing – How To Pick The Most Suitable Provider For Small Business
Selecting a credit card processing service brings up some vital questions such as Will the service add to the revenue from my business?, How much will it cost?, Can I depend on them?, Are they trustworthy?, and more. The internet is a reliable tool to survey the market for credit card processors. But how do you decide which processing service will best fit your trade requirements?
In this article, we discuss some of the decisive factors in your selection of a small business credit card processing service:
The fee charged to accept credit cards is undoubtedly a critical factor. You want a service that is within your means and well worth its cost. Different card processors charge varying fees but the most frequent are explained below:
- Startup cost: A lot of card processing firms do away with this charge. Others collect this fee as a “one time” charge. It ranges around $250.
- Gateway fee: If you have an ecommerce store, you will need a payment gateway to process credit card payments. The gateway fee is charged monthly and ranges widely from $10-$50.
- Statement fee: Majority of service firms charge a statement fee that averages around $10 per month.
- Monthly minimum fee: A monthly minimum fee ranging from $20 to $30 is charged to guarantee at least some income from each merchant.
- Transaction fee: This fee is charged by all card processing services. A set sum that varies from 24-35 cents is charged per transaction. In addition, the service also collects a cut (discount rate) that averages to 2.14%-2.40% per transaction.
- Address verification fee: Address verification is an additional security measure to protect businesses from credit card deceptions. Many companies charge a fee for this service. This can cost your business 5-10 cents per address.
Desirable features in a credit card processing service
The next step is to find out whether the service can serve all your business requirements. List your needs against the offerings of the service.
Type of credit cards accepted
Verify the typical types of cards used by your clients or the card types you would like to accept. Then, check if the credit card processing service accepts them. The most widespread card types are Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.
Type of services
A credit or debit card processing service should offer all the services required to manage payments in physical stores or e-commerce outlets.
Some services that should be part of the deal are:
- merchant account
- virtual terminal
- electronic check clearing services
- point-of-sale (POS) terminals
- shopping cart
- recurring billing
- short payment clearing period
Credit card processing security precautions
Credit card transactions are susceptible to fraud and thefts. It is critical that processors take adequate security measures such as:
- anti-fraud security
- CVV2 checking
- real time processing
- address verification
- SSL and encryption
Customer support services
What makes credit card processing services dependable? A very low error rate and easily accessible customer support service. Service providers should be able to assist you when you need it without losing time. Some features that should be part of the contract are:
- customer support numbers, email, fax, and work timings (24×7 is always preferable)
- fixed response times
- toll-free telephone number
- live online chat, if needed
Businesses should weigh expenses and services before selecting a service provider. The contract should not only fit your business budget but also fulfill all your expectations. Daljeet Sidhu is the author of this article.