If Merchant Accounts Confuse You, Read This

Sep 17, 2015 by admin

Merchant accounts are not an easy business decision to make, and they can be overwhelming for those who are just starting out in business. After all, you’re in business to make something. You’re not a bank and shouldn’t be expected to operate like one. Fortunately, there are some questions you can ask yourself that might help you determine which merchant account is best for your needs.

Are Loyalty Programs Important to You?

As businesses scale, they tend to find customer loyalty an important quality to maintain and nourish. Smaller businesses might be more reliant on the quality of their craft. Whatever stage your business is in, you need to determine whether loyalty programs are an important part of that growth. If so, you need to pay attention to the second tier in you pricing structure.

What About Volume of Transactions?

If you don’t expect to make many transactions every day, which is common with big-ticket establishments, then you might have some flexibility in taking a higher transaction rate for lower monthly minimums or lower batch fees. Pay attention to the variables offered by each solution, and don’t be afraid to negotiate a bit in order to find a plan that better suits your needs.

What About Termination Fees?

Some accounts come with a contracted term. It’s common to find merchant account contracts that extend one to three years, with some going as high as five. It’s also common to see those types of accounts include a one-year termination clause. You’ll also see annual fees as well. Be sure you carefully project the future of your business before you make this decision.

Bio: Firoz Patel directed and oversaw operations for AlertPay Inc., a company he founded in 2005. Currently, Firoz Patel oversees operations for the Payza platform and resides in Montreal, Quebec.

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Get a Shopping Cart That Makes the Sale

Apr 28, 2014 by admin

By Secure Net Shop

Every successful ecommerce website thrives on having the right shopping cart services. Without a quality ecommerce cart on their site, their customers simply couldn’t make their purchases. Anyone who runs an ecommerce website may have to find this out the hard way someday when their cart software stops running correctly.

But shopping carts are more than just virtual baskets for your customers to store their orders. If you don’t see it as anything more than that, you’re at risk for losing some important purchases.

So whether you’re in the market for a shopping cart or you may replace the software you currently use, make sure you select one that does more than just sit there patiently.

For example, you want one that always supplies an image of their purchase. Better still, it should be one that they can alter to zoom in, rotate and otherwise get a better look at the item they plan on purchasing.

You should also make it easy for customers to increase the quantity of the item they purchase. So if they decide they want two of the same item instead of one, make sure they can make that change easily. If you make this process frustrating, they may decide to go with a company that doesn’t. That will be less sales for you.

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With Secure Net Shop, you’ll be presented with a wide range of web site shopping cart options that not only help your ecommerce operation running smoothly, but also provide a number of security benefits too.

 

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Pieces for Your Business

Mar 25, 2014 by admin

Written by Cash Registers Online

Most, if not all, businesses these days, whether it is a big company or small alike, rely on cash registers to process transactions fast and effectively. This is particularly important for stores that have a wide variety of items and so manually going through a price list might not be the best idea. The most efficient solution to this problem is through the use of cash registers wherein the inventory is programmed into your cash register for easy check out, computation, and inventory update all simultaneously when a purchase is made.

But cash registers are just one item and normally goes hand in hand with other pieces of hardware to process a purchase. A scanner is also used to be able to identify the price of an item and sends that information to the register automatically. With the strict consumer rules, a sales invoice or an official receipt must always be present for all transactions. As such, a printer is necessary for print our receipts and invoices. But there are various types of printers in the market today. The thermal printer is one example of a printer that, unlike traditional printers, do not use ink, instead utilizes a heating head to transfer text onto a special paper. It is also said to be faster and more quiet than its traditional counterpart.

Don’t worry, all of these things can be found in your favorite cash register store so you do not have to worry about having to find these things individually.

Having difficulty understanding your new cash register? Cash register manuals for various models can be found in their website.

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Retail Businesses that Should Accept Credit Cards Online

Feb 18, 2014 by admin

Article Written by : Merchant Account Central

Do you own a retail business? While you might already have a credit card machine in your store, it’s also important to accept credit cards online. Whether you have a website or you’re in the process of designing one, your customers will appreciate a convenient way to pay for your products and services on the web. Here are some of the retail companies that can benefit from ecommerce credit card processing.

Beauty Industry

You might find it surprising, but a beauty salon, day spa, or massage parlor can benefit from accepting payments on the web. While you can’t ship a hair cut across town, you can book an appointment for one on the web and have your clients pay in advance. The ability to process payments on the web for services such as haircuts, massages, and beauty treatments will significantly boost your sales. In fact, many technology-savvy beauty parlors have already set up this service on the web. Customers can visit the website to book appointments, purchase in advance, and even buy gift cards for friends and family.

Supply Stores

Whether you own a beauty supply store or an office supply store, chances are your customers are buying supply products in bulk. For this reason it’s important to provide your customers with a convenient way to pay for your products on the web and have them shipped straight to their home or place of business. You will need a photo-rich website with an online catalog of products as well as an easy-to-use shopping cart and payment processing software.

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High Risk Merchant Account Facts and Fiction

Dec 18, 2013 by admin

Learn the truth about high risk merchant accounts. We separate the facts from fiction to give you a clear sense of your options if you have been flagged as a high risk account.

No two businesses are the same, especially when it comes to how they are treated by processors of credit card services. One example is when larger businesses receive a “volume discount” on their fees because of the high amount of transactions they do each month. Another example is when a business is flagged as a “high risk” by merchant banks. While it’s not impossible for a company like this to finding a solution to accept credit cards, it does become more challenging.

There are a lot of myths about high risk merchant accounts floating around. Some of them are based on assumptions and others are just speculation. In many cases, these myths keep businesses from taking the steps they need to secure merchant accounts that will allow them to accept credit card payments as part of their normal business.

Here are a few of the most common misconceptions about high risk merchant accounts and what the truth actually is:

Myth: It’s a business’ fault that they have been marked as a high risk merchant account. Chances are they are doing something shady.

Fact: While some businesses are considered to be high risk by merchant banks because of issues like previous credit issues, many legitimate companies are also placed on the list because of the industry they are in. Companies that are in industries with a high rate of credit card fraud are more likely to be considered a high risk. This can include businesses that do antiques, sports memorabilia, online gaming and ticket sales.

Myth: Individual merchant banks decide who is considered to be a high risk.

Fact: Many businesses are considered to be high risk after being placed on the MATCH list, which was originally developed by Mastercard and is considered to be a “black list” for credit card service providers to evaluate potential clients. A company gets placed on the MATCH list by a bank it has worked with for various reasons including suspected fraud and overcharges, bankruptcy or identity theft.

Myth: Once you have been flagged as a high risk merchant account, it will be impossible to secure credit card payment services.

Fact: While it does make it more difficult, merchant account companies  Payment Solutions, Inc. are often willing to work with companies that have marked as a high risk. Merchant bank credit card service providers will look at a potential client on an individual basis to determine their level of risk. In many cases, businesses are able to secure credit card services at rates that are the same or similar to other companies.

 

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