Your Business Needs to Offer Credit Card Payment Processing!
If you own a business and you sell a product or service, you need to offer credit card payment processing. No matter where your business operates, whether online or offline, you are losing business if you cannot process credit cards. In fact, studies have shown that adding the ability to process credit cards to your business can increase your profits by as much as 400%! Why? Because people in today's society expect your business to offer merchant credit card services, and they expect to be able to use their card when they shop with you. Here is what you need to know about accepting credit cards with your business.Processing Credit Cards at Your Stand Alone Business Location
If your business has an actual brick and mortar location, you need to look into credit card payment processing options. The first step is choosing a credit card processing service. You can easily find one of these companies by searching online. Once you have found one that has good customer service records and products that you like, you will need to set up a merchant account with that company. Once your merchant account is established, you will need to choose equipment.Most credit card payment processing devices used by storefront locations feature a small device that includes a pin pad, receipt printer, and a place to swipe the card. When you swipe the card, the machine will connect with the credit card company to verify whether or not there are funds available on the account. If there are, you will be sent confirmation and you can finish processing the purchase.
Some of these terminals can connect with the credit card company via the Internet. Wireless credit card processing is a great option for those businesses that use the phone frequently. When you can connect to the credit card company via a wireless Internet connection, your phone line will not be tied up whenever you run a credit card payment. Otherwise, you may want to consider investing in a second dedicated phone line to use when processing credit card payments. Some devices are capable of providing wireless credit card processing and processing via the phone line on the same device.
Credit Card Processing for Online Businesses
If your business operates online, you have even more reason to look into online credit card processing. People who are shopping online expect to pay via credit card, as this is how most businesses operate. If you require them to mail you a paper check, they may choose to shop with your competitor.Another reason to look into online credit card processing options is the fact that you will receive your money faster. When someone pays via credit card, you are paid almost instantly. When someone has to mail you a paper check, you have to wait weeks before you are paid, if you get paid at all.
Online credit card processing requires no terminal. To process credit cards on your e-commerce website, simply set up a merchant account with your desired payment processing company. Then, they will give you instructions on how to set up the payment icon on your website. This allows you to start accepting credit card payments with very little set up time.
Costs of Credit Card Processing
Credit card payment processing is not free. You will usually have to pay a fee for setting up the merchant credit card account. If you need equipment such as a terminal to use to swipe credit cards, you will also have to pay for that.Once you have everything installed, you will also pay for each credit and debit credit card that you swipe. Most credit card processing companies charge a small fee for each transaction. For online credit card processing, this can be as little as 5 cents. For terminal based credit card processing this is generally a percentage of the overall sale usually between 1 and 3 percent. Try to find a credit card processing company that charges around the same amount for debit credit card transactions as it does for regular credit card transactions, as many customers are starting to use their cards as debit cards in order to give themselves more security.
Perhaps you are wondering why you should pay your credit card processing company every time you make a sale. The credit card company is handling the job of taking the money from your customer's bank account and putting it into your business's bank account. This is not a simple task, and you should pay for this service. If you think that you would rather avoid these costs and simply accept cash or check payments, remember the many customers who will simply not shop with you if you don't accept credit cards. This lost business is costly, and it is far more economical to set up a merchant credit card account so that you can begin credit card payment processing for your customers!
