Month: April 2022
Before You Choose the WRONG Credit Card Processor
Whether your business is struggling or thriving in todays challenging economy, it is still vitally important you get the best Merchant account credit card processing program for your small business. Credit card Processing for your small business is a must have service. It has been proven over and over again that you will make more sales by increasing the ways your customers can pay. But while it can be quite easy to acquire Merchant Services from a credit card processing provider it can be quite difficult to tell which ones are telling you the truth about the actual costs.
The competition for your Credit Card Processing business is growing fiercer everyday. New Merchant Service providers are popping almost daily. The majority of the credit cad processing companies are third and fourth party. This means they can be sales agents for a sales agent for a company with the actual agreement with VISA and Mastercard. Why should this concern a small business owner? With every new layer between your business and VISA and Mastercard there will be another sales and administrative workforce that will need to be paid. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that it will be the small business owner who will be paying for those salaries.
What are a few of the things to look out for when you are approached by some of the Merchant Services providers? Several of them will employ what is referred to as using a Blitzkrieg approach. They hire a team of hard-sell, high pressure sales reps who come into a city or town in groups. They sweep in, cold call and use everything in their arsenal to make the small business owner take action right then and there to change to their company. They will often lead the merchant to think that this great deal is only good for that day. Some small business owners have remarked that their heads were still spinning long after the sales rep had left with the signed paperwork. The honest sales reps will allow you to take the time you need to make an intelligent decision.
Probably one of the biggest complaints leveled against some of the credit card processing companies is their use of hidden fees. Some merchant services providers have as many as 21 different types of fees they can charge your account. Unfortunately many of the merchant account statements are confusing to read and unless you are trained on how to read them you wont see where you are being charged extra or unnecessary fees.
Whether you are a small business owner who wants to start accepting credit cards or you are an established business owner who wants to keep as much of your profits as possible, you need to know what to look for in a great merchant services program. Talk to a Merchant Service Specialist. The honest ones will disclose all the costs involved with you accepting credit cards for payment. And they will be willing to put it in writing. Dont be the victim of hidden fees and misleading sales reps. It is your money. You deserve to keep as much of it as you can.
When it comes to small business credit card processing you must talk to an expert.
Nothing makes a credit card more enticing than the promise of receiving cash back with every purchase. Such an arrangement makes perfect sense in the minds of people whore going to use their credit cards with or without incentives. But grabbing at the first cash back credit card offer that comes your way could create problems for your finances. Points and privileges still have their place, but card issuers recognize the power of luring consumers with cold, hard cash.
Theres no question that the credit card industry is still immensely profitable. Issuers manage to draw sensible consumers in with promises of free money and juicy bonuses. But responsible consumers need to consider why card issuers would make these offers to begin with. Although it might be gratifying to think that they want the best for us, the reality is that we cant count on them being so kind.
Cash back cards may not be all you expected if you dont choose the right card. Pay attention to the following points to come out ahead of the credit card company.
Dont Make It A Game
Your ploy to open several new cards just to cash in on the signup bonuses then cancel them after you receive the cash will backfire. Opening and closing credit cards at random will hurt your credit score. Remember that your credit utilization ratio is factored into your final score so any increase in that percentage will cause your score to drop. Apart from that, youll forfeit your rebates on the cards if you dont meet certain limits. And if you overspend just to qualify for the rebates, youll hurt your finances more than anything else.
Do The Math
Dont get sucked in by attractive 2-6 percent cash back offers. The average cash back rebate is 1 percent, so be wary of unusually high offers. If you fail to read the conditions of those high percentage rebates, youll realize too late that theyre restrictive or almost impossible to obtain.
For instance, some cards promise 5 percent returns on groceries. But if you do most of your grocery shopping at a membership warehouse, you wont qualify for the rebate card issuers typically exclude some types of stores from their programs.
Revolving categories also make it harder for card holders to keep track and get the benefits of high percentage deals. Whats worse, is that you have to sign up to be included in the higher rebate categories. So if you go shopping without explicit confirmation from the credit card company, the rewards will never materialize.
In other cases, you have to agree to high annual fees in order to qualify for the inflated rebates. According to reports, over 65% percent of card holders never cash in on their rebates. The cloudy terms and constant roadblocks by card issuers are both reasons some consumers give up in frustration.
Read The Fine Print
Every card has its own set of rules as it relates to redemptions, expirations and forfeitures. For example, a late payment could lead to the loss of months of accumulated cash back rebates. Imposed pay increments are another way that card issuers hold back some of your money. So if your account has an irregular amount as often happens- it will sit in the account until you reach the required minimum.