Credit Card Processing Experts - Credit Card Processing : 9 Merchants' DOs and DONTs -

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Credit Card Processing : 9 Merchants' DOs and DONTs

by Trisha Echols   Merchants carefully scrutinize credit card processing companies before signing up the contract. They check the card processing companies' reputation, as well as their history records. Merchants do this to make sure that they deal only with legitimate credit companies. When satisfied, they sign the contract. However, there are still some important things to do before and after you ink the deal with your chosen credit card processing provider. Here are some do's and don'ts to consider :   <ol><li>DO SEARCH FOR HIDDEN FEES You could be looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack but with some credit card processing companies, it's there. Look out for telltale signs like free start-up, free activation, or free equipment upon signing up. These firms surely make money from other charges. Be alert and do some comparison. </li><li>DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE WORD “ FREE” Yes, the word is very tempting. In fact, it's almost a haven for cash-strapped merchants. But don't be fooled by such deceptive advertising. You are going to pay for the so-called “ free service” or “ free hardware”, etc..sometime, in some way or another. Consult other credit card processing companies before anything else. </li><li>DO NEGOTIATE YOUR PACKAGE PLAN If a company offers 2.5% as their transaction fee, haggle for 1.5% or 1.8%. Most companies would gladly accommodate such requests. Don't accept the company-dictated pricing hook, line, and sinker. The amount may be negligible at the moment but when you are processing transactions by the thousands, the figure could add up and take significant amount from your profits. Always negotiate for a better deal. </li><li>DON'T LEASE EQUIPMENT If you don't have enough capital outlay to purchase these card terminals or equipment, then by all mean, borrow money from friends. As much as possible, don't lease equipment. Ever. You see, you will lose a lot if you rent equipment. Let 's take a moment to consider an illustration. If you rent equipment, you will be paying thrice the purchase amount of the hardware in three years' time. And the sad truth is that the credit card company still owns the equipment after all these years. </li><li>DO REVIEW YOUR MONTHLY STATEMENT Ron Higgins, a tire dealer, finally got the time to examine his credit card processing company monthly billing statement. The contract stipulated that the company charge 1.6% transaction fee. But after meticulously going over the record and checking the figures using a handy calculator, Ron Higgins found out that the company was charging him a whooping 2.4% ! He terminated the service and settled for another company that offered him a much more competitive pricing. He saved a significant amount of revenues this way. </li><li>DON'T LET YOUR CREDIT CARD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BE PROGRAMMED SOLELY FOR YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY Yes. You hear it quite right. Don't let your processing company program your purchased equipments for their exclusive use. It will prevent you from migrating your credit card processing service to other companies which might offer you a better deal. If you change provider, it will mean buying another set of equipment. </li><li>DO COMPLETE BATCHING TRANSACTIONS AT THE END OF THE DAY If you are busy, set the machine to do automatic batching within 24 hours. If you don't, you will incur additional charges for late fees. And the longer it will take you to complete it, the higher will be your penalties. </li><li>DON'T GRANT SEVERAL EMPLOYEES ACCESS TO YOUR SERVER Anyone of them could turn against you and secretly steal your customers' confidential credit card records. If possible, don't let any employees have access to your computer servers. Guard the records yourself. If this is not possible, then carefully hand-pick a trusted worker to do this sensitive job. </li><li>DO EXAMINE THE CARDS CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCESSING THE TRANSACTION Particularly scrutinize the signature on the card if it matches the signature on the receipt. If in doubt, question the card holder discreetly for verification purposes. Be alert for credit card fraud. </li></ol> ( Trisha Echols currently is a long-time financial consultant with established consultancy offices in Amsterdam, Halifax, Malaysia and other key cities. Her clients belong to the top 500 companies in England and in the United States. She does lectures on strategic business practices and also writes for various magazines on business matters.) <a href="http://www.onlywire.com/submit?u=http://www.creditcardprocessingexperts.com/credit_card_processing_9_merchants_dos_and_donts.html;t=credit%20card%20processing;tags=credit%20card%20processing" target="_blank" title="Add this Article to Onlywire"><img src="http://www.onlywire.com/i/onlywire.ico" alt="" />Add to Onlywire!</a>

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