- Interchange: A fee charged for each credit or debit transaction.
- Monthly: Some processing companies charge a monthly fee for the cost incurred by mailing a paper statement to you.
- Application: Some processing companies charge a fee for applications.
- Setup: This type of fee may be incurred during the initial setup of the credit card machines.
- Monthly Minimum: The processing company may have a monthly minimum. If you don't have enough in transactions to meet the monthly minimum fee, you'll have to pay the difference between the fees that you did pay and the minimum.
- Termination: A termination fee may be charged if you cancel your credit card processing contract early.
Published December 28th, 2015
by Fox Tail Editor
Important Tips For Choosing a Credit Card Processing Company
As a business owner, Credit Card Processing is something that you'll inevitably have to deal with if you want to live up to your full financial potential. Whether you are accepting credit and debit cards on the Internet, by telephone, or at a brick and mortar location, you have to select a Payment Processing company to accept those payments. There are plenty of choices in credit card processing companies today, so it makes sense to be a bit picky. Here are several important tips for choosing the right company.
Accept All Cards
Since you're going to be paying for payment processing, it's best to get your money's worth by choosing a company that takes all of the major credit cards and debit cards. Ideally, you'll be able to find a processing company that accepts Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and Discover at a minimum. You may also want to choose a processing company that accepts EBT cards if you sell food items. If your business accepts gift cards, make sure that the processing company is set up to handle those as well.
Accept Digital Wallet Payments
Thanks to the ever-increasing popularity of smartphones, more and more people now use digital wallets like the Google Wallet or the Apple Pay. These digital wallets can essentially turn the smartphone into a credit card. By simply holding the top of the device around one inch from the card reader, the user can touch the phone's home button to send the charge through. Choosing a processing company that accepts digital wallets is smart business because it accommodates both the early adopter customers and the customers who will be changing to this type of payment over the next few years.
Offer Round the Clock Support
Whether you keep standard business hours or you have an Internet based business, you may sometimes run into processing issues at odd hours. Sometimes you may have questions about your billing statement or need to get tech support for your credit card machine after hours. Look for a payment processing company that offers round the clock support so you're prepared for these situations. Being stuck with a malfunctioning credit card machine for even a few hours can be extremely costly for your business. Round the clock support can prevent this from happening by getting you the help you need exactly when you need it.
Transparent Fee Schedule
The fees charged by credit card processing companies can vary quite widely. The maximum fee allowed by law is currently 5% of all credit and debit sales. It is very important to choose a company with a transparent fee schedule so that you know exactly what you're paying and why you're paying it. The fees may be broken down into many different areas, including:
