Sep
2
2010
Before you chain yourself to a specific merchant credit card processing firm, you should be able to ask some reasonable questions. To ask those questions, you must understand the terms they will use and the fees they will all charge. The last thing you want to do is to compare apples to oranges, financially speaking, and end up paying a lot more than you expected.
A Merchant Account
This describes a specific financial account that allows your business to process payments made by credit and debit cards. This type of account will transfer funds from the customers’ credit card account to your bank account.
Processing Fees
These fees are charged for processing each transaction. Fees are higher for charges processed on the phone, over the internet, and by mail because no one is available to confirm the transaction and there is a higher incidence of fraud associated with them. Processing Fees are also higher for so called high risk merchant accounts (those dealing with pharmacy, telemarketing, adult material ,etc.)
Interchange Fees
Credit and debit card companies charge an interchange fee each time a customer pays with plastic. These fees currently range between one and three percent, but are expected to rise in the near future as a response to the Credit CARD Act recently passed by Congress.
Chargeback
A chargeback is issued when a customer requests a refund, questions a charge or is accidentally double charged. Fees are usually assessed as well, and the monies come out of the merchants’ bank account. Fees may be lowered if the merchant holds a sufficiently large cash reserve.
Gateway Services
If you intend to do any business over the Internet, you will require a payment gateway. The gateway allows customers to make purchases using a credit card or an electronic check and offers convenience and simplicity when shopping online.
Mobile Processing
If you take your business on the road, for example if you head to trade shows, conventions, and the like, you will need mobile merchant credit card processing. It is now possible to use applications on a number of smart phones to process credit card payments by utilizing the phones’ ability to access the Web at all times.