Guidance for selecting retail merchant account
As a retail merchant, you should know what you're doing when it
comes to choosing a merchant account
provider . Selecting the wrong merchant account provider can
mean paying high priced leases on a terminal your business
doesn't need, and even paying high monthly fees.
1. A merchant account is a special account that is set up for a
business to accept and process credit card orders. After a
customer swipes their credit card through a terminal, the
information is passed securely to a processing bank. The
processing bank makes sure there is enough available credit in
the customers account, and if so, they then deduct the
appropriate funds from the account. If there are not enough
funds, the card is rejected and a message is displayed on the
terminal read-out screen. Assuming the funds are available, the
money is transferred to the merchant's business checking account
within 2 to 3 business days. In addition to checking for
available funds, the processing bank also makes sure the card
has not expired or wasn't reported as lost or stolen. If either
of these are the case, the transaction is immediately halted.
2. Before even starting to look for a merchant account provider
(or perhaps when you've just started to look), it is important
to know where you want to place your credit card processing
equipment. But keep these factors in mind while accepting a
equipment: Customer access to terminal, Ease of processing
access, Access to telephone jacks, Size of equipment footprint,
purchasing a second phone line.
3. It is important that you conduct your due diligence before
settling on one particular merchant account provider. Don't be
stuck paying high monthly fees and overpay on a terminal
solution. Don't let price be the only deciding factor though.
Don't wait a week before opening your doors to customers to find
a merchant account provider. Not only could you miss out on a
good deal, but in some cases it can take up to a week to approve
your application once it's been submitted. Then you need to
factor in the time it takes for the merchant account provider to
ship you a terminal (or multiple terminals). And on top of that,
you have to set up your terminal(s) correctly and make sure they
work. Three main factors should be considered when choosing a
merchant account provider Integrity of the provider, Price,
Customer Service .