| t card transactions have become a common means | | | | shopping through a shopping cart application. The credit |
| of payment for business transactions. Earlier, banks | | | | card processing system should be able to support the |
| were the primary credit card processing agencies. | | | | application. Downtime of applications is not just a |
| Improved technology and the internet have allowed | | | | coding nightmare, but also an inconvenience to the |
| third party agencies to enter this domain, and they are | | | | customer and a sale killer. |
| offering faster and cheaper services to merchants. | | | | Availability of Funds |
| Credit card processing rates vary across the market. | | | | Credit card processing firms usually process a batch |
| They can depend on sale amount, sale volume, credit | | | | of credit transactions once every 24 hours. The funds |
| ratings of the business owner, and purchase or lease | | | | are not available immediately after processing. If |
| of point-of-sale (POS) machines by the merchant. | | | | immediate availability of funds is a major issue for your |
| Credit card processing companies can charge a | | | | business, this is an important consideration. |
| percentage of the sales amount per swipe, a flat fee, | | | | Credit Card Processor is Hardware Specific |
| a stepped fee or both a fixed fee and a percentage | | | | Some credit card processing companies offer |
| of the sales amount. | | | | hardware specific solutions. Merchants have to buy |
| Businesses should verify their financial statements | | | | POS instruments from the company in order to |
| periodically, or at least once a year, to make sure they | | | | support the credit card processing system. The low |
| are not paying more than required as credit card | | | | processing fee is counterbalanced by the amount you |
| processing fees. This review can often result in the | | | | shell out for the POS terminals. If the services and |
| business changing its credit card processing agency to | | | | rates of the company are good, you can go ahead |
| improve its bottom line. | | | | with the deal, as hardware is reprogrammable and can |
| Though a good processing rate is agreeable, other | | | | be sold off later. |
| factors also need to be looked into incase you plan to | | | | Quality of Customer Service |
| change your credit card processing agency: | | | | POS terminals installed by the credit card processing |
| Compatibility with Existing Hardware and Software | | | | agencies should be easy to use. Merchants should not |
| The credit card processing firm should have a system | | | | have to call customer care for every issue, and if they |
| that works well with the existing hardware setup at | | | | do, the response should be fast. |
| the merchant’s business. Credit card slots are | | | | Good service and good processing fees are equally |
| available on phones, computers, wired and wireless | | | | important in a credit card processing agency. A low |
| machines. Similarly, the software for sales entry may | | | | processing fee does not do the business any good if |
| allow return charge, subscriptions, and recurring | | | | sales cannot be processed smoothly due to slow |
| charges. The credit card processor should be | | | | processing times, hard to use machines and unhelpful |
| equipped to process these instructions accurately. | | | | customer service. Verify the credit card processing |
| Support for Online Shopping Cart Applications | | | | agency on all counts before partnering with it. |
| Many businesses have web sites that allow online | | | | |