Nothing can bring your business to a screeching halt quite like a hiccup in your payment processing flow. Whether it’s withheld funds, a freeze on processing ability, or the complete termination of your account, these scenarios are a nuisance at best and devastating at worst. We’re here to explain the main reasons why processors hold […]
Free. Free as a bird. Free as in beer. Whatever saying you associate with the word “free,” the idea of getting something for nothing always has a special appeal. Of course, most of us have learned by now that almost nothing that’s advertised as being “free” comes without a cost of some kind. Whether it’s […]
American Express’s credit card processing is something of a mystery to a lot of people. There’s a reason for this, of course. Unlike Visa and Mastercard, which are open networks where anyone can issue cards, American Express is a closed network where the company issues cards and offers merchants methods to accept those cards. Because of this closed […]
Every merchant owner knows that cash flow is essential to a business’ survival. That includes credit and debit sales, which go through your merchant account before they reach your bank account. A lot can happen between that initial swipe or dip of the card and the point at which the funds arrive in your account, […]
So you’ve signed up with a credit card processor that offers an mPOS app. Great! Time to download the app and get started. So you head over to the app store of your choosing and search by name. You find the app and are getting ready to download it to your phone or tablet. But […]
First, a confession: I am still pretty new at reviewing merchant service providers. MSPs, that is–I’ve got the lingo down now. But it wasn’t too long ago that I had no idea what that term even meant. No one is born with knowledge of merchant accounts, and the first thing I learned when I began […]
Simple and streamlined to the core, it’s no wonder the ancient art of street food vending has blossomed with the increasingly fast pace of life. The humble food cart fully launched into the modern era with the introduction of mobile payment processing solutions offered by companies like Square. With pricing and equipment tailored for low-volume/low-ticket […]
When you’re just starting a business, or switch from cash-only to also accepting credit cards, you need to consider your payment processor. There’s no shortage of options available, but your short list will probably include a merchant account and the juggernaut of commerce, PayPal (see our review). Surely they’re not all that different, are they? Isn’t […]
Clover is everywhere these days. All the hip new stores seem to have this modular, Apple-esque point-of-sale system. In fact, both of the coffee shops I regularly write from use Clover (including the one I’m working from right now), and as a freelancer, Clover’s “email receipt” option makes calculating meal expenses a breeze come tax […]
It’s safe to say that merchant relations with credit card processing companies, the card associations, and the banks, aren’t always friendly — nor would you expect them to be when merchants find themselves subject to all sorts of fees and limitations imposed by these organizations. And every so often, things reach a peak — say, […]
