Merchant’s Guide To Membership-Based Credit Card Processing
Subscription pricing for merchant services is good for businesses with a higher processing volume, as those businesses can save big on markup costs and other credit card processing fees.
Subscription pricing for merchant services is good for businesses with a higher processing volume, as those businesses can save big on markup costs and other credit card processing fees.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably looking to accept credit card payments on your phone or perhaps your tablet as well. So where do you start, and how do you decide which software/payment processor to choose? I’m here to help you figure out if mobile processing is right for you (spoiler alert, it probably is), and which features are the most important.
From a merchant’s standpoint, the difference between a credit and a debit card matters less than it does to the consumer, but the difference is still detectable because the transactions carry different costs. In fact, because a PIN pad is needed to initiate true debit charges, a merchant must buy a point of sale terminal with a PIN pad before true debit charges can be processed. For larger ticket items, a true debit charge can cost the merchant less to process than a credit charge or a credit path debit charge.
PCI compliance involves adhering to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) standard established by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) to protect customer credit card information from cyber threats. This is a critical measure for preventing data breaches and ensuring customer trust.
Credit card surcharging has rapidly gained in popularity in recent years as court decisions, and legislative changes have gradually removed legal barriers to the practice. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated this trend. Nonetheless, the question remains: Should you add a surcharge?
Flat-rate credit card processing removes the unpredictability and complexity that can come with other pricing models. We’ll take a closer look at what flat-rate credit card processing is, how it works, and the pros and cons of the model.
You need to be PCI compliant. This isn’t just a matter of complying with a bureaucratic regulatory requirement or avoiding a PCI non-compliance fee. A data breach that exposes your customers’ cardholder data can have a catastrophic effect on your business, and following proper PCI compliance procedures is your best method of ensuring that this never happens to you.
A merchant account is designed to temporarily hold funds from credit and debit card transactions until they can be settled. When processing is complete, these funds will then be deposited into the merchant’s business bank account.
This article will explain the four PCI merchant risk levels and show you how to figure out which one applies to your business. Don’t worry — it’s really very easy! We’ll also review the various requirements that apply to each of these levels.
A convenience fee is an amount you add to the purchase price; the customer pays this fee in return for being able to use a more convenient payment method. The important thing to remember is that the customer must always have the choice to use another standard method of payment that does not require the added convenience fee. The fee isn’t technically related to taking credit cards. It is meant to help the merchant recoup the added cost for setting up a new payment channel.
Want to help shape the future of the Merchant Maverick website? Join our testing and survey community!
By providing feedback on how we can improve, you can earn gift cards and get early access to new features.
Help us to improve by providing some feedback on your experience today.
The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.