It’s safe to say that merchant relations with credit card processing companies, card associations, and 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. Every so often, things reach a peak — for example, the massive class-action […]
So, you’re a first-time small business owner, and you want to be able to accept credit and debit cards from your customers. After all, you’re bound to get a lot more sales – and make more money — right? Well, this is generally true. However, credit card processing is also a mysterious and rather complex […]
Some credit card industry terms can seem innocuous or self-evident but are actually quite specific to how payment processing works. One such term is the merchant ID, which is often abbreviated as MID. It is also sometimes just called a merchant number. Not every merchant who accepts credit cards has an MID, but for those […]
If you’re a new business owner, you may not know very much about PCI compliance – or even what it is. It’s possible that your first introduction to the subject might be an unexpected fee for PCI compliance showing up on your monthly processing statement. Like it or not, you can expect that PCI compliance […]
If you’re a new business owner who’s launching a biz soon — or a current business owner whose bank has approached you about switching your merchant account with them — you may think that a bank is the safest bet when it comes to processing payments. Of course, it’s convenient to have merchant services and […]
If you have a Visa or Mastercard, then you already have an intuitive understanding of what an issuing bank is. It is the bank whose name is on the card, alongside the Visa or Mastercard brand. It is the bank where you applied for the card, the bank that sends you a bill each month, […]
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.
Merchant accounts can be a complex beast — hard to negotiate with and tough to understand. When a small business owner signs a contract agreement, they may be doing so in good faith, believing that what the salesperson said to them is reflected in the contract. Many times that’s not the case. What follows can […]
There is a lot to consider when it comes to taking credit cards online for your business. We’ll guide you through the decision-making process and then offer several types of payment processors for you to consider so that you can find just the right fit.
Tired of telling customers, “Sorry, cash only”? With a credit card reader, you can take payments almost anywhere, access customers who only carry cards, and even get paid faster. Check out the best mobile card readers for small businesses.
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