Showing posts with label credit card processing merchant account. Show all posts
Showing posts with label credit card processing merchant account. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Interesting Facts About Merchant Account Processing

While opting out for a merchant account, and choosing a payment gateway, businesses usually make mistakes some way or another. Whether you are new to the business or have lots of experience, you still might have some misconceptions about it.


Not Worth the Time – Firstly, entrepreneurs find that they have the best payment processing with the banks, some businessmen don’t care about the ease they get while doing the transactions through a merchant account.

Expensive Affair – Yes, the merchant accounts don’t come cheap, but they are not costly either. They just tell you the fees in a package where all the things are segregated and revealed as one. As well as the providers tell you the fees in percentage so, you have a clearer perspective on the rates.

Misleading Promotion – The misconception is that the service providers prevent the facts and sell the merchant accounts in higher percentages or give out misleading information as a result of non-formal training and burdened pressure to close a deal. Independent agents have a bad reputation for failing to disclose some of the more serious terms of the contracts they’re selling, especially early termination fees. Yes, there are some naturally talented and trained independent agents who have done well and can provide you with quality service.

Bad Customer Support – This whole game survives on the customer as it is fully dependent on them. It is a complete misconception that the providers don’t want to provide good customer satisfaction.

Payments are Going Cashless – Across the developed world, plastic and digital payments are overtaking cash. Cash is falling out of favor and the customers are more likely to pay by credit cards or online wallets than ever before. Offering solutions to the customers should be a merchant’s top priority (in this case, service provider), however, the rise in digital payments has also led to an increase in fraud and chargebacks.

Not all Payment Processors are Equal – Like any other service, picking the right payment processor for your company requires due diligence. Payment processors offer different levels of service and technical expertise. Perhaps the biggest mistake one can make is to assume these services are standardized and pick the first one you come across. Dig deeper and try to find the right fit for your business.

Technical Support is Crucial – Technical support is like insurance, you don’t realize how important it is until you need it. A person needs a friendly and experienced team of professionals on call. Most of the payment processors offer 24/7 helpdesk handled by experts who can guide a customer through any query.

Consider Processor Fees – A cost-benefit analysis is another crucial part of running a business. Generally, a merchant service provider in this competition opts for the best rates and customer can benefit from this. The search for the cheapest payment processor has its own consequences. One needs to consider his margins, customer preferences, technical details, and quality of service before making a pick.

Merchant Specific Services – When a merchant comes to get payment services, each one of them demands specific services like the freedom to trade to some of the specific countries, selling more products than what the website mentions.

Customers Are Going Mobile So Are Merchant Accounts – 70% of shoppers and customers now use their mobile to buy services or items. The payments are going cashless as well as the merchant accounts. Therefore, to keep up with the market and remain competitive, one needs a payment processor that offers a reliable mobile payment platform.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Alternative Credit Card Payment Methods

Alternative Payment Methods: Methods that are used as an alternative to credit card payments. It is also referred to as CNP (Card Not Present) situations. The card and single mode of payment on your checkout page will not help you, only rob you of your customers by turning them down for the payment.


Let’s take an example;


Situation 1 (Without alternative payment methods) - 


So, John is on your checkout page, he has already selected your product. 
He tries to pay by his credit card. 
Error: Card Declined. Please contact your bank for more information. 
Retries
Error……
John abandons the order and goes away.

Situation 2: (With alternate payment methods.)

John tries and retries. Failed…
The third time, his eyes spot Pay using PayPal/Amazon option and he decides to go for it.
Before you know, the payment goes through.
Your new customer is equally proportionate to more revenue.

Alternate Payment Methods | Increased Sales:

The customers just need their product they want to check out very quickly and seamlessly, due to the competition you can lose your customer if you do not have a quick gateway or alternate payment method.

Take PayPal for example, the Express Checkout feature and cutting-edge technology have gathered wide popularity for PayPal as well as the merchant. Now, PayPal has become a widely known alternate method of payment for most of the merchants.

If you have a similar question or more, get an expert at Merchant Stronghold at the toll-free number +1 (888) 622 – 6875. We also provide other merchant processing services and high-risk merchant services.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

What are the benefits of E-Check

Benefits of E-Checks

Let’s take a look at some amazing benefits of E-checks.

COST-EFFECTIVE
Pricey credit card networks can be avoided with the use of ACH as transaction fee is comparatively low. There is no limit on the transaction amount. If any merchant, looking for a cost-effective processor to accept large payments, ACH is where your search ends.

FUNDS
In traditional paper check method, it might take days to process a check whereas it is not the same with e-checks. Via E-checks funds get transferred faster and more conveniently.

RECURRING PAYMENTS
If a business is working on memberships or subscriptions, it is wise to choose the ACH electronic network rather than the traditional method.

IDEAL FOR SUBSCRIPTION-BASED BUSINESSES
There are many benefits to choosing E-checks for subscription-based businesses. Some of them go as follows:

AUTOPAY
Irrespective of a canceled credit card, ACH payment processing makes sure that the customer does not miss payments. Credit card numbers may change rapidly but it is very rare that the account details of the customer will change. With the use of ACH payment processor, it becomes easy to avoid payment gaps.

SAVE MONEY
Business can save a huge amount of money by long-term subscriptions. With electronic payments, network exchange fee is not applicable, which in turn helps the merchant to save a lot.

EASY & SECURE
In addition, it is easy to initialize online e-check payments. A merchant can create a simple and secure form as per the customer’s convenience. Autopay feature can be set within minutes that avoid extra work of writing checks every month.

REWARDS
With the use of ACH, savings are amazing, which can be available to attract new customers while retaining old ones. Schemes like an incentive for customers, rewards, discount offers or cash offers help businesses attract more customers.

WHO GETS BENEFIT
As a result, there are 8 types of businesses that enjoy benefits the most from E-check payments.

1. Membership Businesses
2. Schools
3. Non-profit Organization
4. A business accepting bulk payments
5. Online subscription-based businesses
6. Retail Businesses
7. Insurance Companies

Thursday, November 29, 2018

How to Process Credit Card Payments After Signature Rule Change

In this article, we discuss the details related to Credit Card Payments After Signature Rule Change. We will discuss old and new rules related to the payment after signature. For more information, feel free to contact Merchant Stronghold at the toll-free number.


What was the Earlier Credit Card Payment Rule?

The MasterCard was the first network to announce the change. Before that, credit card payment followed these rules:

And that slip was kept by the merchant as a document of a genuine purchase.
Before the year 2017, a cardholder needs to sign over the payment slip after the successful transaction.
Now, in case of chargeback or fraud, a merchant is allowed to use this payment slip as a piece of evidence.
The other card networks such as Visa, Discover, and American Express were also following the same steps.

Why There was Need to Make Changes to the New Rule?

Other card networks such as Visa, American Express followed over the steps of the MasterCard. But the Visa made it optional to sign on the receipt. Here are factors that made card networks to change the norms related to signature.

Also, a signature is not a strong evidence to fight against chargeback/fraud for a merchant.
The Card brands wanted to speed up the payment process by eliminating a step that is Signature.
Most of the signatures were unrecognized by the customers.
Also, most of the people are adopting the internet banking methods, where signature rules are not applicable.
Moreover, by applying the proper safety instruments, a merchant can reduce the card fraud and number of chargebacks. And new methods are more reassuring than the previous ones.

This is one of the most recent changes and many customers are not aware of this. The process of Credit Card Payments After Signature Rule Change is a lot easy. However, many customers still wait to sign the slip after making the payment.

Looking for More Information Related to Credit Card Signature Laws? – Merchant Stronghold

If you need more information related to the Credit Card Payments after Signature Rule Change. Then feel free to contact Merchant Stronghold. We have a team of experts, 24/7 available to guide the merchants with their various issues.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

What are the advantages of Multiple Payment Gateways Website

Advantages of Multiple Payment Gateways Website – If you wish to take your business online then we recommend you to create an eCommerce website for it. Once you have created an eCommerce website then the next question should be related to the payment options. The digital methods of payment have expanded up to an extent that people are very comfortable using the card and online wallet rather than using cash.


GLOBAL EXPANSION OF BUSINESS

Who doesn’t want to expand their business to the global market? Now, if you are the merchant with an e-commerce website then you have great opportunities right inform of you. You can start selling your products all over the globe using your website.

However, it is not as easy as it may sound, but you can definitely start somewhere, and this can be started by adding payment gateways.

Furthermore, if you are thinking to target a specific geographical location then the best way is to study the audience niche. Along with that, you can also look for the payment gateways popular in that region.

After that, you can follow the same pattern and keep adding more locations preparing a multiple Payment Gateways website.

TARGET TOWARDS BETTER REVENUE

Once you have added multiple gateways to your business, you’ll see an increased traffic on your website. This means you will get an increase in conversion rate, which could eventually lead to better revenue.

Furthermore, in a situation of crisis with a certain gateway, you can rely on another to keep your business going. Let’s try and understand this with the help of an example:

Suppose, you use 2 payment gateways A and B. One day, gateway A stops taking MasterCard payments and all the MasterCard credit card payments gets declined. In such a case, you can switch to gateway B and complete a successful MasterCard Credit Card Transaction.

So, one can say, one of the advantages of multiple Payment Gateways website is never losing a sale or transaction.

ADVANCED SECURITY AND SUPPORT SERVICES
ARE THERE ANY DRAWBACKS OF HAVING MULTIPLE PAYMENT GATEWAYS?

CONCLUSION
Now that you know about the advantages of multiple Payment Gateways website and also their drawbacks. Hopefully, this will help you and your business to flourish. In case you need more specific details related to your business then you can contact Merchant Stronghold.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

What is Credit Card Processing & How To Works?

Let us discuss the working of credit card processing in detail.

Key Players

CARDHOLDER
There are two types of cardholders
1. Who repays full credit card balance?
2. Who pays only a portion of balance and rest accrues interest?

MERCHANT
It is a vendor who sells product or services. The job of a merchant is to accept payment through a card, send the card information to the issuing bank and request payment authorization.

MERCHANT’S BANK
It is also known as acquiring the bank and is responsible for sending an authorization request to the issuing bank through a proper channel followed by communicating the response of the issuing bank to the merchant.

SERVICE PROVIDER
Also known as acquiring processor is a third party entity that works as an arm of the merchant’s bank. It provides service or device that allows the merchant to accept credit card for payment and also sends the credit card details to the credit card network and further sends back payment authorization to the acquiring bank.

Also referred to as Association member, operates the network to facilitate the credit card payment process, worldwide and administrate interchange fees. Credit card network receives details of credit card payment from the service provider and forwards the request for authorization to the issuing bank. In return, it sends a response of the issuing bank to the service provider. Some of the examples of the credit card network are Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

ISSUING BANK
Also called the credit card issuer is a financial institution that provides the customer with a credit card, which is involved in the transaction. After receiving the authentication request from credit card network, the issuing bank either approves it or declines it.

If you're looking payment gateway service to accept credit card transaction for your online business. you're in the right place. Merchant Stronghold is providing reliable credit card processing services. To know more information for contact us @ +1 (888) 622-6875. You have a query about this go to our site and leave it.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Visa Process Smoother and Faster for Entrepreneurs

The new visa route, devised with Brexit in mind, is intended to make the visa process smoother and faster for entrepreneurs and was introduced by home secretary Sajid Javid this week during London Tech Week. It will be launched in Spring 2019.


“We want to do more to attract businesses to the UK and our migration system plays a key part in that,” Javid said. “This will help to ensure we continue to attract the best global talent and maintain the UK’s position as a world-leading destination for innovation and entrepreneurs.” The new start-up visa scheme will need applicants to have an endorsement from a UK university or approved UK-based business sponsor, including start-up accelerators.

The cost of the visa and any cap has not yet been decided but a Home Office spokesman said: “This visa will replace the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa route, which was only open to graduates, so opening that route up to a wider pool. The cap on that was 2,000 per year and we do not expect the cap on this to be less than that.”

Antony Walker, deputy CEO, tech UK, UK’s technology trade body, said: “The new startup visas are a sensible move to encourage those with good ideas to come to the UK. However, for many mid-tier and larger tech companies, there remain serious concerns around Tier 2 visas. We understand that approximately 1,000 tech workers with job offers were refused visas between December 2017 and March 2018. This is a handbrake on economic growth and needs to be urgently addressed.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

How to Credit Card Annual Percentage Rate (APR) Could Double?


Credit Card APRs are ridiculously high, averaging 16.75 percent, according to the latest data from Credit Cards (That’s a record high, by the way.) But make a payment misstep, and you could face almost double that astronomical rate for months afterward.



If you’re more than 60 days late on your minimum credit card payment, your issuer may apply a “penalty APR,” which can reach as high as 29.99 percent, according to Credit Karma. This higher rate can be applied to your current and future balances for six months.

When six months have passed, your creditor is required to reevaluate your rates, per Credit. If you’ve made all your payments on-time during those months, you should hopefully have your rate returned to normal.

To find out what your issuer charges, read through your card’s terms and conditions. Not every card applies the penalty—Chase, Citi and Discover offer cards with no penalty APR, according to LendEu—though many do, and those without penalties will likely have stricter requirements. Make sure your payments are on time (or early) by either automating them or setting a calendar reminder when your bill is due.

You need to make at least the minimum payment in order to keep your baseline APR, though you should aim to pay off your entire bill each month so you don’t fall into debt. For help on that, check out some of our debt resources.

Today Lower of Credit Card Processing Fees

United Thinkers, a New-York based commercial open-source Payment Management Software provider has released guidelines for merchants and payment facilitators that want to improve their current transaction processing terms.

United Thinkers published a manual, providing guidance for companies that are not satisfied by fees, that they currently pay for processing credit cards and other electronic payments. Is your company in a similar situation? Maybe, you think that your current processing arrangement is not that bad, but processing fees seem a little too high, especially if your transaction processing volume is large and growing. Or, perhaps, transaction processing fees themselves are fine, but if you add tokenization, gateway, and other fees to them, the amount looks rather significant. Possibly, having carefully analyzed your overall transaction processing-related you realize that it is much larger than you initially thought because of some hidden fees that you have just identified. If any of these statements are relevant for your case, then the guidelines are for you. 

In the document United Thinkers experts describe the most frequently used strategies that their customers resort to in order to analyze and reduce their transaction processing costs. They identify the mistakes that people make and explain why many of the common strategies are inefficient. The commonly implemented intuitive strategy involves either negotiating better terms with the current processing partner or looking for a new processor that can offer better terms. However, these approaches often do not result in desired savings. The guidelines explain the reasons for this phenomenon and list the disadvantages of the commonly used approaches. They provide a better framework to properly understand what your true processing cost is. The document includes useful suggestions on how you can identify all of the aspects that contribute to the cost of processing and provide effective overall cost reduction strategies, focusing on each particular cost item.

Particularly, the guidelines authors describe the strategy of processing cost reduction through processing consolidation. United Thinkers successfully uses the strategy to improve the situation for its large-size corporate clients through the implementation of UniPay Gateway technology in the already existing payment ecosystems. 

"Many of the companies we are working with are not satisfied with pricing terms of their existing processing relationships. So we feel that we had to do something about it. Our new processing cost reduction guidelines are based on our rich experience of helping clients to establish successful processing relationships. They allow the readers to address the issue of processing cost reduction in a broader and smarter way," says United Thinkers president, Eugene Kipnis. "The key to actual savings is not necessarily the reduction of processing cost itself. Sometimes it might be beneficial to take a closer look at other cost items, such as indirect or opportunity costs.