How To Get Best Rates For A Good Credit Card Processing

You must make sure that you’re not being looted in the name of special merchant services. We’re here to help you navigate credit card processing and help you get the best rate possible for your business. So, stick around!

Factors that affect the rate:

Privileged services:

Privileged services would not affect the basic rate, but it would surely affect your markup in the name of, PCI compliance, merchant gateway, statement fees and so on. So, kindly take in consideration all types of costs before signing up for an account.

Size of the ticket:

Different variations in your ticket size affect your price. Bigger ticket sizes are considered as high-risk that eventually increase the rate for you.

PCI Compliance:

PCI-Compliance is like a vow to protect the customer’s identity. It is the set of rules, which a company has to follow to keep the personal information of its customers safe.

Other considerations:

Many of the processors will charge you a minimum fee if you don’t meet a specific volume of processing. Many of them won’t show it to you at all. Also, worth noting is that if you have purchased a CNP (Card not present) then you might get a better rate otherwise, you get charged extra.

There is no control over the rates as all the companies have their own entities deciding on the rate. There could be a standard rate decided by a group or a region, but no one can say that the rate could be matched or has a single pricing model for all kinds of companies.

Wherever you can ask, we suggest you ask for interchange-plus pricing. Even if merchant accounts never promote these plans, they often have them. It’s the most transparent payment model which doesn’t have enough margin.

All in all, we are here to provide you with proper information on how to get along in this fast-paced world which is changing in a blink.

No More Struggles With Payment Processing

VIRTUAL PAYMENT PROCESSING

A virtual terminal is an online application or operating system where a merchant can check his/her transactions and get a detailed inquiry of it. By using the virtual terminal a merchant can accept the payment without physically using the credit card. It will permit you to receive your payment anywhere at any time without being necessarily available there. You can even process the transaction once you get the card details of your customer over the phone or mail. It is the solution which will turn your computer into a payment-processing device. Unlike physical POS counterparts; virtual terminals can easily handle recurring payments.

HOW IT WORKS

• Processes swiped retail transactions.
• Card details over the phone or email, manually.
• Enter ACH transactions, manually.
• Generates automated response
• Generates receipts
• Confirms transaction with the bank
• Captures previously authorized transactions
• Confirms transaction status

Electronic Payment Processing

Electronic payment is the process of transferring money electronically from one bank to another bank. All it needs is to install an electronic device called POS (point of sale) for performing the transaction. ATMs also come under electronic terminals that let you bank almost virtually any time. To extract cash, make deposits, or transfer funds between accounts, you generally insert an ATM card and enter your PIN. Electronic payment processing will help to get instant payments right away at the time of the transaction. But it has one flaw, it will restrict you to accept recurring payments and bulk transaction by its limited services but still, it is far better than any other payment process like depositing checks and all.

We can give you the best solution for your business. We Merchant Stronghold provide payment processing without any hassle. We trust you will choose the right merchant service provider for your business. Merchant Stronghold has expertise in getting High Risk Merchant Accounts. If you want to know more, get in touch with Merchant Stronghold.

What You Need to Know about a High Risk Merchant Account

OFFER/CAMPAIGN INFORMATION

Describe the product/service being sold? How is the product/service ordered or purchased? What are the price points for the product/service?

Is the product/service being sold through a Front End or as an upsell offer? Is the product/service being cross-sold with any other product/service? If yes, explain. Is there a free trial and/or auto-ship program attached to the product/service? Is there a recurring billing/continuity plan associated with the product/service?

Documents and KYC

3 months of recent business bank statements. (If a new business, the merchant should be able to show financial stability to support the startup/operation of the business or personal bank statements.)
3 months recent prior processing statements for all products intended on being processed through the merchant account (If applicable)
Prior years and year-to-date business financials (Prior years audited financials required if available)
Website or Marketing materials (Print ads, brochures, etc.) if mail order/telephone order sales
If product/service being sold and not owned by a merchant, reseller agreements should be provided
Articles of incorporation/articles of the organization showing the ownership of the entity associated with the merchant account.

How To Improve Redirect Payment Gateway?

One of the common mistakes made by the merchants is that they do not give much attention to the Payment Gateway redirection. A payment gateway is a point where conversion takes place. If not done right, you can lose customer and revenue, both. It is advised to every e-commerce merchant to choose a redirect payment gateway, carefully.

In order to make sure that the conversion is not affected, you need to work on redirect payment gateway strategy. Here are some tips that you can try:

Make sure that the redirected payment gateway is completely secured for both the customer and the merchant.

Avoid too many clicks for the purpose of payment.

Only ask relevant information and required details from the customer.

The redirected website should open fast and shouldn’t have popups or advertisements.

Most importantly, alert your customers that they are being redirected to a new website so that your customer is not alarmed after seeing a different URL, logo, and website.

Another thing to notice when going for payment redirection is that the merchant should have complete information related to the payment being made.

Furthermore, by offering the required information related to your payment methods can save a lot of your and customer’s time.

Need more information? – Contact Merchant Stronghold

If you are still not sure about the payment redirection methods. Also, we provide assistance with High-Risk Payment Gateway, Online Merchant Account, Credit Card Processing, and similar services.

Let's Understand Merchant Processing Services

Now that you understand the Merchant Processing Services, let’s get to the point and discuss the methods to get the best merchant processing services. Here are some factors that can influence the Merchant Processing or Card Processing Services.

Types of Payment under Payment Processor

The merchant service provider of the payment processor needs to be according to your demand.

You can explore the market with different payment processors and get the one that suits your demands.

Also, you can Compare Merchant Processing Services and payment processing services.

Price of the Merchant Processing

The different processor offers different plans for their services. It is your responsibility as a merchant to select the best for your business type. Here are some different pricing methods discussed.

Fixed Rate Plan – This where the merchant works with a business or only one merchant account. You need to pay a fixed amount for the payment processing service.

Leveled Pricing – When the merchant needs to pay a different amount depending on the risk factor. This method can be beneficial as the risk can vary each month and the merchant is not needed to pay anything extra.

Interchanged Pricing – Where the payment processing fees and processors benefits are clearly mentioned in the bill. This is the most transparent pricing system ideal for medium to large business.

Contract and Support for the Processing

Equipment used while the Transaction

On what basis should you Compare Merchant Processing Services?

Similar Issues – Merchant Stronghold

• Credit Card processing comparison chart
• Credit Card processing companies for small business
• Payline Credit Card processing
• Largest Credit Card processors
• List of Credit Card processing companies
• Credit Card processing reviews
• How does Credit Card processing work?
• Cheapest Credit Card processing for small business
• Credit Card processing for small business with no monthly fee
• Credit Card processing fees 

How to choose the right payment gateway for your business?

When you are looking for different options and want to choose a payment service provider for your business:

Find the one whose services fits your needs. Spend some time to find the right provider instead of making rash decisions based on their discounts or advertised fees.

When you own a company, in addition to a merchant account and payment gateway, you will also have to make recurring billing, remote credit card storage, PCI compliance. You will also need to have anti-fraud tools, firewall security, etc. Many providers provide some or all of these services.

From a list of prospective vendors, talk straight about the fees and services. Ask them about the rates for rewards, business, and international cards, minimum maintenance fees, chargebacks, PCI compliance, API, and its technical specification and securities, etc.

You should choose a payment service provider that has a better user experience.

Choose a vendor who is easy to contact through email, phone number or any other methods, and provides substantial support to help you through all the complexities of the business and finance.

The right payment service provider will give you options to exit anytime and they won’t charge you for that. On the contrary, you might have to pay for exiting in case of the cheapest payment gateway.

Read contracts; the terms and conditions, and policies carefully. Some “cheapest” payment service providers ask for bond or agreement for 2-4 years and charge hundreds of dollars for a cancellation fee. This is just too much to accept.

Credit Card Processing For Travel Agencies & Related Travel Services

Merchant Account for Travel Agencies

Travel-oriented businesses are considered high-risk merchants as far as credit card processors are concerned. And, therefore are among the most difficult business types to acquire successfully accepted for a Merchant Account.  The reason is that experience demonstrates that customers are impressive. They are more able to dispute and chargeback travel agency transactions than most others.

Know the risk

To mitigate your risk and assure your acceptance for a high-risk merchant account, you will need to set up card acceptance policies and procedures to address several risk-related issues, including for example:

High-Risk Travel Agency Business; your association may not really be a Visa or MasterCard merchant, subject to the Credit Card Associations’ rules, regulation and policy. However, the airline is a Visa and MasterCard merchant and it is subject to their rules and regulations. Understand that, in most fraud-related transactions, the airline transfers financial liability to the travel agency it has partnered with as part of the contractual agreement. In such cases, your association will bear full financial responsibility.

An approval request that is clear by an issuer indicates that the credit card account is in good standing. In any case, the endorsement is NOT proof that the valid cardholder is making the purchase, nor is it an assurance of payment. Be advised that, in most cases, airlines are liable for fraudulent card-not-present transactions, even when they were endorsed by the card issuer.