These days you can’t run a retail business if you can’t process credit cards. But there are a few things you should know about credit card processing before you start.
The generic term ‘credit card processing’ actually refers to many types of electronic payments. Mastercard and Visa were created by a network of independent banks. Mastercard and Visa were created by a network of independent banks. American Express and Discover card are owned by independent companies. Most of these card providers offer both credit cards and debit cards. Credit cards allow consumers to borrow the funds to make a purchase, but debit cards can only by used to buy things for which the consumer already has funds in his or her account.
There are other types of electronic payments that don’t qualify as “credit card processing”. These include electronic check processing and handling gift cards or private label rewards cards. Many vendors will offer these services in addition to straight credit card processing.
Banks and networks charge a variety of fees to allow you to process credit cards transactions. The basic fee is called an interchange fee. It’s the fee that a credit card network charges per transaction. Normally it is calculated as a percentage of the sales price. Based on the card type, this fee can range from 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price. In addition to the interchange fee, some banks/networks also charge a per transaction fee, a monthly statement fee, and other fees as defined in their contract. Make sure you understand these fees so that you can price your goods and services appropriately.
In order to process credit cards, you will need to establish a merchant account with the credit card networks. Member Service Group offers merchant accounts with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover card using a single application process. We also offer 24/7 phone support for your account.
In addition to a merchant account, you will also need equipment to process your credit card transactions. The simplest credit card machine allows you to swipe a customer’s credit card to validate the transaction. Other machines have a pin pad to allow customers to swipe debit cards and enter pin numbers. These transactions incur the lowest interchange fees.
If you run an online business, you will want your credit card processing company to provide software that integrates with your shopping cart. Merchant Services Group integrates with the leading e-commerce shopping carts, and also offers a web terminal interface for manually entering card information. This is particularly useful for trade shows.
Merchant Service Group also offers credit card machines that allow you to process credit cards over wireless networks. These devices provide peace of mind to customers who recognize the value of at-table credit card processing. We offer machines that work over wi-fi or cellular phone networks (which are perfect for mobile applications such as in-home services).
Please contact us at (866) 403-0294 to discuss your specific needs.
