Getting A Merchant Account -
What you need to know
On the surface mostcredit card merchant account providers tend to look very similar. However if you pop the hood and take a closer look you may find some very compelling differences. Below you will find some of the most frequent caveats that you may bump into when selecting a merchant account provider. It’s important to understand that while all merchant account services are subjected to the same cost structure from the card associations, commonly referred to as interchange, the fees charged to merchant can vary and can sometimes be confusing as well as abusive. we are also high risk merchant account friendly and have multiple banks that can support your business model. Power systems and credit card processing platform supports multiple types of industries including startup debt reduction and collection agencies, credit repair, adult website entertainment businesses, and travel agencies. we also offer apis that work with multiple shopping cart platforms that are popular amongst our merchant. Take a look at our reviews on websites like the payment guru and you will see that our services that we offer our top-notch.
1. Deceptive Offers Or Ads – “Rates as low as 1.29%” or similar statements should set off an alarm. This is the most frequently used form of deception. The actual interchange, or cost to the processor for an average swiped transaction is around 1.5% which can vary widely with different card types and business types. A credit card merchant account provider offering you 1.29% on standard swipedcredit card processing will lose money, so there has to be a “catch”. The catch normally is that they are quoting you a debit rate – that is a rate for debits or check cards that are processed through as credit cards, rather than pin-based. TMS provides pin-based debit fees at a fixed charge of 25 cents with no accompanying percentage. Also some published rates by less than honest merchant account credit card processing companies can be “promotional rates” good only on certain card types or for certain lengths of time. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Free Equipment – Getting a merchant account with free equipment is great for businesses if you are dealing with a reputable credit card merchant account company. Unfortunately some that offer free equipment have a hidden “gotcha” somewhere. The most common undisclosed part of the offer is that you will pay an annual fee. The annual fee is simply the merchant account provider’s way of recouping the cost of the terminal from you. Also some merchant account companies provide used or reconditioned terminals and offer no warranty or exchange protection.Total Merchant Services offers free, new equipment with no annual fees or other catches and we back it up with a trained terminal help desk and a 24 hour terminal replacement program in the unlikely event of a terminal malfunction.
3. Back End Support – Maintaining a well staffed, professionally trained merchant support call center is an expensive proposition. Many small merchant account companies do not have the resources to provide the quality of service needed to support their merchants, and wind up undermanned, undertrained or even worse, out-sourced. This can result in merchants having long waits, having to deal with voice mail/call backs or reaching a person that is not properly trained to assist in the issue. As a merchant, it is imperative that if you need to call, you need assistance immediately and it needs to be thorough and complete. Total Merchant Services has invested heavily in a professionally run staff of over 100 trained, English speaking individuals. All of our staff is in-house, not outsourced. If you are comparing companies be sure to ask what kind of support capability the merchant account company has.
4. Contract And Termination – Most allmerchant account service contracts have a contract length and a termination or cancellation clause. Unfortunately some merchant account providers have outrageous cancellation fees. The most frequent example of abusive cancellation charges is the so called “balance of contract”. The way it works is if you cancel your merchant services you are obligated to pay the minimum fees for the number of months you have left. This can obviously result in several hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees that you are legally responsible for. Total Merchant Services provides you with a 45 day no-obligation trial period. That means you can get setup for free, use the equipment and services and if you are not satisfied for any reason you can close your account and return the unit to us without obligation. Should you decide you like our services, the termination fee is $295 if you opt out the first year and $195 if you opt out the second or third year. After that there is no termination fee. The termination fees that we charge are primary designed to makes us whole for cost incurred with free terminal shipping, retrieval, refurbishment, account setup, account closing, fee retrievals etc. in the event of early termination. If you are comparing services be sure to find out the details of the contract term and cancellation or termination fees.
In conclusion if you are comparing merchant account companies, be sure to ask the right questions. What are the true rates for credit cards swiped or key entered?, are you paying a percentage on debits or just a fixed fee?, what is the true cost of the equipment and what type of support will you receive?, and what are you legal obligations in the event you have to close your account?.
So what are you waiting for? Free equipment, no application fees or other enrollment costs of any type, free customer support and terminal maintenance, great rates and fees and world class customer service to boot. Simply stated we want your business and are willing to go the extra mile to earn it! Take advantage of this great offer right now by clicking on the application link below. The process only takes about 15 minutes!
A minimum of $25 in discount and transaction fees will be billed each month