Merchant processing/credit card processing

Joined
10 July 2007
Messages
1,248
Location
Pebble Beach
I have a lot of experience in this area as the founder of EmerchantsGroup
a collective of merchants. If you have questions in this area I can help.
 
Yes. Just PM your phone number and the best time to reach you in the afternoon PST.
 
I am recieiving a fair amount of PM questions and of course I am happy to answer them in that fashion. However, if you post your questions in this section I think that both the questions and answers might help others.
 
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I am recieiving a fair mount of PM questions and of course I am happy to answer them in that fashion. However, if you post your questions in this section I think that both the questions and answers might help others.

+1, I agree! Would like to see some questions people might have, and of course, the answers to follow.
 
At my wife's business, we have a lot of salespeople come in and look at our merchant statements and say they can save us several hundred dollars a month in fees. When I investigated these businesses like WMP (Wholesale Merchant Processing), I discovered they were very small companies and didn't have a very good reviews. In addition, they were what were considered 3rd tier processors that don't integrate into our POS easily. I talked to our current processor which used to be PPI and now it's Merchant Warehouse and they couldn't see how it could be possible to save that kind of money because even getting the lowest rate possible wouldn't amount to saving that much. Should I just kick these dudes out every time they come in and give us the sales speech? Or is there actually some significant savings to be found?
 
Any reputable Merchant processing company should be able to take a statement from your current processor and demonstrate for you exactly where the savings will be and how much. Assuming the activity you are presenting in that statement is reflective of your average montly activity.

I agree with you that a well reviewed vendor is important in any sector of business. Look for a strong testimonial page/references with well known merchants who can be contacted. If the vendor does not provide good service no savings are worth the aggravation.

Lastly, many POS programs allow for primary and secondary merchant processing account. In this case, I would plug the NEW merchant processing vendor into the secondary position and process a reasonable sample through their program and see how they do. Never cancel your current processor until you are satisfied with the end results. If possible, I would ONLY sign-up with new companies that do NOT require a service contract. When we organized the program we offer to merchants we insisted that there be NO contract. It was our belief, that only companies who did not really have a good product needed a contract.

I hope that helped?
 
I use costco's nova merchant svcs. They allowed me to purchase my own terminal so no monthly lease on a machine. It paid for itself in less than a year. No long term contracts either. When I mention the nova service the solicitors don't even bother w their sales pitch.

Jeff
 
Coscto offers competitive service. However, that does not mean there are not better customer service programs and better rates to be had. When I started sifting through this business sector in 2001 interchange plus was not available - it is now and I think this is by far the best way to go.
 
Are their ways of doing it over the computer now rather than having a terminal? I do 99% of my transactions over the phone and I am looking for the best and most competitive rates (knowing they are higher bc of the risk)
 
Are their ways of doing it over the computer now rather than having a terminal? I do 99% of my transactions over the phone and I am looking for the best and most competitive rates (knowing they are higher bc of the risk)

I started using Intuit GoPayment for my processing and couldn't be happier. At first I questioned them giving me a free card reader and charging me only processing fees (low fees also). No monthly fees, minimum percentages fees, statement fees, etc. My last processing company was charging me around $40 per month even if I had no credit card activity. F that. I did keep my previous account to make sure Intuit wasn't a crock of sht and canceled them once I found Intuit was the real deal. No monthly fees, no contracts, cancel anytime. Called customer service to see the wait time and found them to be very responsive.
Take care,
John
 
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Authorizenet has a program that allows you to use your computer as a terminal. If you need help with this PM me and I can help you get started.
 
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