Merchant Account Blog & Credit Card Processing Blog

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PAY AT PUMPS | MERCHANT ACCOUNT | SAVE THOUSANDS


Gas station owners are in a very competitive business. Every possible edge over the competition is a must to compete in this industry. Saving money on credit card processing can be a lucrative edge over your competitor down the street, who has not analyzed his merchant account expenses.

When you are working on pennies, your credit card processing rates and fees matter. Understanding what those transactions cost workout to on an average basis is key. If your average gas purchase is $40, you need to understand what your current cost is on that card transaction. This cost could really be eating away at your profits, if this goes unchecked.

We can offer you an interchage plus pricing program, at a small fraction above true interchange cost. This program is usually reserved for high volume accounts, but we are now offering it to independant gas station owners of all sizes. We can even included your in-store sales of food & convenience products. We even offer Fleet-Card acceptence like Wright Express and Voyager cards.

Grab your most recent credit card processing statements and give me a call. I’m confident that we can save you money, making your business more competitive.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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As we face these uncertain times in the worldwide financial markets, it seems that Ecommerce Sales may be resilient, even if we face a economic downturn and potentiel recession in the United States. According to a recent article in Barron’s, Jeff Lindsey reports that dispite a slowing economy, he forecasts Ecommerce Transactions to grow 14.3% in the US in 2008.

Online merchants should also benefit from the rising cost of fuel, as many customers would prefer saving the time & gasoline expense of traveling to make a purchase. Ecommerce merchants offering Free Shipping will really make it a “No Brainer” for the consumer looking to save money.

Lastly, online merchants selling products abroad, will benefit from the “Lower Dollar”, as foreign consumers can purchase products & services at a discount.

If you are looking to save money on your credit card processing fees and merchant account rates, please feel free to give me a call on getting your overall cost a an affordable level.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Getting the best rate on credit card processing is most important for any business with a mercant account. Many merchants were never really trained properly and small mistakes could be costing them unnecessary costs. First of all, transactions must be batched or setteled out each evening or you run the risk of all those transactions being surcharged as Non-Qualified transactions by Visa or Mastercard. Be sure that you are closing all batches within 24 Hours to avoid the penalty.

Next, if you are “Keying” a card number rather than “Swiping” it, Visa & Mastercard require that AVS Information be attempted and passed-through with the transaction data. This includes the “Street Number” and “Zip Code” of the customer, along with the “CVV2″ code on the back of the credit card. If this information is Not Attemped, the transaction will be surcharged as a Non-Quailified transcation by Visa or Mastercard. Aside from avoiding a surcharge, this information will assist merchants in reducing the risk of an expensive chargeback and the fees associated with them.

SAVE MONEY ON YOUR CREDIT CARD PROCESSING COSTS:

If you are looking to reduce your overall cost on credit card processing, please grab you current processing statements and give me a call. We can do a line-by-line comparsion and save you hundreds if not thousands, on your current credit card processing costs.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Visa has announced changes in Interchange Rates, due to take effect on October 3rd, 2008. For the most part, the average merchant should not feel any pain. As most of you know, “Interchange” is a complcated mass of different catagories for different transaction types. Seems that for the most part, the major change is the addition of the following New Interchange Catagories:

Debt Repayment -This category allows agencies that take payment for auto loans, student loans and mortgages to pay a lower rate. This Interchange category does not apply to past due debt such as items in collections.

Pay at the Pump - This fee is a reduction. Consumer credit cards used at gas pumps have been lowered by as much as .50 basis points. Prepaid gas cards will also now be to “Partial Authorization.” Some examples of these types of cards are Shell Cards and Wright Express cards.

Tax Payments - This program is a requirement for all merchants. There will be no cost for the program until April 1, 2009, but a convenience fee may be assessed. This fee may vary for consumer credit cards and commercial credit cards. For consumer debit transactions, a flat fee may be assessed and cannot exceed $3.95.

Government to Government - This category has gone up by .25 basis points for transactions over $8,750. The $5,000 minimum has been removed and Level 2 and Level 3 data is not required.

Again, most business owners will not be effected by the changes. Gas stations actually will benefit and will hopefully pass that savings on to the consumer, as Visa had intended to help consumers with the high cost of gasoline in this change.

If you have any questions or are looking to Save Money On Processing Costs, please give me a call.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Merchants who need to process transactions from remote locations, without power or telephone lines, can apply for a wireless merchant account. Transactions must be initiated from a location where the wireless signal is available. Please note, wireless coverage area may vary and not all locations are covered. Please check signal strength on the coverage map and again note that signals will vary and are not guaranteed.

FREE NURIT 8000 GPRS

While supplies last, we are offering a Free Nurit 8000 GPRS for all new wireless merchant account applications. Terminal includes Free UPS Ground Shipping, Free Programming, and Free Set-Up. We waived the wireless activation fee and your equipment will come, plug-n-play. All we ask it that you return the equipment when closing your merchant account and credit card processing. It’s that simple.

If you have any questions on our wireless merchant account, please give us a call.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Understanding your merchant account and the risk associated with it are very important, when it comes to avoiding disaster. Merchant account risk can vary from business type to business type. Lets look at a “Retail” business first. A customer comes in your store and purchases $300 worth of merchandise. You run the credit card and customer signs receipt. In this senario the purchase was made with a stolen credit card. Thirty days from now, the true card holder receives their statement and disputes the charge. Guess who is responsible for that charge…the merchant. The merchant has received stolen money and the charge will be reversed. This is just one risk associated with a merchant account.

Another senerio for “Ecommerce”, you receive an order huge order for 10,000 Widgets and run down to your post office to ship it. Three weeks from now the customers call his credit card company and says, “I did not receive the order”. You have not proof that you mail it or he received it, becuase you used the post office. This charge will be reversed at your expense.

You need to be aware of the risks and try to avoid problems. A sound plan for avoiding chargebacks should be put in place and you should always be aware of potenial problems. We put together a pdf about avoiding the pitfalls of a chargeback, take a look.

If you have any questions about merchant account risk or avoiding chargebacks, please give me a call.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Accepting checks over the telephone or directly from your website is fast becomming a popular payment solution. Customers are becomming very comfortable using their checking account numbers to make a purchase. We are currently offering E-Check which will allow you to process checks electronically. Funds are deposited into your existing business checking account via an electronic deposit. The bank draft can be initiated from your website or you can take the check directly over the telephone.

This is a great add-on to your existing credit card processing. You can also set-up a “Re-Ocurring Payment” with and have a certain amount debited from a customers account, which is great for memberships or monthly dues. Simply a great payment solution.

If you have any questions on E-Chex, please feel free to give me a call.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Merchants in need of working capital can tap-into their future credit card processing revenues, with our merchant cash advance program. Merchants can raise $5,000 to $150,000 quickly, withou financial statements. Advances are based on your current credit card processing volumes and time in business. If you have a steady credit card transaction history, you should quailfy.

Our merchant cash advance program is one of the fastest ways to raise working capital. Simply complete our one page application and a specialist will contact you within 24 Hours. Your loan should be funded within 5-7 business days of submitting your documents. It’s that simple.

If you have questions about our Merchant Cash Advance Program, please don’t hesitate to call me.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Found a good resource for getting a fast merchant account for your business to accept credit cards from customers and clients. Seems the site offers a 5 minute online application with NO PAPERWORK. Their paperless application features an online signature with no documents to sign or fax. Most accounts are approved instanly online with very liberal underwiting.

Merchant accounts are provided by National Merchant Bancard, a regestered ISO/MAP with HSBC Bank USA of Buffalo New York. Aside from Fast Merchant Account approvals, company also offer free equipment such as, terminal, software, and ecommerce. Company also have no contract term, no cancellation fee, no application fee, and many other benefits.

Seems this iso is fairly new and is poised to make a huge impact on the industry. 

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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FREE AUTHORIZE.NET SET-UP

We are excited about our new relationship with Authorize.Net, a popular ecommerce gateway. Authorize.Net is compatable with most shopping carts and provides secure transaction data transmission between your website and yourr merchant account. Webmasters using a shopping cart will find that set-up is very simple and is recomended for most shopping carts. Simple buy-it-now buttons can also be used when not installing a shopping cart.

We are offering Free Authorize.Net Set-up with a new merchant account for credit card processing. This offer is for a limited time, so please act fast.

If you have any questions about Authorize Net, please give me a call.  

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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