Merchant Account Blog & Credit Card Processing Blog

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Understanding Your Merchant Account Responsibities !!!!

If you are shopping for a new merchant account, you need to understand what you are getting into. Many times business owners are in a rush to set-up credit card processing for their business, they overlook the fact that they are entering into a contract that has many responsibilities and rules to abide by.

Many times merchants will find out the hard way, by being fined or getting their merchant account shut down. In some instances, merchants are “TMF’d” which means they lose their privilege to accept credit cards in the future. It surely make more sense to understand your responsibilities and model your business to conform with the rules set-forth by Visa and Mastercard.

Accepting Credit Cards - A Privilege:

Understand that being accepted to accept credit cards is a privilege, not your right !!!! Should you take this lightly, you could find yourself losing this privilege, permanently. That’s right, permanently !!!! You could personally be banned from ever accepting credit cards, for any business endeavor in the future. 

Unhappy Customers Can Destroy You:

An unhappy customer can create havoc on your business. Credit card holder’s have the right to call their credit card company and dispute a transaction on their credit card. These disputes have the potential of becoming a “Chargeback” to your business. A chargeback is simply a reversal of the charge, from your bank account, back to the customers card. These reversals come with very stiff fines to the business owner and could get your account terminated. Here some key points to avoiding chargebacks.

• Offer A Superior Product Or Service
• Quickly Resolve Customer Service Issues
• 100% Unconditional Return Policy
• Toll Free Customer Support
• Maintain Signatures + Shipping Records

Exceeding Volume Limit’s:

Every merchant account agreement has an “Average Monthly Volume” amount for Visa & Matercard. During your approval process, this amount is underwritten by the processor and is usually based on the credit scores of the merchant. If you are approved for that amount, you must process within the limit.

Should the limit become an issue, you must call in to ask that it be re-evaluated by the underwriting department. If your credit scores are too low, you may not get an increase.

If you simply ignore this limit, at some point your account will be shut-off.

Exceeding Ticket Limit’s:

Every merchant account agreement has an “Average Ticket” amount for Visa & Mastercard. Again, during the approval process, this amount is underwritten based on your credit scores. From an underwriting stand point, the higher the ticket, the higher the risk. If your account is approved for a certain ticket amount, you must process within that limit. Occasional “High Tickets” should be disclosed on the application, prior to underwriting. Contacting your “Risk Department”, prior to running high tickets is advised.

If you simply ignore this limit, your account could be terminated.

Honor All Cards:

Every merchant account agreement has a “Honor All Cards” Claus. This means as a Visa / Mastercard Merchant, you are bound to honor every credit card transaction presented to your business. That tiny sign at your local diner that states, “$10 Credit Card Minimum” is in direct violation of the terms of the merchant account agreement.

You cannot charge a “Surcharge” on credit card transactions either, this would also be in violation of the merchant agreemnet, as well.

Reserve Account:At any time, at the sole discretion of the bank, the bank has the right to place funds on hold in a non-interest barring reserve account. Reserve account is to protect the bank from future losses due to fines, chargebacks, ect that may come through your merchant account. Hold time-frame will be determined by the bank and is usually for long enough time period to cover future customer chargebacks.

In Conclusion:

As you can see, “Your Privilege” to accept Visa & Mastercard comes with many duties and responsibilities. Failure to comply, could prove to be very costly and cause your account to get “Terminated” and potentially lose your credit card processing privilege in future business endeavours. Play it safe, understand the rules and play by them.

If you have any questions, 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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Saving Money On Your Merchant Account Fee’s !!!!!!!!!!

Saving money on your merchant account & credit card processing fee’s has never been more simple. We have put together a program to save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in fees, depending on your current monthly volume. Perfect solution for any business owner looking to cut cost’s.

INTERCHANGE PLUS PRICING - Start Saving Today !!!!!

In the past, this program has been reserved for High Volume Chains, such as Wal-Mart or McDonalds. We have opened the flood gates for any business size to profit from the savings. For those of you who are not familiar with the term “Interchange”, interchange is the cost passed on by Visa & Mastercard which accounts for the majority of your transaction cost’s. Interchange consists of several hundred catagorys which any transaction could fall under. Here and links to the most recent Interchange Schedule’s for Visa and Mastercard, as you will see this is quite complicated.

To simplify matters, most merchant account’s are on a “Tiered System”, consisting of Qualified, Non-Qualified, and maybe Mid-Qualified rate. These tier’s cover any downgrades by Visa or Mastercard in which certain transactions may fall. This simplifies “Interchange”, but alway’s cost’s more in credit card processing fee’s to a merchant on the Tiered System.

BOTTOM LINE - SAVING MONEY LIKE THE BIG BOY’S !!!!!!

We are now offering “Interchange Plus Pricing” to merchants of any size. Previously reserved for large corporations, this pricing schedule will saving you money on your credit card processing fee’s and is available to any merchant account, regardless of size.

Call us immediately for a cost analysis and began saving like the big boy’s.

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Merchant accounts processing with 1st National Processing can put there fears aside with becomming PCI Compliant with the complicated standards recently set-forth by Visa & Mastercard. We have simplified the process, making it quite simple for our merchants who process with us.

First, we have painless online survey which will walk you through each step of completing your Self Assessment Questionaire, required for PCI Compliance. Once the “SAQ” is completed, you will receive an email if you need to perform a “Quarterly PCI Scan” of your website or network. You will then receive instructions by mail for performing any required PCI Scans.

Lastly, if you are required to perform PCI Scans the cost is included in our Annual PCI Compliance Fee of only $30.00. This minimal fee is cheap when compared to other processors, who charge $79-$99 and expect you to become PCI Compliant on your own.

If you are looking for more information on PCI Compliance, here’s a great 10 Minute Video that will educate you on the subject.

1st National Processing Customers can begin the PCI Compliance Process by clicking here.

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

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Convenience Store Merchant Account

Accepting credit cards at a convenience store is a must in today’s marketplace. Getting the best rate is equally important to be competitive in your business. We offer special pricing for C-Stores with good monthly sales volumes. Now, convenience store owners can receive special pricing, once only reserved for corporations like WalMart. Saving money on your credit card processing rates & fees has never been more important for convenience store merchant account owners, as we move into a slowing economy.

OTHER C-STORE PRODUCTS:

Convenience store owners looking to reduce their expenses should grab their current statements and give me a call to immediately cut their current credit card processing costs. We look forward to working with you.

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 who want to accept checks from customers can install check guarantee into their merchant account credit card machine. No additional equipment is needed to perform check guarantee. Once downloaded into the credit card terminal, merchants would simply choose “Check” and enter the check information into the terminal.

The terminal will dial out and prompt you to ”Accept” or “Decline” the check. Once you receive the “Accept” prompt, the check is 100% Guaranteed. The check guarantee program will cover the check, without risk to the merchant. You can accept a declined check at your own risk, as these checks are not guaranteed, do to the customers past negative checking account history.

In closing, the check guarantee program will provide convenience to customers wanting to use a check and provide financial safety to the merchant accepting checks.

If you have any questions about check guarantee, 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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Accepting credit cards from customers over the telephone has become accepted and is a very popular payment method. Customers today actually prefer the convenience and are willing to give out their credit card information to a stranger over the telephone. Getting approved for a phone order merchant account has also become much easier as banks have also embraced the concept. Underwriters main concern is your product type and a fairly good credit rating on the principal of the business. Provided you are not selling phone-sex, you should have no problem getting approved for a phone order merchant account.

Credit card processing equipment is necessary to process your customers transaction. Choices to process credit cards will include a credit card machine, credit card processing software, or a ecommerce terminal.Cost can vary and most large credit card processors will offer Free Equipment with a phone order merchant account. Be sure to shop around for someone who can provide the best products at a fair price.

If you have any questions about phone order merchant accounts, please give me a call.

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

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Processing checks at the point-of-sale is becomming very popular. New technology allows merchants to convert a paper check, into an electronic transaction. The check is then “Guaranteed”, removing the financial risk to the merchant. This technology will also create “Customer Loyalty”, as they will choose to do business with you, instead of doing business with your competitor.

Customers can take advantage of the “Float”, which is typically two business days before the funds are needed to be deposited into their account. Typically customers will use this prior to their payday, on a purchase needed today. Again, the check processing transaction is “100% Guaranteed” to the merchant, so the risk of the check bouncing is of no concern to the merchant.

A simple check reader is attached to your credit card machine to process the check. The merchant would simply swipe the check through the reader and enter the required information in the credit card machine. The information is transmitted to the Check Company and a “Guaranteed Prompt” is received back to your machine within seconds. The transaction is completed by returning the receipt & voided check, back to your customer. It’s that simple.

Funds are electronically deposited into your business account !!!!!

If you have any questions about check processing, please give me a call to discuss your needs.

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

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ELECTRONIC CHECK CONVERSION

Accepting payments at the point-of-sale is not simply credit card processing anymore. Electronic check conversion is swiping the nation, by allowing merchants to accept checks and convert them into electronic deposits, at the point-of-sale. Many merchant account providers fail to offer these new technologies and only focus on the ability to accept credit cards.

Imagine welcoming your customers check without the risk of losing your shirt in the transaction. Electronic check conversion will allow you to “Scan” the papercheck and convert it into an electronic deposit, right at your counter. Check info is passed electronically and you are prompted to “Accept” or “Decline”. Customers check is then stamped void and returned to the customer. Your funds are deposited electronically into your business account. It’s that simple.

Our affordable solution will allow you process checks in 48 hours. Call us today to discuss your needs.

MARK SANDS
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com

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