When I first thought up the name of this blog as "Straight Pass Through" (SPT) my focus was merchant accounts alone. It was all about exposing the truth behind interchange and how it affects a business’s bottom line.
However, in the year this blog as been up my understanding of that phrase has been expanding. SPT [...]
How challenging can managing a merchant account be? I review 5 – 10 merchant account statements each week and almost everyone one starts out looking like it is written in a foreign language! Some statements have fees from three separate months! Other statements are extremely vague and seem to be intentionally hiding information. So the [...]
I received a very nice, unsolicited testimonial today. This is from my main point of contact at one of my favorite clients, Horizon Moving Systems in Tuscon, AZ. This is what Susanna Main e-mailed me after we fixed an issue with their virtual point of sale:
“Robb, this is why EVERYONE wants to work [...]
I just asked for my first testimonial from a client of mine. After reading what she wrote I think I need to start asking for more of these! Allow me to show off a little:
"I have been in the business world for over 25 years. In that time I have had the pleasure (and pain) [...]
In recent weeks I have come to learn about a business person who works in one of my key industries - wine. His name is Gary Vaynerchuck and he owns a retail wine business in New York and is the world famous host ofwinelibrarytv.com.
I was recently watching an interview of his where he spoke [...]
When I first started writing this blog last year I connected with a fellow new business blogger, Don Simkovich. We lost contact with each other until I saw his blog recently on Technorati . So I contacted him to see if he would allow me to interview him in his areas of expertise, [...]
Source: WikipediaAmerican Express has begun advertising a new website they call “Open Forum - Networking, Ideas and Expertise for Business Owners.” Before I visited the site I thought it would be cheesy - I was wrong. They recently shot a bunch of videos at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas [...]
by John Robinson
We know you’re successful business people. (I mean, you’re reading StraightPassThrough.biz, right?) And this means you probably have a pretty good idea who your customers are.
But what if you could use your processing statement to really market to specific customer groups? What if your statement was a powerful sales [...]
Business, as a practice, is neutral. It can be used for profit, power, financial survival, personal expression and even making the world a better place. The truth is, the typical business is used for all of the above and more. What I am wondering out loud is why I [...]
by John Robinson
Debit or Credit?
If you’re a brick-and-mortar merchant, do you accept PIN-based debit? If not, you may be missing out on a tremendous opportunity to reduce your bottom line. If so, you may not be aware of several ways to improve on that reduction, as well as a few pitfalls you should avoid.
Debit? What [...]
Gain Authorization/Settlement Mismatch Exceptions
In general, any variation between authorization and settlement amounts cause a downgrade resulting in higher fees. However, certain industries are allowed authorization/settlement variances. These industries include restaurants, taxi cabs and limousines, bars, taverns and cocktail lounges, beauty and barber shops and health and beauty spas.
Because an authorization amount will not [...]
I am reviewed three merchant account statements today and they all have one thing in common - these businesses are not receiving a reduction in rate when a customer uses a debit card. On one statement there is no debit card activity noted at all. So just in case you have not heard [...]
If you are a merchant and you are reading this blog post chances are price is a pretty important factor to you when it comes to your merchant account. I too think price is important or I would not write about almost daily. Now that we know we agree on that, I want to [...]
Don’t be like this guy to left when choosing a merchant account provider! Take off the blindfold and read the post below:
I am writing this post for new or young businesses that have very little experience with merchant accounts. Let me start by letting you know where I get my knowledge on [...]
