Free Authorize.net? You Got It!

That’s right I, Robb Lejuwaan, have chosen to give away authorize.net for nothing! My company has been charging a small fee of $25 up to this point but I just realized with a free authorize.net account I make more money!! That’s right more money for me if I give you authorize.net for free. [...]

Insiders Thoughts on Interchange Plus

I just ran across an article written by an executive at Global Payments about Interchange Plus. It was written for people who are inside the merchant account industry. In the article he concludes that Interchange Plus pricing is not the best thing for merchant account providers, for several reasons including a reduction in [...]

Video: Are Early Termination Penalties Really That Bad?

Watch this video to here a different poi of view on merchant account early termination penalties. Let us know what you think by sharing your thoughts in the comment section below.

Video: It’s Time to go Interchange Plus! (October Rates Changes)

Watch this video to learn about changes to Interchange coming in October and why, if you have a merchant account with tiers (qualified, mid-qualified and non-qualified), it is time to switch your account to an Interchange Plus price model.

Check back here in the next few days for more specifics on the coming changes to Interchange.

Video: Merchant Accounts - What to Look For and Ask About

Watch this video and read this post to learn what to look for and ask when you are shopping for a merchant account.

What watch out for:
Super low discount rates – the lower the advertised rate is the greater your effective rate typically will be.
Free terminals or gateways – in business nothing is free in the [...]

Case Study: Napa Valley Winery

Case Study - Winery
Business Type: Napa Valley Winery (specific name withheld)
Initial Status: To the untrained eye this merchant account statement looked just fine; here are a few of the problems that stood out to me:

One merchant account for both their tasting room and wine club
25% of there Visa transactions going to a “non-qualified” status
Transactions being [...]

Video - BE WARNED! Early Termination Fees and Auto-Renewal

Watch this video to be warned about the dangers that lurk in many merchant account contracts. The focus of this lesson is on early termination fees and contract auto renewal. If you heed these words you can save yourself a lot of money and suffering.

Video - It Could Happen to You! - Save 22%!

Watch this video and save significant money on your merchant account.

Surcharges and Conveniece Fees - Can You Charge Your Customers?

convenience_fees
Last night I went out for dinner with my family and some friends. We all love authentic Mexican food so we went to a real “whole in the wall” restaurant and ate some incredible food. When I was about to pay the cashier I noticed a hand written sign hanging from the wall [...]

What is Straight Pass Through - Video

If you would like to lower your merchant account fees by switching to a “straight pass through” account go here, fill out the short form and we’ll have you saving money in no time.
If you would like us to analyze your current merchant account and show you how much a “straight pass through” merchant account [...]

The Basics of PCI Compliance

By John Robinson, of Cocard Synergy

Before I get to the meat of the matter, let me finish what I began last week. It bugged me that I only knew what TJ Maxx was supposed to be fined, so I went and found out what they were fined. Rather than the roughly $100 per [...]

How Do Merchant Accounts Work?

Credit card processing seems simple enough.  However, there are lots of moving parts behind the scenes. Here is a simplified, step by step list that reveals the whole process:
Authorization
1. Your customer presents their credit card (or the card number, expiration date and security code) to you or your employee.
2. You swipe the card or key [...]

Where do Processing Fees Come From? Pt. 2

By John Robinson, of Cocard Synergy
For the remainder of this discussion, I’ll discuss interchange fees and then a little about the fees to the merchant account provider.  The assessment fees paid to the associations, both being small and not negotiable, can wait for another day.
Interchange fees usually make up roughly 80% of the fees you [...]

Where do Processing Fees Come From? Pt. 1

By John Robinson, of Cocard Synergy
For the really short answer, check out Who Gets Your Merchant Account Fees?
Here’s the plain ‘ol short answer:
Originally these fees were created to cover the cost of processing for your customer’s bank (the “issuing bank ”), and to make small profit for the bank giving you your money (the “acquiring [...]

Robb Makes it into US News and World Report!

I received a call from a reporter at US News an World Report two weeks ago. His name was Matt Bandyk, a business writer for the magazine. He had found me through my other blog straightpassthroug.biz and he had some questions about how businesses could lower their merchant account processing fees. We talked [...]