Video: Merchant Accounts - What to Look For and Ask About, Part 2

If you haven’t watched part one of of this two part series go here to watch the first video.
The theme of part two of this series is that there is much more than just price to pay attention to when shopping for a merchant account. Watch the video and take a look at my [...]

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 , Part 1

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 [...]

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. 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 [...]

Who Get’s Your Merchant Account Fees?

The Biggest Chunk:  The Issuing Bank (the bank that “issued” your customer’s their credit card)
This part of your fees are called “Interchange.”  Depending on the type of business, size of transaction and type used these fees range between 1.03% and 2.70% plus transaction fees of $0 to $0.15.
Next: Visa or MasterCard (the associations)
These are called [...]

The Three Price Points of a Merchant Account

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 [...]

What is up with the CVV2 Code?

Many merchants believe that adding a cardholder’s three or four digit CVV2 code for a “card not present” (CNP) transaction will help qualify the transaction for a lower discount rate. However that is not the case; the CVV2 code is only valuable to protect against credit card fraud and has nothing to do with [...]

What is Straight Pass Through?

Straight pass through has to do with merchant account risk. Visa and MasterCard have set specific rules to deal with these risks. For example, a keyed in transaction is a higher risk than a swiped transaction, because many times the card holder is not physically present. For keyed transactions, processed correctly, Visa [...]

Merchant Accounts for the Rich and Famous

Have you ever wondered what kind of merchant account the rich and famous businesses of the Fortune 500 have? Just in case you have the answer is Interchange Plus .

What is Interchange Plus?
First lets start by defining Interchange . Interchange is the set discount rates from Visa and MasterCard for various [...]

Eight Ways to Save Money - Method #2

Accept Pin Debit
This means having a pin pad for your clients to enter their PIN number when they use their debit card. These transactions normally have a flat rate per transaction.  Let’s compare the fees paid between a normal credit card transaction and a PIN-based one:
Transaction Amount: $150
Credit card rate: 1.85% + $.10
Credit [...]

Tip of the Iceberg - Missing Debit Card Rate Reduction

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 [...]

Interchange Plus Explained

Have you heard of Interchange Plus for merchant accounts? What used to be the exclusive price model for larger businesses is now being offered to companies of all sizes. So what is Interchange Plus?
First lets start by defining Interchange. Interchange is the set price from Visa and MasterCard for various [...]