If your business still does not have a merchant account that allows you to offer full credit card services, you are turning your back on profits. Just take a look at all of your competitors. All of those that pose serious competition accept credit card payments. Those that do not have credit card services do not have great sales figures to show, either. Even statistics point to the fact that companies that have credit card services earn much more than companies that do not have credit card services. The average credit card sale is $40 while the average cash sale is only $9. That means you are losing potentially $31 per sale.
You may also be spending more by accepting only cash and check payments in your business. The processing of cash and checks has been found to be more costly, requiring more manpower in handling. Studies have shown that the average processing cost of credit card payments is only 2.7% of a transaction while the average processing cost of checks is 4% of a transaction and the average processing cost of cash is 4.8% of a transaction. Once again, you are leaking profits by refusing to accept credit card payments.
So how do you accept credit card payments in your business? This is where credit card services come in. The old route is to apply for a merchant account in a bank. You will then have to lease the software and equipment necessary to actually process payments and send the data to your account. If you want to accept credit card payments online, you need to apply to a payment gateway that allows real time credit card authorization for online transactions. You should ensure that your payment gateway is compatible with the bank or financial institution where you have your merchant account, and with the software and equipment you have leased.
In choosing the bank or financial institution for your merchant account, consider their expertise in combating fraud and reducing chargebacks. Also make sure that they are experienced in handling merchant accounts with online transactions.
If you are a small business owner, stick to a bank or financial institution that caters to small businesses rather than large companies. You may be able to get better rates and packages designed for your specific niche.
There are options for credit card services that offer everything you need in one easy package. You will not have to deal with various entities or go through various procedures. Often, these options also have added benefits, among them, quick reporting on your credit card sales figures. They may also offer interest on your credit card sales income, even up to money market rates.
One very important feature of your credit card services that you may not know of is that it can automatically qualify you to avail of small business loans. Once you have established a record of sales through credit, most credit card services will allow you to make cash advances that are practically like getting previously approved small business loans without having to put up any required collateral. The credit card services consider your future income through credit card sales as your collateral. This can go a long way in further growing your business.
Payment will not be a problem, either. For as long as you have sales through credit payments, you automatically get to pay your small business loans. It does not matter how much your sales are. Your payments are automatically deducted as a percentage of your sales. You are always covered.
Now do you still need further convincing on the benefits of credit card services for your business?
