Industry Secrets

Hidden Costs. The only costs you should have are: a discount rate, an authorization and address verification fee, and an account statement fee. You don’t need all the other costs our competitors levy.

Too Good to be True... Many merchant service providers will offer deals that look too good to be true. You know the old adage, right? Have an expert review your statement or any proposals you receive.

No Application Fee! Never trust this one. What this statement really means is “we’ve bundled this into your transaction processing setup.” Simply ask what the cost would be if you already had a gateway..

No Cancellation Fee! Another common lie! If there is no early termination fee, then there’s good reason to believe that the account is not a true merchant account with Visa or MasterCard. Do your homework.

What do you Need to Accept Cards Online? To accept credit cards online, you need the following: website design; hosting location; shopping cart system; an SSL certificate; a gateway; and a merchant account.

Instant Approval! If you see this, hit your browser’s back button as quickly as possible! If a merchant service provider makes this claim, then these accounts are not being underwritten. Cause for suspicion...

Real Merchant Account? As we’ve touched on above, many providers will not provide you with a REAL merchant account, with a proper MID with Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, and Novus. Be careful.

Auto Close? Many merchant service providers will let you pay a significantly higher rate for your transactions is you forget to batch out. Be sure to choose a provider that doesn’t do this.

Discount on Net Sales? With some providers, you will need to pay a discount on all sales, including those that you refunded. Choose a provider that only charges a discount on net sales, after refunds.

Fees on Gross Deposits? With some merchant service providers, fees will be deducted from each transaction. Make sure that you keep your money until the end of the month and then pay fees.

Rate Increases? Many merchant service providers will increase rates more frequently than Visa or MasterCard do, or will increase their rates by more than these increases. Be sure to ask about this up-front.

Access to Your Money. Many providers will pay you money received every 3 or 4 days and some only pay you once or twice a month! Be sure that you’re getting your money within 24 to 48 hours.

Customers Leaving Your Site. With many providers, customers need to leave your site and go to the provider’s site to complete the transaction. This is a gross loss of sire identity. Keep consumers on your site.

Proprietary Software. Many providers will provide you with proprietary software that is not reprogrammable by another merchant service provider. Make sure you are not locked into your provider.

Choice of Gateway. Always ask if you can use any enterprise level gateway with your merchant account? It is very important that you have the flexibility to configure your own systems.