Make Card Processor Choice with Care

There is a temptation for any business person who reaches a certain level of success to not want to change anything. What they did allowed them a certain level of achievement and, understandably, they feel like the formula for ongoing success will be to not change a thing.

However, this can be a recipe for disaster, especially if that business person is operating in the world of online business. The internet has been a positive force of change, but also is a technology that has changed and grown faster than most Web merchants are used to dealing with.

They read that accepting payments online will help their business grow and decide they’ll add merchant services – then they assume their work is done. But with a little persistence, they can maximize the benefits of the decision to add credit card processing.

A good place for them to start is by looking at their own business. Is it a high-volume concern that might have multiple, simultaneous transactions being processed at any given time? If that’s the case they’re going to need to make sure their provider has payment gateway software that can handle that.

And is their business going to need to be charging certain customers on an ongoing monthly basis? If so, that takes a specific application.

However, let’s get back to the question of how many monthly transactions an e-business might process. If it will be a high number, it will be wise to find a merchant account services that has a reasonable per-transaction fee.

Often when you are comparing rates between providers you’ll see a difference of only a percentage point. Perhaps even less than a full point.

The natural reaction is that tiny bit of difference shouldn’t be factor – however, if you have one of those businesses that have a large volume of transactions flowing through your site on a daily basis, that single percentage-point difference can grow in a hurry, and cut into your profits! And this is one great motivator to know your business inside and out before you sign on with any company.

If you’re having trouble thinking through these issues here’s a suggestion that will also help you weed out the fly-by-night operators from the leading merchant service companies – ask a lot of questions. See which company really takes the time to explain online credit card processing, and what specific services you need for your business.

The good companies will have people that can analyze your business, where it’s going and what it will need from them to accomplish those goals. Any company worth doing business with will be as patient as they need to be to earn your business.

And keep asking and probing and looking until you are satisfied. The bottom line is that the better you feel about the quality of your research, the better you will feel with the selection you make on a merchant account services provider.

And when those are taken care of to your satisfaction, then you will feel you’re getting the maximum benefits of credit card processing.