Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Credit Card Processing for Small Business Facts - What you Should Know



Many small businesses need to be able to accept credit cards, as a large amount of people around the world prefer to use credit cards over cash. Credit card processing for small business can actually be fairly easy, but it will require that the small business owner open a merchant account.

With online business, credit card processing for small business online is a vital part of success for these small businesses, and a merchant account is a vital part of this credit card processing. Opening a merchant account is what will permit a small business owner to process credit card payments for purchases made. A merchant account is, at its core, a bank account through which payments are routed.

A customer makes a purchase of your product using his credit card, and his payment is approved to be sent to your merchant account provider. The payment is then transferred from your merchant account provider into your account, and the credit card processing for small business is complete. This is a simplified version of the process, but it is sufficient to help anyone understand it.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when searching for credit card processing for small business:

  • Banks and other financial institutions will often offer the merchant account services, but the fees that they charge for their services are often exorbitant. Even if they are not unreasonable, they are still often higher than the average.
  • The best place to look for merchant account services is via Independent Service Organizations. These organizations are third party companies that offer services of credit card processing for small business, and they offer a lower rate than banks thanks to their relationship with credit card companies like MasterCard and Visa
  • Third party payment processors are the best choice for anyone looking to make a lot of online transactions with the least amount of headache. These processors already have their own merchant accounts opened in a financial institution, and they will handle the entire process of the transaction for you. All the payments are verified through their merchant account, and everything is handled on their end for a nominal fee.

When looking for the best merchant account provider, keep in mind:

  • Companies that have been around for many years are more likely to be honest, ethical companies that are successful due to many years of experience. Companies that are brand new often offer lower rates, but may not last long in the competitive world of online business.
  • How secure are the transactions? Many companies simply handle the transactions without worrying about the privacy and security of their clients, so it is important to find a processor that is concerned about security for their users.
  • The monthly rate is important, but the hidden fees are also important to understand. There are many fees and rates that may come as a surprise to you if you don't read the fine print and look for these hidden fees. The best companies that do credit card processing for small business ensure that the business owners are well informed of all the fees before they sign the agreement.

OJ Thomas is the VP of Veritrans LLC which is a merchant account provider that provides online credit card processing services for businesses of all sizes.

Veritrans Merchant Services
1301 Regents Park Dr, Houston, Texas 77058
(281) 474-4144

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