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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Five Ways to Rebuild Credit

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High unemployment and falling home values have wrought havoc with American families and their finances. Many people find themselves hopelessly in debt and unable to maintain financial responsibilities: bills pile up, credit scores plummet and consumers are unable to secure further credit or a mortgage because of low credit scores. The challenge is how to rebuild credit when you have been hit with so many challenges. With careful planning, the average consumer can bounce back from poor credit.

Knowing what makes up your credit score will help you make the right choices when trying to manage your credit. Credit companies look at payment history, types of credit, total debt owed vs. available credit (“balance to limit ratio”), length of time credit has been established, and new accounts and inquiries. With this in mind, here are five ways to rebuild your credit.

1. Pay on Time

Make at least the minimum payments on your account on time. Late payments negatively affect your credit score. If you miss a payment, get back on track the next month. Recent missed payments have a more negative impact than payments missed in the past. If you have trouble keeping track of payments, sign up with a free online bill payment service. This will rebuild credit plus provide documentation for payments made.

2. Don’t Max Out Your Credit Cards

Credit capacity is the percentage of your total credit that you are not using. Higher credit capacity has a positive effect on your credit. For example, Customer A has a credit limit of $10,000 and a balance of $5,000. His credit capacity is 50%. Customer B has a credit limit of $10,000 and a balance of $$9,000. His credit capacity is 10%. Customer B will have a more negative credit rating because he has used most of his available credit.

3. Get Secured Credit Cards

You can get at positive report on your credit score by using a secured credit card. Secured credit cards are issued with a low credit limit based on funds you deposit with the bank that issued the card. You cannot charge more than the funds you have on deposit. This means that payments will be lower and more manageable and you won’t go over your credit limit. Making regular, timely payments on secured cards is a good way to rebuild credit.


4. Don’t Close Old Accounts

Older account or “seasoned accounts” carry more credit clout than newly opened accounts. If you are having difficulty with older accounts, try to pay them off rather than close them. Prioritize your payments. Newer accounts with small balances should be paid off first, then focus on paying down accounts with larger balances.

5. Monitor Your Credit Reports

Look carefully for errors or omissions. For example, if a payment is shown as missed that was actually paid, you should notify the credit reporting agency of the error in writing. When the error is corrected, your score will go up. You can get free credit at www.annualcreditreport.com. This report does not count as an inquiry, so there is no negative impact on your credit score.

Noelle Towler is co-founder of Secured Credit Cards 4U and is committed to helping consumers find the best financial products to meet their needs. Secured credit cards are an excellent way for consumers to rebuild credit without risking further bad debt. The website compares secured credit cards from leading US banks.

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