Interchange Plus+
This is the most common method of card processing today – your business pays all of the fees for accepting Credit & Debit cards. These fees consist of interchange/assessments, which are paid to the Credit Card processors/issuing banks and a markup by the processor to cover their overhead and their profits. This gives you transparent pricing with a low markup and a minimal transaction fee and no “hidden” fees.
Beware of Hidden Fees
Currently you may have a variety of miscellaneous(garbage) fees on your merchant statement making it unclear what rate you are actually paying for credit card processing. To calculate your true rate add all fees together and divide by the total sales $ processed – don’t forget to include fees not found on your monthly statement, such as annual fees and equipment leases. We find most business owners believe they are paying far less than they actually are.
Other considerations in selecting a Payment processor
- Do I have an annual fee
- Have I been being charged a PCI compliance fee
- Does my credit card processor notify me of my annual PCI compliance requirements
- Does my payment processor charge an early Termination fee; if so how much is it?
- Am I paying for services I don’t use or even know what they are?
- Is the your POS vendor payment processor agnostic or will they require you to process only with them. Not having competition limits your ability to negotiate a better rate.
- Considering a “free” credit card terminal? Check your rates and get a quote from a 2nd payment processor as you could be paying handsomely for your “free” equipment.
- Do I have the option to purchase my equipment? Keep in mind a lease isn’t inherently bad, if you are effectively paying less all in for card processing and equipment combined – but be careful that you are not paying handsomely for a basic card terminal. Also keep in mind a leases may tie your hands for three to four years.
To get the greatest savings potential consider offering Dual Pricing for your products and services
Merchant Partner
PH: 218-838-8337 | Merrifield, MN 56465 | info@merchantpartner.us