The working of the terminals is very safe and secure. There are no problems of forgery in such cases. Therefore it is considered as the most secure means to carry tout the transaction. The process begins when the information of the credit card is transferred to a particular network and when the bank receives all the details it counter checks the balance and the validity of the account how to become a credit card processing agent. So when the approval is received from the bank the amount is transferred from the customers account to the merchants account. Therefore the transaction gets completed.
So whenever you start a venture you must have a merchant account so that your entire amount can be transferred to your account. Thus before getting a processing terminal you need to set up a merchant account. Setting up an account is not all a difficult one and you can easily avail it.
There are different types of terminals like the ones that require a phone line and a modem. The plugging problem is also reduces to a great extent. It you use such terminals then every time you have to switch on the button before the transaction begins. We also have wireless credit card terminals that are mostly preferred by the business because as it is portable it can be taken to any place. They have printers attached to it to provide the payment slip. They are very popular because of the high speed transaction. The transactions are completed in just few seconds and also simultaneously many transactions can be proceed together.
With the growing technology the payment options have also improves a lot thus providing viable options for the business. The best thing is that through the use of credit cards the payment has become easy and can be done anywhere and anytime. But apart from the use are also the services that are offered through the credit card processing. There are several options that you can get in the market.
All the issues related to the fixed cost include the start up cost, monthly chargeable fees, gateway fee and also software related fees. All these cost come under this category but you should be well aware that the providers try to fool the customers so always stick to which service you want to avail.
These are the charges that are made when any types of payment is done. So you should be attentive that your providers offer you the best one that gives you more profit. Your selection must be primarily based on the types of business that you are dong. All the payments that you do will be charged.
Security is the main issue that should be dealt with great care. You might hake come across many such fraud cases so to prevent such cases from happening and to preserve the interest of the customers you need to avail the service that is secure and provides encrypted information. Therefore all the providers who lie in the category where their services are safe are given a title of “Scan Alert”. So always look for this title and then decide the type of services.
Just last week, I was contacted by a merchant that had received notification of substantial increases in their rates. The processor claimed that it was due to “adjustments in interchange rates from Visa and MasterCard”. They were going to see an increase of. 30% + $. 10 in their Non-Qualified transactions, even though there was nothing like that reflected in the new Interchange levels.
I thought it might make an interesting topic to take a look back at credit card processing Interchange Rates. Since we just had an adjustment to rates in April, I decided to go back to April 2006 for some comparisons. As you might imagine, there are hundreds of different rates based on the card or transaction type. Rather than make this an extremely lengthy, and boring, article, I simply chose to focus on a few of the most common type transactions. So, let’s take a look:
Visa CPS Retail Credit: This is for a plain old generic Visa card (with no perks or Rewards attached) that is swiped through your credit card terminal. This still represents quite a chunk of credit card sales for most merchants. If you’re on a Three Tier Pricing, this will typically show up in your Qualified rate category. If you’re on Four Tier Pricing, it is Tier 2. If you are on Cost-Plus or Interchange-Plus pricing, it will show up as a separate line item as CPS Retail Credit. In April 2006, the Interchange Rate was 1. 54% + $. 10 and is still the same as of the new Interchange Rates in April 2010. How have your Qualified, or Tier 2 rates been affected in that time frame?
Visa CPS Rewards 1: Rewards cards pay the card holder some form or reward in the form of cash back or bonus points. You, as the merchant, have the privilege of accepting these cards and paying more for them. In a sense, you are paying the customer, indirectly, to shop with you. As a Three Tier merchant, these will typically be Mid-Qualified and as a Four Tier Merchant as the third tier. And, of course, as a Cost-Plus merchant, they will show up as their own line item. Interchange Rate was 1. 65% + $. 10 in April 2006 and is the same today. How have your Mid-Qualified or Tier Three rates been affected in that time frame?
Visa CPS 2: Simply, this Visa Rewards card pays a larger reward to the card holder and, you got it, you get to pay more to accept it. Some processors will put this into your Mid-Qualified or third tier category, however, some will slam you by putting it into your Non-Qualified or fourth tier. I know of one processor that “reclassified” Rewards 2 transactions in July 2008 (between typical Interchange Rate adjustments) and took them from Mid-Qual to Non-Qual and Third Tier to Fourth Tier… EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO RATE INCREASE. That represents an immediate increase in their bottom line and a subsequent decrease in yours. Why do you think they did that? You’ve seen the ads all over the place for “enhanced-double rewards” type cards. More and more consumers are getting them, and using them in your business. Interchange was 1. 90% + $. 10 in April 2006 and went up to 1. 95% + $. 10 in October 2008 and remains the same today. How have your rates been affected in the past four years in this category?
mike