These days gaining a competitive advantage is not a luxury.

It’s a necessity.

And when it comes to merchant account providers, they are in the same boat as the rest of us.

One common method being used right now to get you to sign up with a processing company is to offer you a free credit card terminal.

Sounds like a great deal, right?

It’s certainly better than leasing a terminal. But the question remains, just how “free” is that credit card machine?

The Hidden Costs of Free Terminals

So how can a processing company afford to give you a free terminal?

For starters, costs are usually masked in either the rates, account fees, or pricing structure (i.e. not the most profitable for their business, so the middle excess goes towards paying off terminal) and other hidden fees or rates.

In other words, a simple case of deceptive billing practices.

What’s more, in many cases the proposal may not be upfront about complete details of the free credit card terminal program.

In other words, getting a free terminal isn’t necessarily the problem.

However, getting a terminal with lots of strings attached or hidden fees added to your account to pay for the terminal is.

And in some cases the terminal that they send to you is ancient.

They have to make up their costs somewhere, otherwise it takes from their commission to pay for the terminal. So they find a way to jumble in the terminal costs over the length of the contract, it gets paid for, and if you leave you have to give the loaner back (that got paid for).

And if you get stuck with an early termination fee they walk away with pure profit.

The bottom line?

Before agreeing to a free credit card terminal, be very clear about the terms, rates, exclusions, rates and other possible “strings attached” conditions before you sign up.

Find a Qualified Merchant Account Provider

To get started, you can click on the link below and request your free rate quotes to get the best merchant account.

Click the link and compare free
merchant account quotes today >>>

Or you can follow the link for our directory of retail merchant account providers that can help you get set up for your State or Metro area.

Either way the choice is yours…

 

In today’s economy it just makes good business sense to find ways to cut costs without cutting service.

And it’s even more important if you have a retail store.

Whether you are ready to accept credit cards for the first time, or you are looking to get a better deal than you currently have, we can help you accept credit cards for less money.

How?

Save Money & Get a Free Terminal

Well, besides getting a competitive rate quote from merchant account providers, you really can get a free credit card terminal.

Why would merchant services companies do this?

That’s a great question.

To answer it I’ll reference what cell phone companies have done for years. Namely, give away phones (or provide sizeable rebates) as an incentive to get you to sign up.

The reason cell phone companies (and merchant account providers) do this is because they want you to choose them over their competitors. And since the real money is in the monthly ongoing fees, rather than a one time payment for equipment, you can understand why a lot of merchant account providers now have free credit card terminals when you sign up.

There are, however, a few factors to consider before you sign up with a merchant account provider.

Namely:

1. Are there any early termination fees?
2. Do they offer free replacement of damaged/defective equipment
3. Will they offer you free supplies (terminal paper, etc.)
4. Make sure your “free” terminal isn’t really a terminal lease in disguise
   

As long as you follow these guidelines you should be able to get a free credit card terminal, and possibly save money on your processing fees as well.

Merchant Business Alliance can provide you with a free merchant account comparison. And be sure to ask about any credit card terminal programs they may have…

Just be sure to double check that all their promises are in writing before you sign on the dotted line.

Finally, you’ll need to…

Find a Retail Merchant Account Provider

To get started, you can click on the link below and request your free rate quotes to get the best merchant account.

Click the link and compare free
merchant account quotes today >>>

Or you can follow the link for our directory of retail merchant account providers that can help you get set up for your State or Metro area.

Either way the choice is yours…