Involves Much More Than Merchant Account Fees
Or “rate.”
A few articles ago I mentioned how there is a complete disconnect between what you should be looking for in a merchant account provider, and the way merchant accounts are marketed (and understood) by business owners.
The disconnect?
Focusing on rates and fees to the exclusion of everything else. And there are two main reasons why I say that:
- most merchant account providers actually hide the true cost of processing by focusing on “rate” (as if there is only ONE rate)…
- most business owners think that the only way to evaluate different providers is to ask about their rate (as if there’s nothing more to ask)…
And that’s a problem. Or a potential problem for your business.
Why?
Well, if you’re like most business owners accepting credit cards at your business a good portion of your day to day income is tied up with your website or your credit card terminal.
And that means when you run into problems with your merchant account there will be an immediate and dramatic impact on your cash flow.
Big time.
In other words, if your account was “frozen” and you couldn’t get access to your money for 90 days (or more) because it was being “held” would you be able to keep the lights on?
Believe it or not, this does happen from time to time. And for most people I know the answer is simple. They just couldn’t survive very long with a significant portion of their cash flow tied up in red tape for no good or understandable reason.
Now, in the above scenario, what’s a few fractions of a percentage point (real or imagined) when you can’t even get access to your money.
What, in essence, did you really save?
Hey, don’t take my word for it. Here’s a brief quote from an actual email I recently received from someone who is NOT a client (yet – we’re working on it):
“It’s been a hell of a ride. Some bad things happened this year too including:-motorcycle stolen-wheels stolen off my car-hit and run side swipe-PayPal holding 100′s of thousand of dollars without explanation-merchant account shut down without notice, etc.”
This can happen to anyone. And it occurs more often then you might think or imagine.
So when it comes to choosing someone to help you accept credit cards (online or off), or if you already accept credit cards but are unhappy with the service you’ve received to date, there ARE alternatives.
Basically, you can choose some “mega-processing” company and deal with sales reps needing to fulfill their quota on the “front end,” with “back end” support provided by a call center and hours on hold.
OR, you can choose to work with a business owner who will fight FOR you to keep your account open and running smoothly.
It really is that simple. The choice is yours to make.
Request a Merchant Account Review
Are you ready to discover just how much you might be able to save each and every month?
If so, there are a couple of ways you can get started.
You can request a merchant account quote. Simply fill out the short form and we will contact the appropriate merchant account providers for you.
You can download a free report of the Merchant Account Guide. Just follow the link to download your copy today.
Comments? Questions? Other merchant account issue you’d like to share?
We do value your opinion, and would like to hear from you. Kindly leave a comment for us and we’ll respond as soon as possible.
Like the web page.
See ya
Hi Mark,
thanks for the comment. Glad you enjoyed it, and hopefully found it useful as well…
I have to say that you are a very skilled writer and definitely have a way of putting it into words! Fantastic!
This is a very good article because it is true with every word and point. Thank you. Merchants who have heard from their friends (who usually have never owned a business), and who themselves for whatever reason believe that the “RATE” is what they need to talk about. The unethical companies prey on that. “You want low rates, no problem- we’ll give you impossibly low rates”, then bus owners go through the pain, frustration and money lost that comes later. The bad companies/sales reps forget to mention 2-3 fees and have no or poor service.
Look Business Owners, everyone needs to make a living. Service is more important than price, but you can have both. BUT DON’T EXPECT WAL-MART PRICING with good service. It’s just not realistic. You buy stuff at Wal-Mart because it is cheap and disposable. Don’t look at the system that 60%+ of your MONEY will flow through in the same light.
sidenote: Finally found how to get on your rss feed at bottom of comment section. Boy do I feel dumb.