Merchant Account Rates Can Sometimes Be Deceiving

When taking a look at the different rates offered by various merchant accounts that could add a new source of revenue for any business, it is always important to take a look at the fine print. Different credit card processing firms will come up with different tactics...  

 

When taking a look at the different rates offered by various merchant accounts that could add a new source of revenue for any business, it is always important to take a look at the fine print. Different credit card processing firms will come up with different tactics for making it seem like they offer the best deal on the Internet. The only way to make sure that a particular payment gateway service is going to be the right choice for a new business is to take a look at how the fees associated with that payment gateway will correspond to the kinds of payments that will come in on a regular basis. There are actually different credit card processors who will work better for companies of different sizes.

Read About All of the Different Fees

Sometimes the worst part about a credit card processing deal is not the part that is in the fine print. The best way to see what kinds of costs are going to be associated with certain merchant accounts is to think about a few test purchases. People who want to sell items for less than a dollar should probably forget about accepting credit card payments at all because there is usually around a $0.30 fee associated with each transaction as a base. The discount rate is also applied to each purchase, and this fee can range anywhere from two to five percent of the transaction. While these are the most common fees that are seen with merchant accounts, there are also sometimes setup fees and flat monthly payments that also go along with a certain credit card processor.

Find the Simple Fee Structure

The best way to make sure that a business is not going to get run over by processing fees is to find a processor who likes to keep things simple. There is no reason to pay for any kind of setup fee in the first place, unless a credit card terminal is needed at a physical store. The business owner is still going to be the one who needs to set everything up on their website, so there is no reason to have to pay any kind of setup fee. In addition to avoiding that early fee, flat monthly fees should also be avoided. At the end of the day, the discount rate and the flat $0.30 or so fee for every transaction should be all a business owner should have to worry about.

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