Why You Should Review Your Merchant Account Agreement

It’s easy for a busy entrepreneur to ignore vital parts of his or her organization. With so little time in the day and plenty of tasks to complete, it’s difficult to pore over every document and read the fine print thoroughly. Unfortunately, this leads to problems and...  

 

It’s easy for a busy entrepreneur to ignore vital parts of his or her organization. With so little time in the day and plenty of tasks to complete, it’s difficult to pore over every document and read the fine print thoroughly. Unfortunately, this leads to problems and an entrepreneur can deal with serious consequences when he or she doesn’t understand the process. With this in mind, here are three reasons one needs to review their merchant account agreement.

Fees to accept payments:

When looking at merchant accounts, busy entrepreneurs will often choose a well-known company or a local one. While a smart thought, it is beneficial for a business owner to look at the prices as credit card processing fees vary greatly. Just a slight percentage difference can cause a firm’s profitability to sink as, over time, the difference adds up. While there are other items to look at, it is a crucial metric to understand as providers often lock their customers in a contract and force them to pay a hefty fine to leave early.

Length of the contract:

While tempting, one shouldn’t sign up for a long-term contract. Instead, when looking for credit card processing providers, a person needs to test the business out and ensure it provides quality services and a reliable product. Then, and only then, a person can sign up for a long-term contract. However, companies often try to sneak this in or force their clients to sign up for two or three-year contracts. To avoid signing up for a lengthy contract, one needs to read the fine print and ask to change the length, if necessary.

Suddenly stops working:

All-too-often, an entrepreneur will watch as the provider freezes his or her account. With increased banking regulations and anti-terrorism laws, merchant account providers don’t take risks and would rather close a questionable account. To prevent problems with this, a potential customer needs to read the contract thoroughly and understand his or her rights. While a sticky subject, it is wise to read the account agreement to spot any sneaky fine print.

While it’s a time-consuming and boring process, one needs to read their merchant account agreement thoroughly. When spotting any errors or potential problems, the customer can voice his or her concerns and correct the errors or change providers.

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