Understanding The Role Of Gateway Fees In Credit Card Processing

Credit card processing is vital for commercial establishments and merchants. Whether it's mobile, online, physical or purchases over the phone, merchants must be set up to accept credit card payments at all times. Failure to accept credit card payments can lead to...  

 

Credit card processing is vital for commercial establishments and merchants. Whether it’s mobile, online, physical or purchases over the phone, merchants must be set up to accept credit card payments at all times. Failure to accept credit card payments can lead to decreased business and even closures. In today’s globally-challenging and diverse market, consumers have truly put a premium on convenience. While money orders and check writing are still utilized, swiping a credit or debit card is simply the most convenient and effective way to secure purchases. With this in mind, merchants feature a number of credit card terminals in their stores. These payment portal units are usually situated at checkout counters, for fast and convenient services. Credit card terminals do require merchants to assess certain gateway fees. These fees are designed to ensure terminal functionality while securing credit card payments and processing across vast networks.

Gateway fees serve as a commercial link between merchants and merchant acquiring banks, but the amount of these fees depends on the specific contracts between these merchants and the banks. In the commercial marketplace, these existing contracts are known as merchant accounts. Merchant accounts are basically bank accounts, which allow commercial entities to accept debit and credit card payments. With all transactions via credit card terminals, gateway fees are assessed to ensure timely processing and purchasing. Based on existing merchant contracts, the bank, acceptor or aggregator also receives certain fees as part of this overall process. Without gateway fees and a distribution of these fees to all parties, merchants would simply not be able to accept credit or debit card payments. Credit card terminals would also be rendered useless, since they operate on a fee-based online network.

For merchants who want to accept online or physical venue credit card payments, a payment gateway fee structure is usually applied. This includes one-time fees, recurring monthly fees, or transaction fees. Depending on their specific needs, merchants have an option to select the structure that best achieves their desired results, but it is recommended that merchants first determine the type of payment portal they need. For example, if merchants are using existing terminal software, banks and aggregators determine the merchant account fees. If, however, they require online payment portals for credit card processing, the gateway fees can be as high as $30 a month. It mainly depends on which Internet payment processor they have secured. At times, the gateway fee may even be zero, depending on promotional sales and discounts. No matter which option a merchant secures, gateway fees play an important role in online credit card processing.

In order to find the lowest fees, merchants simply have to conduct an online search.

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