Consumer surveys indicate a major shift towards plastic money in the past decade or so. It’s safe to that credit cards are taking over cash payments. Businesses, especially e-commerce merchants cannot afford to lose customers by refusing electronic payment options. This is made possible with a merchant account.
Now, with the variety of merchant account providers available you might feel a bit confused and lost. But with the right information, you will be able to choose just the kind of merchant account provider suitable for your business. Here are some points to consider:
- Study their services – Since you will be lost in a sea of merchant account providers offering services for every kind of business, be meticulous in finding the right company suiting your business needs, which has good reputation and reviews. Save time by asking the right questions and for credible references.
- Reasonable rates – Understand and review the rates you will be charged for recurring, per transactions and overall servicing. Fees usually depend on the kind of business you operate. High-risk merchant account are charged higher due to the risk involved.
Carefully review the agreement terms with your service provider to make sure there are no hidden fees involved.
- Technical tools – Make sure your service provider offers tools to manage frauds and chargebacks and also prevent identity theft by securing customer information. Customer security is extremely crucial with cybercrime on the rise.
- If you have been classified as a high-risk business by your merchant account provider, find out if there is a possibility of your business being reclassified into a low-risk category after taking corrective measures to prevent further chargebacks. This will lower your fees considerably.
- Monthly processing volume – Make sure you do not have a capped processing volume on monthly sales. You do not want to incur extra fees once you have reached your limit.
- All round customer service – Make sure your provider offers excellent customer support. Do not be hesitant to ask questions. If they are unwilling to answer you or offer you technical and functional support on time, move on to the next company.
At the end of the day, merchant account providers play a crucial role in managing your finance. Due diligence is the key to finding the right merchant account provider for your business.