3 Tips for Reducing the Stress of Small Business Payment Processing

3 Tips for Reducing the Stress of Small Business Payment Processing

On average, U.S. consumers make at least 35 transactions per month, with more than half of these using payment cards.

That adds up to quite a few billion transactions happening every month! And what the consumer tends not to see is the payment processing fees businesses are required to pay.

For mega-corporations that strike a deal with these processing companies, that isn’t an issue, but what about the small business payment processing needs?

How can they get more effective payment processing plans? Read on to find out.

What is Payment Processing?

When a customer exchanges money for a product or service, that is a transaction. It’s the most basic element of business.

However, if this transaction is performed with anything but cash, there is likely to be a payment processing measure acting as a middle man in this transaction. And normally, that processing isn’t free.

So what should you look for when choosing a payment processing service for your small business?

1. Be in the Know

Whether you need online payment processing or credit card payment processing for your small business, you need to know about the different providers and languages related to these services.

Here is a list of the providers and key terms to learn more about:

  • Merchant services

Merchant services are the services that enable and allow businesses to accept payments other than cash.

  • Independent sales organizations or ISOs

Instead of accessing merchant services through a bank, you may opt to use an ISO. They often have more personalized services and more favorable rates.

  • Card association

VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover are all card associations. Separate from the banks, they are responsible for the individual card networks and their communications between banks.

  • Interchange

Bank associations charge interchange rates that are independent of rates provided by banks or ISOs. Since no business works directly with the card association, this rate is an obligatory fee in addition to other processing rates.

2. Pricing Model

There are 3 primary models for payment processing:

  1. Markups
  2. Tiered
  3. Subscription

Tiered is likely the highest cost as they set prices depending on the type of transaction, and that normally results in the most popular methods costing the most.

Markups can be good for small business card payment processing and the like, but as sales increase, so does the cost.

Subscriptions allow for one set price to access the service and can often save businesses large sums even in the first month of use.

3. Customer Support

But the cost is not the only variable when choosing a payment processing provider.

Customer service should be a primary concern when choosing which service to choose.

If technology fails or other issues arise, customers and businesses are left very difficult and frustrating. Not all payment processing services will be responsive in the way that this situation calls for.

Choose a service that will be willing and ready to act fast when needed because it can make or break a business.

And with more and more businesses starting on the global stage, able to deliver products worldwide, there has never been a time where finding the best method to transfer money internationally is more needed than now.

With www.transferly.com, you can easily find the best and cheapest way to send money around the world.

You could potentially find free payment processing for small businesses in just a few clicks and save tons right now.

Small Business Payment Processing and You

Use these tips as a starting point for your research and find the best small business payment processing service available.

For more of the latest and best articles about all things business, check out some of our other posts.

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