Grocery Stores Can Feed Their Profit Margins Using Charge.com
Operating a grocery store is not necessarily a bowl of cherries. There are so many things to keep track of, like inventory, scheduling, payroll, and loss prevention – just to name a few. On top of those tasks, store owners have to figure out how they are going to get their customers’ payments processed in the most efficient manner, too. It comes down to the question: paper or plastic? The most popular method for paying for things these days is via plastic, but some grocers are losing money every time they use the credit card swipe machine, so it is not such a great deal for their bottom line. The loss in revenue is due to the financial burdens placed upon them by payment processing companies. In order to accept credit cards, the grocers have to have online merchant accounts, but the processors often do not give businesses their own accounts. Instead, they process the businesses’ card payments through their own account and charge exorbitant fees while doing so. For some small and independent grocers, this means they have to stick with accepting paper as their only payment option – which can be disastrous by itself. Not many people carry cash or checks with them anymore, and only use businesses that have card services.
There are a number of reasons why credit card processing companies will deny grocery store owners merchant accounts. The most common is being labeled a high risk merchant. Due to the high volume of payment processing, the potential for theft/fraud, and the large ticket sizes, many card processors consider grocery stores to be a risky venture, and charge them rates that seem bananas. The processors will also place holds on the funds to be deposited, so businesses have to sit around and wait for their money while their shelves – and the shoppers’ stomachs – go empty.
Charge.com is a different kind of credit card processor, however. They understand that grocers need to have access to their money as soon as possible, (and cannot keep paying a lot of cheddar to get it), so they make it easy for all business owners – even high risk ones – to obtain merchant accounts. The application process is quick and completely free with many clients getting approved within hours. Once a business’s application has cleared, credit card processing can begin in the next 24-48 hours. The rates can be as low as 0.25% for credit card processing and only $0.15 per transaction. Charge.com also provides credit card readers, software, and technical support 24/7 at no cost to their clients. One of their most advanced payment machines is the Virtual Terminal, which not only processes credit card payments online, it can take orders from customers, send invoices, and keep detailed bookkeeping records, too. It is the perfect payment gateway tool for grocers looking to put all those eggs in one basket – courtesy of Charge.com.
