Mistakes to Avoid When Accepting Credit Cards
Making the decision to accept credit card payments is a beneficial business step. It can significantly increase your sales volumes, and makes life easier for you and your customers. It can also increase your efficiency and help you with running loyalty programs, seasonal sales, and promotional deals. Here are some beginner’s credit card processing errors to avoid.
Picking the wrong payment processor
How do you know a merchant processor is wrong for you? They may not take your security seriously. Or their costs may punish your pocket. As you shop around, look out for top-grade encryption. Check if they’ve won any industry prizes. You should also double-check their pricing model, looking out for any hidden costs.
Dashing for ‘free’
At the other extreme, be wary of things that appear ‘free’. Nothing ever really is, and some ‘free’ options are scams. While many legitimate payment processors offer free features, it’s important to check. Compare their service offerings and testimonials, making sure they’re a solid company.
Hiding your financial history
Poor financial decisions can leave a paper trail, and you want to fess up instead of being discovered the hard way. If you have bad credit or if you’ve been bankrupt at some point, this won’t necessarily prevent you from getting approved. There are merchant processors that specialize in working with low credit scores and prior bankruptcy and other ‘high-risk’ merchants.
Evading questions about your business model
Some people keep their business idea secret because they’re afraid someone will steal it. Or maybe they’re embarrassed. Financial institutions don’t ask out of judgement. Be clear on your selected industry, knowing that some merchant processors are happy to work with ‘high risk’ industries.
Delaying verification
Some people worry about transactions that go through too fast, because they don’t leave room to change your mind or cancel the transaction. This could make you opt for a merchant processor with some lag time built it. From a customer perspective, any delays in the payment process are a red flag. The customer may worry there’s an interceptor trying to hack them. Worse, they may get impatient and cancel the transaction or accidentally pay twice, leading to expensive chargebacks for you. Opt for a merchant processor with instant verification, that puts the money your account quickly.
For more information on mistakes merchants can avoid when accepting credit card payments, or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.