March 27, 2018
Finding Your Processor: The Fees and the Service
When determining who the best credit card processing company is, there are any number of questions you can ask to determine if a company is a good fit. For most, though, these questions will boil down to two main categories—the fees and the service.
The Fees
At the top of most people’s lists will be the fees that are charged, or not charged, by the processing company. Be careful to confirm all the fees before entering into any agreement. Here are the essentials:
- Interchange Fee: This is usually the most prominently displayed figure: a percentage that is likely between 2% and 3%, and typically an additional charge that is around $0.30 per transaction. Be sure to dig a little deeper than just the single percent that the company’s website displays, as there is typically somewhat of a range based on the type of transaction being processed. Generally, the risk of the transaction is what makes the percent fee go up, which is why keyed-in transactions often have a higher rate. Ask about all potential changes in this %. If your business deals with a lot of one type of charge over another, pick the provider that makes the most sense for your type of transaction.
- Monthly Minimum Fees: Often a company will require you to meet a certain minimum dollar amount for transactions. This means that if you don’t meet the minimum charge of, say, $20 in interchange fees, you are just charged the difference.
- Other Fees: Look out for a range of somewhat less common fees, to make sure you have a good grasp on what to expect. Are there any application and setup fees? If you sign up for a contract, are there any early termination fees? What about sneaky fees, like payment gateway access fees? (Just so you know, Moolah doesn’t have any of these other fees, and you always pay as you go…)
The Service
The other end of this binary equation is the service you’re provided with. You want to be able to depend on the actual product you’re given, and to feel supported through the normal times as well as the setbacks.
- How Secure Is It? It’s important to know just how supported you are, in the event of fraud. What payment gateway is used for the processing of your transactions’ and how much support is offered to help keep you compliant? Moolah uses Authorize.Net, which is an example of a good answer to the question.
- How Convenient Is It? There are a number of metrics that can show how convenient a processor is, but the one most business owners will think of first is how easy is it for me to get my money? An advantage of going with a dedicated merchant account, as opposed to an aggregator is that you will likely see your money faster, typically in 2 business days or sooner. Moolah also offers next-day deposits for a slightly higher fee! How’s that for convenient?
- Customer Service: It’s important to be able to count on getting in touch with someone ASAP, in the event that a hiccup of some kind occurs. Determine how easy it is to get an actual human response to your questions.
With this, we have the two lenses to look through for assessing who the Best credit card processing company is for you. Look carefully, and you might find that Moolah is tough to beat.
