You might be wary of accepting credit cards as a form of payment on your website. Perhaps you have looked up how to accept credit card payment and the fees associated with processing credit cards was discouraging. However, paying with plastic is a popular option that’s only becoming more common. If you aren’t accepting credit cards, you are actually hurting your business rather than saving money.
Face the Fees
While there is no way to accept credit card payments on your site without processing fees, you can do your research and find ways to minimize your costs. You will probably choose to work with a merchant account to help you accept credit cards on your website. Make sure to ask questions up front regarding how to accept credit card payment because each account provider will have different transaction rates and other fees.
Honesty Is the Best Policy
When you sign up for a merchant account, make sure to be honest about how you conduct business. Transaction rates are based partially on the security risk associated with your business, which is based on refunds, chargebacks, and the odds of your business closing. If a provider does not properly assess your business’s risk factor, this can lead to funds being withheld or processing services being revoked, which will cost you money.
Reduce Your Risk, Reduce Your Fees
If you have a physical store location, one way to reduce the risk of fraud, and in turn lower your transaction rates, is to swipe credit or debit cards, rather than keying in the information. Finding out how to accept credit card payment for less requires you to do research. Each card company has different processing fees and Visa and Mastercard both charge a higher rate for keying in versus swiping. You can lower your risk online, too. Make sure that customers have to provide their billing zip code and security code with each payment.
Timing Is Key
Time is of the essence when it comes to processing credit cards; the earlier you process transactions, the better. Make it a habit to process payments within 24 hours. This is easier on both you and your customers. You will save money and the customer won’t have to wait long for their transactions to clear. The longer you wait to complete a process, the higher your fees. Making sure that you and your staff implement this tip is an easy way to save.
Read the Fine Print
If a merchant account provider has set-up costs and transaction fees that seem too low to be true, they probably are. The best way to find out how to accept credit card payment on your site for less, like any other contract agreement, is to make sure that you read the fine print and are familiar with all of the details.
