The Merchant Services industry is expecting a boom as more and more people begin to look into accepting online and mobile payments.
But what exactly are merchant services? Well, in short…
Merchant Services is an umbrella term used to describe the hardware, software, support, and connections to financial institutions that are necessary for accepting and processing payments.
Service providers of this kind, like Platinum Payment Systems, set up their customers with a merchant account that will allow them to process a variety of payments (based on what they need.) And, fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, there are plenty of Merchant Processors to choose from out there.
Don’t worry though! If you’re searching for THE Merchant Services Provider for your business, continue reading down below as we break down the things you should look out for!
1. Technological Equipment & Support
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you’re running; you’ll need some form of equipment to process your payments.
Most Merchant Processors have the tech aspect of their service perfected.
But you should still make sure that you are never placed in a situation where you have to turn down what could have been a guaranteed sale just because you did not have access to the right technology to accept it.
As an example, the Merchant Processor, Platinum Payment Systems offer the technical support required for all the transaction types listed below:
- Credit and Debit Cards
- ACH Checks
- Mobile & Online Payments
- Recurrent Billing
- Subscriptions
And more! Like Point-of-Sale (POS) System technology and support for retail, MOTO, and e-commerce businesses.
2. Transparent & Fair Service Fees
For this section, we’re talking about the one-time, monthly, or annual fees that you will need to pay to maintain your merchant account.
This is the amount that you are charged that goes solely to the Merchant Processor for their services. Unfortunately, it’s hard to pin down an ‘average’ as it can vary quite greatly based on your business type and size, as well as the Processor you’ve chosen to work with.
To summarize, however, here are some of the fees you’ll need to consider:
- Admission Fees: This is the cost of ‘admission’, which you pay when you’re applying so that the Processor can have your account set up. They’re no longer as commonplace as they used to be, but they are usually a one-time fee worth around $150.
- Monthly or Annual Premiums: This is the most common account charge you’ll have to deal with. As it is what you must pay to sustain your merchant account.
- Monthly Minimums: As the name implies, it is the minimum amount in processing charges required every month. If you do not reach this minimum in sales, then you will have to pay the difference. It doesn’t affect big businesses as much, as they often have large sale volumes that easily surpass the average monthly minimum ($25), but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re just starting out as a business.
There are other fees as well that may come up, like PCI Compliance Fees. But the ones listed above are the most important fees to remember.
3. Competitive Processing Rates
Much like with account fees, processing rates are actually quite varied. With the average costs in the U.S. ranging from around $10,000 to $250,000 in annual payments. In any case, you shouldn’t be aiming for ‘low’ rates as a business owner.
Not with the risk of poor-quality service! Instead, search for Merchant Processors like Platinum Payment Systems, who keep their rates ‘competitive’ to save their customers an average of 10-20% on their credit card processing, without any risk of service quality concerns.
4. High-Quality Customer Service & Support
Last, but certainly not least, is high-quality customer service!
Take it from this testimonial from the CEO of C5 Consulting, Tom Collins, who said the following about Platinum Payment Systems: “Anybody can process and collect money for you, but it’s when problems come, or issues come (that you start to ask yourself.) Who’s going to help you? Who’s going to bail you out? PlatPay is a pro at that.”
When it comes down to it, what you should be looking for is a Merchant Processor that you can trust with your payment processing.And for that, you’ll need to find one that is devoted to solving your payment processing problems, as stated in this article by the CEO of Platinum Payment Systems, Jed Morley.
