Does My Business Need to Accept Credit Cards?
In today’s competitive marketplace, it is almost a necessity for any business to accept credit cards. 80% of all retail customers pay with their credit and debit cards, and they will go to one of your competitors if you don’t accept credit cards.
To accept credit cards, what you need is a merchant account. Companies, such as Merchant Warehouse, give businesses the ability to accept credit cards as well as debit cards, smart cards, and electronic benefits transfer (EBT) by providing them with merchant accounts.
When you call or complete Merchant Warehouse’s online form to request a merchant account, you will be assigned a sales representative. He or she will ask a few questions about your business, and answer any concerns you might have. Your application to accept credit cards will then be submitted for approval. Merchants are typically notified of approval or decline within 24 hours of submittal.
Once the submitted merchant account is approved, your assigned sales representative will contact you immediately. Any credit card equipment ordered will be directly shipped to your business site so that you may immediately begin to accept credit cards.
If you would like to accept credit cards, fill out this simple form to request a merchant account from Merchant Warehouse.
For more information on how to accept credit cards, visit our section on credit card processing. You can also learn more about merchant accounts in our Merchant Account Resource Center.
Merchant Account Rates
What are your Merchant Account Rates?
This is a question our sales team hears throughout the day. So why doesn’t Merchant Warehouse just post our rates for merchant accounts on our website so that customers can compare pricing? The answer is a bit more complex than you may expect.
Simply stated, if you shop for a merchant account by focusing only on rates, you will end up paying too much.
For many merchants, the merchant account rates can amount to only a small portion of their overall cost. If you only consider merchant account rates, you are excluding a long list of potentially costly factors such as credit card equipment, start-up or termination fees, annual fees, contracts, monthly minimums, statement fees and many other expensive pitfalls.
Contrary to what some companies would like you think when they boldly advertise seemingly low rates, there is no “standard” rate for merchant accounts for pricing comparison. Visa® and MasterCard® each have over 100 different merchant account rate categories based on the type of card, environment in which it is accepted and whether or not all the cardholder information is collected properly and accurately. These categories are then consolidated by each processor into groupings with averaged rates called “qualified,” “mid-qualified” and “non-qualified.” The less “qualified” the transaction, the more you are charged.
So, the next time you are looking for a merchant account, remember to avoid the, “What are your rates?” question. Instead, try to focus on the overall expected cost of processing and factor in all potential fees. If a company guarantees to have the lowest rates, ask to see it in writing. If they have the guarantee in writing, you will quickly realize that these low merchant account rates only apply to a very small fraction of your credit card transactions.
Hopefully, it is now easy to understand why we do not post rates for merchant account on our website, as advertising them can become confusing and potentially deceptive.
Merchant Warehouse guarantees to have the lowest overall costs of processing and we put it in writing here. You can count on our professional staff to educate you on all your options and advise you on how to get the best possible rates for your specific business situation.
What You Should Know About a Merchant Account
Unfortunately, merchant account providers are not always 100% straight about the service they will be providing to potential merchants. This article provides an overview on what to look at before you commit to a merchant account.
You could sign up for a merchant account, with what appears to be a very low rate, but end up stuck in a messy contract riddled with inflated fees, timed rate increases or extremely high rates for different types of transactions. If a low rate is all you look for, you could find yourself paying a lot more in the long run.
In addition, the service commitments a company provides can prove just as important as rates and fees. If you have questions or problems with your merchant account and can’t get any assistance, the last thing you’ll be thinking about is your rates. Just think what it would cost you to lose the ability to process charges for a few days!
In summary, when you are considering different merchant accounts, you should think about what will benefit your business the most in the long term. Whether you choose Merchant Warehouse or another merchant services company, we want you to be able to make informed decisions.
Find more information about merchant accounts in our Merchant Account Resource Center.
Boston Business Journal Honors Merchant Warehouse
On April 18th, 2008, The Boston Business Journal recognized Merchant Warehouse as one of the fastest growing private companies in the region at their 2008 Pacesetter’s Award breakfast, held at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston, MA.
The Pacesetter’s Award is intended to acknowledge the achievements of rapid growing companies throughout the Greater Boston area, recognizing their robust revenues, commendable management skills, and their abilities to craft successful business strategies within a competitive industry. The Boston Business Journal publisher, Mike Olivieri, states, “We have been able to give the business community a list of the fastest growing, smartest, and most successful companies that everyone should be watching.”
The ceremony hosted approximately 600 people from private, public, and non-profit sectors, and the top-rated companies were determined by survey information gathered and analyzed by the BBJ and based on revenue growth from 2004 to 2007. With 143.64% in revenue growth, Merchant Warehouse ranked #33 out of 60 companies who were selected, and was honored the 2008 BBJ Pacesetter’s award to the song, “Half-Way There” by Bon Jovi.
View the winning nominations here: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/event/3899?mp=3
Merchant Warehouse in Stores Magazine
In the April 2008 issue of Stores® magazine, Merchant Warehouse customer, Chris Harris of Kuai Dumplings & Soups, reports the rewarding opportunities contactless payment technology has offered his quick-serve business, with the help of their payment processor, Merchant Warehouse.
Through the successful experience of Dallas-based Kuai Dumplings & Soups, “Terminal Tapping in Texas” articulates on the advantages of contactless payment processing for businesses. For Kuai Dumplings & Soups, utilizing contactless payment readers, in combination with Merchant Warehouse’s processing services, has helped expedite their service and productivity with ease, while increasing sales, and enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Although contactless readers are extremely advantageous for businesses, limitations do exist, as a result of the untried technology. Kuai Dumplings & Soups has witnessed these limitations first-hand; customers who see others “tap-and-pay” recognize the level of convenience and usability, but not all have the card type needed to use the system.
Astonished by contactless payment technology’s slow adoption, Merchant Warehouse President, Henry Helgeson claims, “Contactless’ shortfall is due to a lack in card distribution, education, and awareness among consumers. Soon enough, I think its presence will expand and filter down to small and mid-sized businesses, as merchants begin to realize how beneficial the systems are.”
Discover the Difference with Merchant Warehouse
Merchant Warehouse has offered great rates and service for credit card processing services and merchant accounts for every type of business since 1997. More than 30,000 merchants later, we now set the standard for price, customer service, ethics and integrity. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, you can expect:
24/7 Toll Free Customer Service
At Merchant Warehouse, we have invested in dedicated departments for both account service and equipment support. These in-house teams will do whatever it takes to keep you up and running with as little down time as possible. Besides our top notch internal team, our network of service providers has over 900 customer service representatives ready to assist you with your merchant account at any time.
Real-Time Account Access
Many merchants want more access to their accounts than just getting a statement once a month. Our merchants can get online merchant account data, including transaction summaries and batch detail reports, meaning no more waiting for statements to balance your books!
No Down Time
A state-of-the-art-network ensures your credit card processing transactions go through when you need them to.
Peace of Mind
Our expertise and personal service allow you to run your business without worrying about your merchant account or your credit card processing services. Most importantly, since we don’t require contracts and don’t charge any termination fees, you can trust that we will constantly do anything we can to keep you satisfied. Your satisfaction is our top priority. We’ll give you an honest review of competitive quotes or offers — whether you choose us or not!
Selecting Credit Card Processing Software
More and more merchants are taking advantage of the powerful credit card processing software products available to them. These are systems for virtually any type of processing environment from retail stores to websites.
All have their advantages, but selecting the right credit card processing software for your business is very important. Before making a decision merchants should ask themselves a few questions:
Will you be accepting credit cards over the Internet?
- If so, merchants should lean towards using an online payment gateway in conjunction with their shopping cart. Payment gateways are a type of credit card processing software which is hosted by a third party on a server outside of your business. Your shopping cart, or other payment software, communicates with the payment gateway via the internet and it manages the actual transactions. Merchant Warehouse sells several payment gateways including: Authorize.net, VeriSign, and LinkPoint. We also offer our own product, MerchantWare Payment Gateway, which has all the features, flexibility and compatibility standard to these products.
How many credit card transactions will you need to handle at any one time?
- For most merchants the answer is usually only one, but some merchants who have more than one user or customer running transactions at the same time will need a more robust credit card processing software solution. If there are multiple internal users and they are on a network you can use PC Charge Pro. If the users are not on a network, then a merchant can use a virtual terminal such as the one offered by of Authorize.Net. This virtual terminal will allow users to log in using their web browsers and charge cards from anywhere they have Internet access. Transaction information is centrally located and can be accessed from anywhere.
Will you be charging the same customer’s cards on a regular basis?
- Merchants whose customers are frequently reordering or those who bill their customers on a monthly basis may wish to use credit card processing software that stores credit card information and can charge customers at specified intervals. PC Charge Pro has this feature built in and makes it easy to manage charging customers.
If you have any further questions regarding credit card processing software, please feel free to contact our sales team for information and advice on selecting software by calling the number at the top of your screen.