Merchant Warehouse Appears in The Green Sheet
On October 27th, 2008, Merchant Warehouse President and Co-CEO, Henry Helgeson, appears in The Green Sheet to provide his expertise on the state and future of the payment processing industry, should the struggling economy impact it.
In the article titled “Rainy Day ISOs,” Helgeson addresses the possible trickle effect that the down economy could have on the payment card industry, from a slowdown in consumer spending and decline in credit card transactions, to an inflation of processing fees and residual income losses from merchant death or the decline of consumer spending.
In preparation for these potential circumstances, Henry warns merchant level sales people (MLSs) that they should expect stricter guidelines for account underwriting and tighther industry policies and thus, should scrutinize higher risk merchants.
He also suggests that ISOs and MLSs remain cautious with their merchant portfolios and set aside at least one month’s earnings to secure funds, in case there becomes a desperate need for funds for costly marketing strategies and other expenditures.
Merchant Warehouse Appears in QSR Magazine Online
On October 27th, 2008, QSR Magazine online turned to Merchant Warehouse’s Vice President of Business Development, Todd Giblette, to help merchants cut down credit card processing costs.
The article, titled “Cutting Down Credit Card Processing Fees,” offers quick-serve businesses a few tips on how to save money on their credit card processing expenses with the help and knowledge of Giblette, who urges that merchants learn as much as possible about their business’s credit card transactions and Interchange fees, which are collected by their processing company.
He also introduces Merchant Warehouse’s patent-pending BINsmart Cost Management tool, which helps keeps transaction processing costs to a minimum by prompting consumers to pay by debit or credit, depending on which payment method will render the lowest cost to the merchant.
The right stuff – Get the credit card machine that’s best for your business
Working in the merchant services industry with the Technical Department of Merchant Warehouse for the last 4 years has put me in steady contact with merchants and their POS solutions. Over that time, I’ve worked with and helped out countless merchants who were experiencing difficulties with their credit card machines and equipment. Many times, merchants will experience technical difficulties that are caused not by defective credit card equipment itself but by buying the wrong equipment in the first place; there are many problems that can be avoided by buying the right solution the first time.
There are many types of credit card terminals out there and many times a particular terminal may not be the right stuff for a merchant and their business. Finding the correct POS solution isn’t very hard, as long as the merchant knows what they need to be looking for. I’d like to impart some advice, some general guidelines to search by for the merchants out there who believe it is upgrade time or just need to replace an existing solution.
I’ve been around the POS block long enough for it to become clear to me that there are three important things to be looking for when purchasing POS equipment. I’ve never been in the merchant’s situation of needing to find the best solution for my business, but if I was and had thought about what kind of functionality I needed to get out of my POS equipment, how I would fit this technology into my current business environment in terms of connectivity, and where I could find the best deal on this POS equipment, I would be ahead of the game and would probably be setting myself up for smooth sailing when it comes to accepting all sorts of electronic payments.
To explain a tiny bit more what it is the merchant should consider heavily, they should know
A) The types of payments they want to accept be they Credit, Debit, Gift Cards, or Checks;
B) What kind of telephone or Internet services they have (usually both nowadays, but sometimes there is neither!) which the POS equipment would work on so that transactions can take place; and lastly
C) Where to find the best prices for these solutions.
This does not really paint the entire picture of the landscape a merchant must take a good look at and think on. It’s only exposing the outlines which need to be filled in with accurate information in order for a merchant to make sense out the whole thing and to come up with the best POS equipment for their business. In forthcoming blogs, I will be explaining this further and hopefully helping merchants choose wisely and make informed decisions concerning the technology they’ll use to accept electronic. This should make business for the merchant much easier and hopefully even much more successful in the long term. Stay logged on!
Joseph Fitzgibbons – Senior Support Specialist
First Funds- An Opportunity Not to Miss!
One of my important responsibilities as an employee of Merchant Warehouse is to assist businesses in having their First Funds application approved. First Funds is our cash advance program offered to businesses. Personally, I think it is a wonderful opportunity for business owners. It allows them the benefit of reaching their goals in a faster timeframe than they envisioned.
Today’s business owners are interested in cash advances for many reasons. Capital can be used to improve or expand the business, pay off debt, advertise, purchase equipment, and make down-payments, just to name a few..
Unlike a loan, a cash advance does not have fixed payments or collateral. Instead, First Funds deducts 20%-25% of the borrower’s daily transactions until the advanced amount is paid in full. Depending on their eligibility, merchants can be approved for a cash advance of up to $150,000.00. In order to qualify the business must be retail/store front, it cannot be out of home, it must have at least 13 months of longevity, and have been processing credit cards for at least 6 months. If the merchant does not yet process through Merchant Warehouse, they will be required to do so before they are funded.
The application is only one page and needs to be submitted along with the four most recent processing statements. The landlord reference or mortgage verification must be listed on the application. In addition, First Funds will be required to conduct merchant interviews and site inspections with all merchants who apply for advances.
Once a merchant is approved, a six page ACH Agreement will be provided for the merchant’s review and signature. This Agreement will disclose the advance and payback amounts. Three days of previous batching (which must be at least 70% of the merchants daily average processing) must also be submitted. Once this information is received, the merchant can be funded as early as the following morning.
Through my experience I find that merchants who applied for First Funds have benefited greatly. Many of them come to realize what a wonderful program this actually is, and decide to renew. Before the advance is paid off, First Funds will contact the merchant and handle the renewal. Renewals are usually funded much faster than the original advance.
The advantages of First Funds are many. There are no personal guarantees required, the payback is completely automatic based on your credit card sales, merchants with bad credit qualify, there isn’t a limited timeframe to pay back the advance, and there are no late, setup or application fees. Those are just to name a few.
If you are interested in making your business the success you dream of, please contact us to get started!
Eve Miceli – Account Manager