Nibletz Staff
VeroPay App
The Merchant Services industry isn’t exactly known for its honesty and integrity. The industry is crammed full of players, some far less scrupulous than others. This is why it is so important to make sure that you get your merchant services right.
When you think about it, the cost of merchant services is actually a large one. It might seem like it’s only a few percent being creamed off each transaction. But when you think about how your profit margin is itself often only a few percent, the price of merchant services hits home. Often, if a business is large enough, merchant services can cost as much as employing a full-time member of staff, and sometimes more.
Be Represented
The cost and complexity of merchants services is why it is so important to make sure that you are represented in the space by somebody that you trust. Thanks to a deluge of slick salesmen in the industry many people end up with bad deals. Make sure you find a proper representative in your area. Somebody you can trust.
This can be somebody you know that knows the industry, but it can also be your business bank manager. They will know a bad deal when they see it and may be able to advise the best course of action.
Understand The Pricing Structure
You are probably already familiar with one particular pricing structure. Companies like Paypal use the flat-rate structure to meet their costs. They cream off a percentage of each transaction you make.
If you’re currently operating a small operation, this might be the way to go. But with anything larger, it’s likely that there are better deals available. Interchange Plus, for example, gives you access to the wholesale prices charged by Visa, MasterCard and Amex.
The wholesale prices are essentially a base price, and then your business pays a premium on top of this depending on what type of business you have. It means, for example, that you could end up paying as little as 2 percent on transactions.
Choose The Right Equipment
To get the most out of your merchant banking experience you need to make sure that you have the right equipment. Remember, more and more payments are going online and contactless. Sites like MerchantServicesUK.co.uk detail all the benefits of using the latest payment technologies. New payment methods allow you to give your customers a better experience when they come to check out.
Keep Searching For The Best Deal
Don’t just stick with the first merchant service you come across. They’re unlikely to be the best. Plus, they may be engaging in practices that make their services unnecessarily expensive.
One common tactic is to charge you a yearly fee, or a monthly penalty or a minimum term contract. You should get these fees waived or move onto another supplier. If you’re looking for a guide on the right questions to ask any merchant services providers, hop on over to entrepreneur.com. They have a list of important questions you should ask before doing business with any service provider.
