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Simple Flat-Rate Pricing
Stripe
Simple Flat-Rate Pricing: Stripe offers a clear, straightforward fee per transaction, eliminating the complexity of tiered pricing structures. Wide Range of Payment Options: Supports all major credit and debit cards, mobile wallets, and international payment methods. No Setup or Monthly Fees: Businesses pay only for the transactions they process, with no additional setup or recurring charges.
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To succeed as a small business owner, you need to get paid for the products or services you sell. Small business merchant services allow you to accept credit and debit cards, as well as other types of electronic payments.
Choosing the right merchant account can be confusing though, so here we’ll help you find and choose the best merchant services for your business
When a business accepts credit or debit cards for purchases, those transactions must go through a series of processes so money makes its way from the cardholder to the merchant making the sale.
Merchant services is a broad term that refers to companies that facilitate electronic payments for sellers, including credit and debit card sales.
In addition to facilitating payment processing, these companies also provide important payment security functions and help process customer disputes.
In the payment processing world, a merchant is the business that has something to sell. Some sellers are wholesalers (selling in bulk to businesses that will resell their products) and some are retailers (selling directly to consumers). Ecommerce merchants, or ecommerce retailers, sell online.
Don’t assume that because you have a business bank account you have a merchant account. The former refers to an account where the business will receive deposits and make payments. The merchant account, on the other hand, is used for electronic payments such as credit or debit card sales, as well as ACH payments.
Think of it this way. If you operate a food truck, you don’t ask your customers to deposit money into your business bank account every time they make a purchase. Instead you use some type of service to accept payments, and the bulk of the money collected makes its way to your merchant account, and then to your business bank account.
It’s worth noting that the terms “merchant service providers” and “payment service providers” are sometimes used interchangeably. Payment Service Providers also provide merchants with the ability to process payments, but the term is usually associated with services that make it easy for merchants to accept online payments such as PayPal, Stripe or Square.
There’s a lot that happens between the point where a customer makes a purchase with a card or other payment technology, and when money finally makes it to the seller’s account.
Merchant account services may include:
A business will apply for a merchant account with a merchant services provider or financial institution such as a bank. If approved for an account, they will then be able to accept online payments with a virtual terminal, or in-store using a POS.
Most merchant processors use one or more of these pricing methods:
It can be hard to really compare costs, and for that reason, newer businesses may want to be careful about entering into long-term contracts until you have a strong track record that will allow you to shop for the best account.
When choosing a merchant service provider, these factors can help you narrow down your choices:
Some merchant services providers don’t work with brand new startups or businesses they consider to be high-risk merchants. Some are a better fit for businesses primarily with e-commerce stores, versus physical stores (or vice versa).
How many payments do you anticipate processing? (This will help the provider understand whether you will be considered a high-volume or low-volume merchant.) It’s important to find a credit card processing company that is happy to work with businesses like yours.
Cost will be an important factor. As mentioned above, there are a variety of pricing models for merchant accounts. If your business is brand new, you may have a harder time figuring out which type of pricing is best for your business. You’ll have to estimate your volume of debit and credit card payments the best you can.
Established businesses can look at their current processing volume. A new provider will often provide a free cost comparison. In addition to processing fees, don’t forget to ask about other fees such as early termination fees and chargeback fees.
You may need help setting up your account, and if you run into problems— particularly with fraud— you’ll want to be able to reach out to someone. In addition to understanding when and how support is available (email, chat, or phone), reviews on sites like Trustpilot and TrustRadius can provide some insights into customer service.
Your customer base will determine the payment methods you want to offer. Do you just want to accept credit card and debit card payments? And if so, do you want to allow your customers to pay with Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover? What about crypto or other currencies?
Will all payments take place online or will you also want to accept in-person payments, contactless payments or mobile payments like Apple Pay or Google Pay? If so, what equipment do you need, such as portable card readers or full-feature cash registers? If you already have a POS system, will it still be compatible?
Nothing can sink a business faster than fraud. It is absolutely crucial that you understand the fraud prevention and detection services merchant services provide. At a minimum, merchants need to comply with PCI standards to protect cardholder data and card information. For most businesses, it’s not a matter of whether you will be affected by fraud, but when and how much. Catching it quickly is imperative.
You must apply to open a merchant account. Credit card fraud is a significant and growing problem, and merchant processors need to avoid facilitating fraud. That means they will require documentation to help ensure your business is legitimate.
Some merchant processors streamline parts of the application process, but expect to be asked for various types of information when you apply. These may include:
Information about your business including:
There may be a credit check, including personal credit score and or business credit. You may be turned down if you have an active bankruptcy, for example.
Merchant services companies may exclude certain industries (often referred to as “high risk” industries). Pharmaceuticals, travel and tourism, gambling, alcohol, investment schemes and other businesses are often flagged as high risk. High-ticket subscriptions, coaching programs or investment advice may also fall under this category.
New businesses without a track record can find it harder to get a merchant account and may be able to start with a service like PayPal that generally makes it easy to accept payments online.
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