How to Get a Low Cost Merchant Account
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Are you searching for a low cost merchant account?
These days it makes good business sense to save money any way you can on the services your business needs.
And when it comes to accepting credit cards for your business this is certainly the case as well.
If you've spent even a little bit of time hunting for the best deal online you probably already know that everyone PROMISES you the lowest rates.
But when you get right down to it, how can you be sure you've found the right provider BEFORE signing up?
Choosing the Best Low Cost Merchant Account
Probably the first thing you want to check out is your processing rate. After all, that seems to make the most sense, right?
Well, not so fast...
There are actually THREE things you'll want to consider:
- Does the rate apply to you?
- Account fees (application, set up, annual, etc.)
- Other potential "hidden" fees.
You'll want to make sure that the rate you are promised actually applies to the type of merchant account you need.
For example, many times the lowest rate you are promised only applies to retail businesses, where they are manually swiping credit cards (i.e. "swiped rate"). So if you need an online merchant account you'll need to be extra careful when it comes to choosing a company based on "rate" alone.
If you need retail merchant account, WorldPay currently offers a 0.99% processing rate. Definitely worth checking out to see if it can apply to you...
The next thing you'll want to avoid are other rates and fees that most merchant account providers nickle and dime you to death with.
For example, most companies hit you up with:
- application fee
- set up fee
- change of bank fee
- annual fee
- PCI compliance fee
- IRS reporting fee
to name just a few.
So be sure to ask when getting rate quotes to see if these will apply to you. And if they will apply, make sure to write down the cost so that you can make an apples-to-apples comparison between merchant account providers.
Finally, be sure to ask about other possible hidden fees.
For example, are there early termination fees? If the company is providing you with a free credit card terminal, are there any strings attached?
Which brings us to...
How to Get the Best Merchant Account
The bottom line is this -- to get the lowest merchant account for your business takes a bit of research.
The easiest way to get started is to request your free merchant account quotes from qualified merchant account providers.
This way you can make a side-by-side comparison, giving you the chance to choose the right processing company for your needs.
Does that make sense?
These days it pays to do a bit of homework to get the best deal you can for yourself... and your business.
If you're not going to look out for yourself, who else will?
