Best Practices for Merchants Archives - Page 10 of 50 - Payment Processing News

Category: Best Practices for Merchants

Smart Terminal
January 5th, 2017 by Elma Jane

Smart terminal for the lodging industry will be available beginning January 25, 2017.

Specifically configured for small and independent hotels to help manage their businesses and provide an exceptional guest experience, this solution will serve as a catalyst to drive significant sales opportunities and market share within the lodging.

For SMB/independent lodging establishments, benefits include:  

  • Available of an EMV terminal solution. A first for the lodging industry.
  • Dynamic all-in-one smart device that looks great and delivers an exceptional guest experience.
  • Modern, simple and intuitive interface
  • Powerful security equipped with Safe-T technology which includes EMV, encryption, tokenization and PCI
  • Robust, cloud-based reporting to help hotel owners manage their business better, and see transaction settlements in real time.

For your Electronic Payments need call now 888-996-2273

or visit www.nationaltransaction.com

 

 

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Merchant Aggregator
December 27th, 2016 by Admin

Merchant aggregator is an entity that can run many transactions through a single merchant account, an opposite to the traditional merchant account since you’re the sole owner.

Preferred for a smaller business because its not intended as a long term scalable solution to accepting payments.

For businesses that want to expand their processing needs, traditional merchant account will outgrow an aggregator, since the goal is for a business to grow, but it will always come to what’s best for individual business.

While you have the pros of quick application process and instant approval there are a lot of cons to check before getting an aggregator account.

CONS of an aggregator account:

CUSTOMER SERVICE – aggregators are hard to get hold of.

FEES – fixed fees .

FREQUENT HOLDS and DELAY OF FUNDS – aggregators hold funds 24-48 hours before depositing, while longer holds occur 30 days. (A client of ours who signed up with an aggregator came back in tears and wants to open her merchant account with us again because her funds was held with the merchant aggregator. She then promised will not leave and stay for life with NTC).

LOWER LIMITS – processing limits lower, annual limit of $100k.

PROS of a Traditional Account:

CUSTOMER SERVICE –  24/7 technical support.

FUNDS – next day funding, no frequent account holds.

FEES – tailored to your business needs.

LIMITS – varies by financial strength and business

Setting up a Merchant Account? Call us now! 888-996-2273 or go to www.nationaltransaction.com  

 

 

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: , , , , , ,

U.S. Based Payment Processing Account
December 22nd, 2016 by Elma Jane

What is a Merchant Account?

If you want to remain competitive virtually, every business needs access to a merchant account to accept card payments from their customers. “Merchant” is another word for a seller or business owner. Merchant accounts are not depository accounts like checking and savings accounts; they are considered a line of credit. This allows a merchant to receive funding for the credit transaction. Therefore, when a customer pays with a credit card; a bank is extending credit to that customer and also making the payment on his/her behalf. As for payment providers or processors; they pay merchants before the banks collect from customers and are therefore extending credit to the merchant, that’s why Merchant account is considered as a LOAN.

Merchant account helps facilitate the complex interactions that need to occur between your business and your customer, the credit card networks (Amex, Discover, MasterCard, Visa) and your payment provider every time you receive a card payment. It helps to ensure that you receive funding as quickly as possible, that the banks are protected from losses, and that buyers are protected from scams. Everyone is held accountable based on the rules of the credit card processing agreement with a merchant account.

There’s cost associated in taking credit cards, but it’s much easier and more secure to open a merchant account than it is to keep a book of credit accounts for all of your customers!

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

TO PREVENT CHARGEBACK
December 21st, 2016 by Admin

Ways to Prevent CHARGEBACK:

Provide Receipts  for every single transaction. Receipt serves as a good reminder to the purchase they make and decreases the likelihood of a charge back. Have the conditions of sale written on the receipt

Be clear about refunds, returns and cancellation policies – include refund, return and cancellation policy on your website.

Make sure charge descriptions are clear. Use dynamic descriptors – with dynamic descriptors, you can include specifics like the product purchased, business name, business location and contact information. Include a number as part of the charge description.

Provide accurate descriptions of products and services –  accurate product descriptions are particularly important for online ecommerce where customers often dispute transactions because the product they received is not as it was described online.

Get signed proof of delivery products – especially if you’re an online ecommerce vendors that ships products regularly.

Communicate with customers about renewals – if your customer accounts are set to automatically renew, make sure you notify those customers of their renewal months leading up to the renewal day.

When a  cardholder contacts their credit card-issuing bank and asks for a refund on a transaction for a purchase or service made on their card is called chargeback.

Most Common Reasons for Chargebacks:

Point-of-sale processing errors

Customer disputes like, customer doesn’t recognize the charge, customer claims they didn’t receive the item they ordered.

Fraud, or potential fraud (customer claims the transaction is fraudulent – the purchase was made with a stolen card).

 

 

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

Surcharge and Convenience Fee
December 19th, 2016 by Elma Jane

Surcharges and Convenience Fees:

A surcharge is a fee that is added to a card transaction, either as a set amount or a percentage of a transaction. Typically, used to cover the cost of the merchant service charge.

There are rules, exceptions and state laws to observe to ensure you are compliant.

At present there are surcharge bans in the following states:

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas. (Appeals are pending for California and Florida) 

Surcharge Rules: 

  • Applicable only to credit card transactions, not debit or prepaid card transactions.
  • The surcharge cannot be greater than the merchant’s average discount rate for that brand’s credit card transactions.
  • Maximum surcharge allowed is 4%.
  • Cardholder must be notified of the surcharge.
  • Surcharge must be listed on the receipt as a line item and the primary payment amount must be processed together as one transaction.

A convenience fee is a fee charged for the “convenience” of being able to pay using an alternative payment channel outside the merchant’s customary payment channel.

Any merchant can charge a convenience fee IF the fee charged is for the legitimate convenience of being able to pay using a different payment channel than the merchant’s usual payment channel.

Example: Your business customary payment channel is face-to-face or card present and you provide an alternative payment channel, such as the option to pay by phone using a credit card, that could then charge a convenience fee along with the payment.

Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO) merchants and ecommerce merchants, whose customary payment channel is exclusively non face-to-face or card-not-present, are NOT permitted to charge convenience fees.

Convenience Fee Rules:

  • Customer must be notified of the convenience fee prior to finalizing payment and given the opportunity to cancel.
  • Payment must take place through an alternative payment channel.
  • The fee can only be added to a non face-to-face transaction. Must be flat or fixed, regardless of the value of the payment due.
  • The fee must be applied to all means of payment accepted through the alternative payment channel. Must be included in the total transaction amount.

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Mail Order Telephone Order Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

Accept Payments Your Way
December 14th, 2016 by Elma Jane

Accept Payments YOUR Way!

Learn more about the full range of payment capabilities offered by Converge, an omni-commerce platform that lets you accept payments your way. Online, In-Store and On the Go!

Accept a full range of payment methods:              

  • Credit Cards
  • Debit Cards
  • Electronic Checks
  • Gift Cards
  • Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT)
  • Cash

Advanced features also include:

  • Available enhanced security features, including EMV, encryption and tokenization
  • Detailed reporting with up to 12 months of data storage
  • Customizable payment screens
  • User permission management for up to 5,000 users

National Transaction Corporation accept payments wherever you are with security while having a peace of mind for you and your customers. Furthermore, flexible solutions that empower your business growth in addition to world class support for complex integrations and answers to your toughest questions. Let our payment specialist find the right solution for your electronic payment needs. We offer transparent pricing and services that work with your existing technology to provide a low cost automated billing and collection solution.

Call now at 888-996-2273 and get a FREE Rate Review! 

 

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, e-commerce & m-commerce, Electronic Check Services, Electronic Payments, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

December 12th, 2016 by Elma Jane

Wireless Freedom with Smart Terminal!

Point-of-sale with WiFi capabilities. Now customers can take advantage of total mobility within their location when accepting payments, and managing their business either in-store or remotely. The device is NFC enabled for contactless transactions, and also designed to be easily transported due to its rechargeable battery.

Smart Terminal

Perfect for Pay at the Table!

Intended to provide cardholders with the ability to pay from anywhere within a business, the Smart Terminal is the ideal solution for processing transactions (and tips) tableside. Other benefits for this service include:

  • 8 hour battery life on a single charge.
  • Customer screen displays for PIN, Signature, tips, and receipts (via paper/email/text).
  • Cardholders have the ability to complete transactions quicker, increasing profitability.
  • Enhances the customer service experience.

Smart Terminal

Available for Retail and Restaurant customers only.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: , , , , , ,

The Process of Processing Electronic Payments
December 6th, 2016 by Elma Jane

The Process of Processing Electronic Payments

Today new technologies are emerging in electronic payment that allow merchants to collect valuable data on their customers; from emailing receipts to providing incentives to mention the merchant on social media.

So what’s behind the process of processing electronic payments? The heart of all your payment processing needs will most likely lie in a merchant account; with a merchant account you can deposit funds from ebt cards, debit cards, gift or loyalty cards and even checks into your bank account. If your business has never had its own merchant account, it’s probably missing out on some very valuable opportunities.

At National Transaction Corporation this process is simplified to a signature page and a voided check. We consult your business personally to establish the lowest rates and fees possible with your electronic payment processing. We ask detailed questions about how you process your transactions, and if you already process credit cards, we offer a free statement review where we determine your most common transaction types and how to lower t­­­­­­­heir fees and rates.

How Much Will Electronic Payment Processing Cost?

There are three parts to the answer:

Up front or startup costs – include things like an application fee, an account setup fee and equipment fees. At NTC, we don’t have any application, setup or cancellation fees on our services. Our credit card readers and terminals are nonproprietary and will work with almost any merchant services provider and we sell them at cost to make it easier on our merchants.

When you buy a terminal from us you own it and are free to leave us at any time and use the terminal to process through another merchant account provider with no penalty payments at all.

Other startup costs might be:  

  • check readers,
  • cash registers and receipt printers
  • mobile point of sale software
  • credit card swipe readers
  •  Accounting software (Intuit’s Quickbooks Pro or PeachTree)

If you already own any of this equipment we can integrate your existing hardware into our services. 

Monthly service fees –  depend on what services are required; included in the monthly fee detailed statements and reporting on transaction activity. 

Transaction fees – MasterCard, Visa and American Express set what are called interchange rates. Interchange rates are a per transaction fee and/or a percentage rate based on the total of a sale. Interchange rates are very complex and consume hundreds of pages of different types of electronic transactions. These transactions are based on the type of business processing the transaction, the way the credit card data is input (like a credit card that is swiped in or manually keyed into a credit card terminal of some type) and the type of credit card used for the transaction (rewards card, corporate card, travel and entertainment credit cards, ebt cards and so on). With so many types of cards and businesses to process it’s impossible to give an accurate rate for all charges.

Again, we have no fees associated with applying for or setting up the merchant account and there is no penalty for cancellation so there are no risks in trying it out. We can do merchant rate review for free. Call us now 888-996-2273

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 1st, 2016 by Elma Jane

The All in One Smart Terminal!

Smart Terminal

Finally, a dynamic all-in-one smart terminal that offers a turnkey solution for customers to immediately implement in their place of business. Think of it also like a smart phone for accepting payments.

Function meets Form

Enables the speed of business with a modern, engaging design. Here are a few highlights:

  • Dual, interactive touchscreens for the customer and cardholder.
  • Built-in intuitive software, PIN pad and also signature pad, and printer.
  • Charging dock station that includes extra USB ports.
  • One card slot for EMV/MSR transactions.
  • NFC enabled to accept contactless transactions, for example ApplePay.
  • Mobile and web applications to help owners manage their business from anywhere.
  • Ability to print, email and also send SMS receipts.

 

Smart Terminal

Sleek modern device that delivers an incredible customer experience, therefore a great option for retailers, coffee shops, and pop-up shops.

Smart Terminal

It comes with the powerful security of Safe-T built in.

For your EMV/NFC terminal needs give us a call at 888-996-2273.

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

PIN vs. Signature: What’s the Difference?
November 30th, 2016 by Elma Jane

Understanding Interchange Rates & Fees

Credit card processing involves three separate cost components:  

For vendors who choose to accept this type of payment, from customers for goods or services.

The same cost components apply to debit cards. Only one cost component is negotiable.

The first component is an interchange fee, which is payable to the card holder’s issuing bank. It is a combination of a transaction volume percentage fee and a flat-rate transaction fee. Interchange fees are collectively agreed upon through Visa and MasterCard by a card’s issuing bank and are fixed costs.

Interchange fees take into consideration various information about a card. Types of cards include debit and credit, while categories of cards refer to commercial and reward cards. Processing methods include whether a card is swiped or manually keyed. Swiping a card is usually more economical for vendors.

The second component is an assessment fee, charged by the card’s brand holder. Brand holders include Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Assessment fees are also fixed costs. Additionally, Visa charges a monthly fee.

The final charge is known as a processing fee. Processing fees vary among processors and is negotiable. Vendors are charged a processing fee, which can cause a difference in cost from one vendor to another.

For your electronic payments need give us a call 888-996-2273

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