The Five Most Important Things to Consider When Picking a Credit Card Processing Company

Accepting credit card payments

In this day and age, owning a business requires the ability of accepting credit card payments. Business owners must look through the market and sift through the best credit card processing companies for them. Here are five things about credit card processing companies many people do not know, but are substantially important to consider when picking a company that specializes in processing credit cards.

1. There is a five party network which is involved in your business being paid each time a credit card is swiped. Starting at the cardholder, the terminal sends a signal to credit card processing companies, who, in turn, transmit the signal to the card association, whether it be Visa, Mastercard, Discover, etc. The card company then approves the transaction and sends the payment back to the cardholder in the form of a bill and pays the merchant.

2. Credit and debit card payments become processed through a terminal. There are many options that credit card companies offer for terminals, of which you can choose the one which best fits the way you conduct business. Retailers tend to the point of sale method, or machines separate from the POS system that contain built in swiping slots. If your business is based on the web, you will want to employ online credit card processing. Most PCI compliance companies offer an online merchant service.

3. Credit card processing companies use Secure Socket Layers (SSLs), which prevent hackers from being able to access the credit card information of your customers. The information becomes encrypted before it is electronically sent through the five party process.

4. The amount you owe your credit card processing company does not become immediately known, but you will be sure of it at the end of the month. Be sure to implore upon what the details of your billing plan is with your company of choice, so you do not end up surprised with unexpectedly large bills at the end of the month. A fee for every transaction can add up quickly and may not be for you if you sell many less expensive goods.

5. Many credit card processing companies offer services beyond just processing card payments. Check verification is another service which is often offered in addition. Sometimes a customer may wish to pay with electronic check. If this is the case, certain credit card processing companies make this possible.

Join the Conversation

19 Comments

  1. I spent a good amount of time choosing which company I was going to go with for my business. Luckily, I found one which offered me a great package for POS, online processing and electronic check verification.

  2. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  3. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  4. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  5. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  6. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  7. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  8. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  9. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  10. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  11. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  12. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  13. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  14. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  15. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  16. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  17. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  18. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

  19. Sometimes you luck out like that. I made the mistake of picking a company who used pay per transaction. I ended up with $500 in extra bills at the end of the month that I did not budget for.

Leave a comment