It’s important to read your contract carefully. Others may have rates that change periodically. Some may require that you not use any other processors. Contracts can be friendly and easy to break or can be fairly draconian. Look for third-party reviews and Better Business Bureau listings. A good customer service department will respond quickly to your requests and will be able to give you multiple options to resolve situations. There may be times when you need to deal directly with refunds or make sure that fraudulent claims are resolved. Customer service means a lot when it comes to merchant processing. Regardless of pricing model, transparency is always the most important aspect: the more visible the fees are, the easier you will find it to remain in control of your expenses. Some payment processors will give you a single flat rate on transactions, while others are going to give you a variety of different fees depending on the type of transaction, where the transaction is completed, and even the amount of transaction. Payment processors can have complex card processing pricing models that make it difficult to compare them. If you’re going to invest in finding a payment processor, you need to compare multiple processing companies. Payment processors can each be very different and working with one can be a commitment.
There are many merchant processors that you can use to take payments and there are many different types of payment you can accept. This isn’t always as simple as just setting up a merchant account. Whether you’re running a brick-and-mortar store or getting wrapped up in the world of eCommerce, it’s likely that you’re going to need to take credit card and debit card payments. Before you can get your business up and running, you need to be able to take payments.