Accepting credit card payments for goods and services has become a huge business. Accepting Visa and MasterCard as well American Express and Discover can add hundreds if not thousands of dollars to your sales figures each month. The problem then becomes which company do you apply with and how much does it cost?
Because it’s a huge business more and more banks and merchant service firms are competing for your business. Here are some things you need to know about merchant services
A) Every bank and merchant provider charges a monthly fee. Some state it’s for your monthly statement, some just say it’s an additional fee for the account. https://alo789.es
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Either way, it ranges from $5.00 to $25 per month. You will get separate statements for Visa/MasterCard (from your merchant provider), American Express (from AmEx directly) and Discover (from Discover directly).
B) There is a discount fee. A discount fee is the percent of the transaction the merchant provider will take for doing business with them. Right now it ranges from 2% to 3%. Visa/MasterCard have one discount fee, American Express another and Discover yet another. (That’s the reason for having three separate statements). American Express and Discover tend to have higher discount fees than Visa/MasterCard.
C) There is also a per transaction fee. This ranges from $0.15 to $0.25 per transaction. Again, American Express and Discover will have different transaction rates.
Be careful and read the small print before signing the application. Here are some questions to ask that have a major impact on your cash flow ~
1) How long from the date of the charge until the money is deposited into your checking account? Some are as quick as 24 hours (t