What to Ask Your Merchant Services Provider
Although you should remember that you actually have a merchant account only at the end of the month, it is crucial that you get a merchant account from a provider that meets your requirements. If you don’t know your requirements yet, these guidelines should help you get the best merchant services available.
1. What are the guarantees? A good merchant services provider will have at least some guarantees up their sleeves in case you don’t like their service
2. Are there equipment leases? Some companies offer leasing equipment, such as a credit card reader, to supplement their merchant accounts, however, generally stay away from these; the devices are costly when you rent them, but can be bought for $250 on eBay. This, of course, only concerns those who want to use their merchant account for face-to-face operations.
3. Are there any additional fees? Most of the time when dealing merchant services you won’t encounter merchant that ask additional fees for their accounts, however, be sure to specifically ask whether or not there is a cancellation fee, a setup fee, etc.
4. Are there any monthly volume caps? As income is flexible, make sure that your account won’t be frozen just because you started a huge advertising campaign for your business and now huge sums of money flowing into your account; most merchant services providers don’t have such limitations though. Also, beware of merchants that charge you for going over your average ticket rate.
5. Are international credit cards allowed (crucial for online businesses)? This is pretty self-explanatory, but some companies that offer merchant services can freeze your account if you are being paid with an international credit card.
