How to Choose a Merchant Account Service Provider?

Choosing a merchant account provider to handle electronic check or credit card payments is one of the most important decisions you will make as a business owner. Pick the wrong service provider, and you’ll pay high rates and fees, getting poor quality of service and a payment solution that doesn’t meet your business needs. Choosing the right supplier means gaining a competitive advantage.

Points to Take into Account when Picking the Right Agency

Getting deeper into this issue, you’ll find out that the question is rather tricky. There are many options, and different companies provide various types of services. So keep in mind the following points:

1. First of all, you should clearly understand what type of business you have or start. Take a seat and think about the issue thoroughly. The thing is that the amount of potential income directly influences the decision. For instance, if your business is small and you get several thousands of dollars monthly, there is no need to deal with a merchant account service provider.
   
2. Analyze pricing policies and fees. Each service provider is free to set its own fees. So, some systems may charge fees for membership, exchange, and flat rate. Compare several agencies to find out their pricing policies and pick the most suitable conditions for cooperation.
3. Clarity and ease of use. When dealing with new technology, users should at least understand how it functions and feel confident when using it for operation processing.
4. Features provided by merchant account providers. If things are good with the previous points, find out what additional functions are available. Perhaps, a potential agency offers different payment gateway types or allows its clients to track their sales with the help of special reporting tools.
   
   “Although you don’t need them now, perhaps, in the future, you’ll need to upgrade your merchant account and unlock new functionalities.”
5. Customer feedback is a useful point since by reading users’ reviews, you can find out some pitfalls of a particular provider. So, look through reviews, chat on specialized forums to find out information on the level of merchant services providing.
6. Security is last but not least. Check in what way a service provider ensures data security. What algorithms are used to guarantee transaction confidentiality and protection? How can one get access to information?

“Last year, almost $25 billion was lost due to fraudulent transactions with payment cards.”

In this regard, payment security is vital for businesses that store customer information and process their payment card transactions. Check PCI DSS compliance. This is a certificate confirming that a company meets the industry requirements for payment processing and, accordingly, guarantees the security of storing personal data of bank cards.

Benefits of Acquiring a Merchant Account

The modern world has become more and more cashless. Online transactions displace cash payments. Turning to a merchant account service provider will benefit:

• Better funds managing;
• Sales increase;
• Potential risk decrease;
• An opportunity to take regular transactions.

A Piece of Advice at Last

Not to get lost in the abundance of merchant account providers, answer yourself what kind of services your business deals with and what your company requires. Each enterprise is a unique organism that should be treated individually. So, find out what works for your very business and then, pick the most suitable merchant account service provider.