Posts Tagged ‘Credit Card Processing’

Increase Sales! Why You Should Accept Credit Cards

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

When owning a small company one must be careful on how they conduct business. With bank foreclosures, competitive markets, and even going bankrupt many small business owners must employ any tactic they can to keep their business from going under. One such method is obtaining a merchant account from a bank. Every small business should take full advantage of credit card processing.

To acquire a merchant account for your business you must speak with your local bank customer service representative and find out if they offer merchant accounts to small businesses. If they dont offer merchant accounts you can still receive credit card processing service from third party companies who offer it at a similar rate as the banks do.

If your bank does offer merchant accounts to small businesses you then have to meet each requirement. Firstly you will need to prove that you are conducting business and give a tour of your workspace to a bank representative. If you work out of home make sure to secure a separate room for your home office.

You may have to submit paperwork to a company considering giving you a merchant account as well. This is to verify that are you are real business making a profit or losing money. The bank will want a copy of your tax return from the previous year as well as complete access to your bank account to deposit or withdraw funds from your account.

The rates of most merchant accounts are anywhere from 2-3% tax on each transaction you make. Many dishonest companies charge 5% and more on transactions. If you keep shopping around you will not be stuck with choosing such a company.

The benefits to owning a merchant account are immeasurable. You are now able to charge clients for your service on their debit/bank cards. Fewer individuals are carrying around cash because of the ease of online and electronic banking. You can comply with the needs of anyone who wants to pay for your service with their card.

Not taking advantage of credit card processing is almost irresponsible. Without it you are guaranteed to lose business. People will simply walk out of your establishment when they find out you only accept cash (if you havent set up a merchant account yet).

With all the benefits one would have access to with a bank merchant account it is surprising not there are still small businesses that do not accept credit cards. In the long run they are only hurting their business. A company should be capable of growing and expanding its service to meet the needs of the average consumer.

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