Find Out What a Merchant Account Can Do for Your Business
There are plenty of products and services that are designed to help businesses succeed
. As a business owner, you can purchase accounting software, which can assist you with your record-keeping. You can lease billboard space to advertise your business. And you can outsource your human resources department so you don't have to worry about payroll, benefits, or other related functions.But perhaps the most important thing you can obtain for your business is a merchant account. This will allow you to process credit card payments instead of relying on cash and checks as your only revenue sources.
A merchant account is an agreement with a merchant service provider, which is an entity that handles credit card processing, authentication, and security. In most cases, merchant services providers are third-party processors who do not actually own the equipment or networks they give you access to. But these companies do have contractual relationships with banks or similar financial institutions which allow them to process credit card payments. For a fee, these merchant services providers will give you that same privilege. Also, these companies usually offer add-on services such as support staff, storage, and back-office services.
In most cases, merchant service providers will let you buy or lease the necessary equipment that physically reads the credit card information. Since the important data is stored on the magnetic stripe of a card, retail swipe terminals represent the fastest way to process credit cards.
These terminals contain a "groove" through which you or your customer swipes the magnetic strip of the paying credit card. Sensors inside the groove translate the encrypted information and transmit it to the processing center, which authenticates the card and sends back a message of approval or denial.
This entire procedure takes just seconds. There are also systems which require a cashier or clerk to punch in the credit card number and expiration date into a keypad. Though this may take a bit longer than a swipe terminal, these systems are often less expensive.
Now that you know the basics of how a merchant account works, let's look at how it can help your business.
Increase Convenience for your Customers
In today's fast-paced world, customers don't want to dig around for cash in their wallets or purses or fish out a checkbook and take the time to write a check. They would much rather swipe their credit card, sign their name, and go on about their business. Rest assured that if your business does not accept credit card payments, your customers may very well find a competitor that does.
Save Time
As previously noted, credit card transactions take less time to complete than cash or check transactions. So, the more time you save with each transaction, the greater number of customers you can serve in any given day. Plus, less time spent waiting for customers to finish their transactions translates to more time you and your employees can spend on other important tasks. And you don't have to make a run to the bank to deposit your revenue because the money is automatically entered into your corporate account.
Process Payments Onsite
If you operate a mobile business where your employees tend to accept payments onsite, you can acquire mobile swipe terminals or point-of-sale software to process credit card transactions away from your home base. This equipment can either be a wireless, battery-operated swipe terminal or a smaller device that attaches to a laptop computer or cell phone.
A simpler alternative is to obtain access to a processing service that lets you enter in a credit card number and expiration date over any touch-tone phone and receive quick authentication. Whichever you choose, these options let your workers complete transactions in a single step - so they don't have to carry cash, a check, or a written credit card number back to headquarters where processing must take place.
Utilize the Power of the Internet
There are many merchant accounts which allow you to accept card payments right over the web. This software can be integrated into your corporate website and allow your customers to place orders anytime - day or night, during the week or on weekends. E-commerce represents another potential revenue stream for your company - and a terrific selling point to your net-savvy customers who value convenience.
Enhance your Accounting
Every merchant account will give you access to a complete and itemized list of all your credit card transactions in a given period. This will help you organize your recordkeeping and reduce the time normally spent entering in checks or counting hard currency. In addition, you can use this transaction list to identify hot products, predict buying trends, or gauge the success of marketing programs.
So there's really no reason why your business can't benefit from a merchant account. Processing credit cards is easy, convenient, and safe - and your customers will thank you for it!
Find Out What a Merchant Account Can Do for Your Business
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