Credit Card Processing: Accept Online Payments Securely

In this digital world, everyone wants to pay online. Carrying cash became old-fashioned and inconvenient also. That makes credit card processing most popular.

But credit card processing is a complicated process. It is the most important thing that online business owners have to focus on.

But we can’t blame you for not focusing on processing, there are some main things that merchants should pay attention to it. Always remember, processing costs are incredible, but rates differ and it is possible to reduce the total amount that you’ll have to pay for processing costs every year.

In this article, we’ll go to some basics of credit card processing and look at things that businesses can save money on and help out in their bottom lines.

What do you mean by Credit Card Processing?

Credit card processing is an essential part of merchant payment services. This will provide businesses with the facility of accepting credit and debit card payments. These payments may be performed by swiping on a credit card machine, dipping into an EMV portal, keying into an eCommerce payment platform, or just tapping on a contactless credit card reader.

Credit card processors provide communication between all members involved in this process. They also confirm security for the transaction.

Businesses must pay a fee for this service because processing fees deduct for every transaction and from the payments received by the merchant.

Members Involved in Credit Card Processing

• Customer: Customer purchases any product by entering their card details at checkout.
• Merchant: The merchant sells the products or services to the customer.
• Processor: The credit card processor is responsible for establishing the merchant with PCI compliance. It also ensures that all process of each transaction is seamless.
• Credit Card Network.  Credit card networks fix interchange fees and are also known as card associations. The card networks are VISA, American Express, etc.
• POS system. The POS system will provide the merchant with a credit card terminal and point of payment hardware to allow businesses to perform physical transactions.
• Issuing Bank. The customer’s bank analyses if any transaction is valid or not.
• Acquiring Bank. After completion of the payment process, the merchant receives the final payments.

Fees Structure

The fees part can make things complicated. Some merchant service providers have a more transparent pricing structure. And the providers with lower transparency will have more complicated fees. So, the fee structure should be pretty simple:

• Interchange Fees. The interchange fees from the majority of all credit card processing costs. Also, these fees are associated with the card networks and passed to the merchant. The issuing banks receive most part of the fees for their assumed risk of releasing the amount. The complete fees are based on the inherent risk of the online transaction. Transactions that have higher risk will come with a higher interchange fee. Risk is calculated based on several factors, including the type of card being used, the way that a payment was processed, and the merchant’s industry.
• Assessment Fees. The credit card networks also get a little part of the interchange fees. These consist of a fraction of a percent of the total fees. These fees play a vital role in maintaining the industry and are mainly set for credit card networks.
• Processing Fees. The payment processor also deducts a small part of the total fee for providing the facility of communication and security to all the transactions. Usually, merchants have to pay these additional fees. Interchange plus processing, for example, breaks down exactly how much is going to the interchange and assessment fees versus how much is going to the processor.
• Hidden/Additional Fees. Those who do not charge interchange-plus pricing have some additional fees. These may include fees for chargebacks, PCI compliance, hardware costs, batching charges, card minimums, late penalties, etc. Usually, these are unnecessary charges, and best to avoid such types of fees.

How to Lower Your Credit Card Processing Fees?

As it is impossible to avoid paying credit card processing fees, you can trim the charges and lower the final amount that you are paying by following these ways:

• You can Audit Your Payment Processor. Discuss with your processor and get an analysis of your current processing payments charges. You can also get a rate comparison from competing merchant service providers to observe how much you can save.
• By Switching POS Systems. Some POS providers put businesses into a single credit card processor. It also comes with inflated rates and long-duration contracts. If possible, you can switch to a POS system processing doubting. However, you can select any processor of your choice.
• You can minimize Your Interchange Rate. Businesses can also perform some steps to decrease the interchange fees associated with any transaction. These may include minimum purchase amounts, denying to accept some credit card brands, or desisting from keying in transactions manually. All are needed to pay total interchange fees as they are labeled as high-risk.
• Pay Attention to Your Credit Card Processing. Businesses are required to be more focused on their payment processing. It can be the least known aspect of operating a business, but it is essential. Doing it in the right way can save your business a lot of money.

You can use this information to go into processing agreements more prepared and get ready to find the suitable and best fit for your business.

Factors to look for in Credit Card Processing Services

Most business owners make their decisions according to the pricing structure. That is suitable for their business performance, it also makes sense, but there are some other important factors to look for:

• Customer Service Support. If payments do not go according to the plan or your customers are having some errors when making purchases. Then you will need customer service that you can approach easily and quickly. As time passes, your payment modes may not work correctly, the more money you will lose. So there should be a customer service support team available for you.
• Integrations. If you can integrate this with other software can be helpful. For example, you may want to track your credit card payments properly so you will account for each transaction. You will automatically write off fees as business expenses can make this easy.
• Analytic. Various card processing companies go the extra mile to provide analytics that will help you to analyze your business’s sales performance.
• Risk Support. Most businesses have a few options because of the high-risk nature of their business. It may come down to the age of a business, credit history, or the industry. So, the companies in this category can face some difficulties in finding a credit card processing company.

Our recommendation | HighRisk Gateways

We suggest HighRisk Gateways for your credit card processing requirements. They provide the merchants with top-tier credit card processing services for many years and take pride in our business. They have also catered to clients whose businesses are labeled as high-risk and face many difficulties in getting a credit card processing service. And try hard to provide services that high-risk businesses often require, like chargeback support and seamlessly processed transactions. HighRisk Gateways knows that providing merchants with payment services is a big decision, especially in today’s era of frequent cybercrime. So, they are confident that if you have tried their services. You will become a long-term customer

Source: Credit Card Processing: Accept Online Payments Securely