If you are a small business owner that accepts credit cards, then there will be fees that you have to pay. Merchant account companies typically charge around five percent of company’s revenue from credit card sales. Statement fees, interchange costs and processing fees are examples of some of the fees that your business may be charged for credit cards.
Many consumers are opting to use credit cards over cash. Only 23 percent of point-of-sale purchases are made using cash. Credit card use will continue to increase. It may not be possible to avoid all credit card fees. However, there are some things that you can do in order to save money on credit card fees.
Comparison Shop
The key to getting the most out of any financial product is to shop around. Some providers will provide the same level of service but charge you more. Other companies may advertise a low rate and charge hidden fees. You can find a credit card processor by doing a Google Search. Make sure that you select a company that is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
There are several questions that you should ask before choosing a credit card processing company. What is the total rate including all of the fees? Are there any application fees, cancellation fees or statement fees? Those are examples of some of the specific questions that you will need to ask.
You should also read the fine print before you choose a credit card processing company. Additionally, you may be able to negotiate the fees.
Swipe the Credit Card
You will pay more in credit card fees if you manually enter the credit card information instead of swiping it. The reason that companies charge more is because fraud is more likely to occur if the information is manually-entered. In order to prevent fraud, you will need to make sure that the name on the credit care matches the name on the ID. You can decline the sale if the information does not match.
Impose Minimum Credit Card Sales
If your customers make a lot of small transactions, then you may want to impose a minimum purchase requirement. Put up a note saying that you will not accept transactions that are under a certain amount. If customers have a problem with this, then you will need to let them know that it takes more to process credit card transactions.
