Introduction

There are many options to choose from today when it comes to low rate credit card processing. Of course, it is important to determine exactly which features and options are the most important to your business. This includes looking into the actual application process, the required fees (both monthly and transactional), what options are actually included with your service, types of fraud protection and support provided.

Application Process

This is usually where most businesses start when looking for credit card processing. You should evaluate whether or not the processor will accept digital applications or if you will have to hand write and sign them.  This can certainly reduce the amount of hassle and paperwork involved in the process. Also take a look at the average approval rating (hopefully above 95%) and the account set up time. Some processors move very fast, setting up accounts the same day.

Fees

Most low rate credit card processing companies have a number of different fees. There are monthly fees like those for a gateway (making online ordering possible) and a statement fee. There may also be a monthly minimums. If the total fees for the total transactions that are owed for any month do not exceed some threshold (typically $15 to $25), you will be required to pay the difference to come up to the minimum.

Then, of course, there are also transaction based fees to consider. Each business should carefully consider the average discount rate, plus the additional per transaction fee. These are usually expressed as a certain percentage of the amount charged, plus a flat $0.15 to $0.30 (for example). Sometimes, there will be different rates and fees charged depending upon whether the credit card is present and physically swiped or entered in manually.  There are a plethora of fees that companies charge and many are nothing more than mere profit centers so be careful when shopping just based on rates alone as you could find yourself paying much more in additional fees.  Sometimes it ends up less expensive to pay higher transaction fees in order to eliminate many of these extra fees that many merchant processors tack on.

Features

There are a number of low rate credit card processing features to consider as well. Does the processor offer a virtual terminal for their merchant account? This is a screen which allows you to manually and securely enter a customer’s personal information for such credit card transactions as phone orders.  For these types of transactions, there will also be a payment gateway which allows the transaction to be verified and authenticated.  Some merchant processing companies charge extra for these gateways and some do not. Again, be careful and knowledgeable about these when comparing different companies.

Also, consider how fast the transaction will clear, and know exactly when the money for each transaction will be deposited into your bank account.

A number of additional features may be helpful as well. These include having a point of sale credit card swiper and maybe even the ability to process checks electronically. Do they offer shopping cart availability for an e-commerce oriented business?

Fraud Protection

There are several different types of fraud protection services available. Know whether your credit card processing company is using address verification, SSL (Secure Socket Layer), CVV2 protection and fraud prevention. Also make sure you understand if they are using real time processing.

Support

Finally, consider when and how support is available. Can they be reached 24/7? Do they offer email tech support as well as live chat?