Equipment you need to begin credit card processing

In the old days of credit cards, we accepted payments with the old method of imprinting the card on paper forms with that black backing that could make a mess like nothing else! While you may think that the manual credit card processing days are long gone, there are still a number of businesses that have yet to upgrade to the electronic credit card processing systems.

To accept electronic credit card payments you must be able to set up a merchant account with the credit card processing company, something that can be done at your bank in just a few minutes. Credit card processing companies must first be able to register that your business is legal and legitimate and then you will be able to start accepting the payments.

While you already know the benefits of electronic transfer (having the money into your account instantly) you may not be aware of how to set up the system and what your options include. Some businesses need a system that will integrate with their accounting software while others prefer to take care of this on their own by transferring the data on their own.

In order to accept payments over the internet, you must have a secured server. A number of businesses have turned to Intuit as it corresponds with QuickBooks and just about every shopping cart system out there. This will allow you to easily accept payments and you will not struggle with the collection of your customers information, which allows you to save it for future purchases, making it easier for your customers to purchase future orders from the website as they only need a user name and password to log in and acquire their customer information.

Most of the merchant services out there will offer you the gateway software program you should use in order to accept payments. If they don't, you need to look for a gateway program which can vary in price from a couple hundred dollars or more. The gateway system is the program that is responsible for storing the customer information and keeping it secured.

As you move toward merchant account services, you should investigate all of the information pertaining to credit card processing fees. The fees are usually much higher for American Express and Discover versus Visa and Mastercard. However you should take a look at what cards your customers frequently shop with in order to determine which cards are your best options. It is also important to consider using alternative funding sources for your customers like PayPal and Bill Me Later. These sites are easy to work with and the fees are not very expensive, making them affordable payment solutions for any business.

The biggest downside to your electronic payment system is that you have to pay the setup fee and the monthly equipment rental fee. Most of the companies out there want you to use their equipment and they may charge you for upgrades on the equipment as well. Monthly fees for credit card acceptance are common as credit cards are the standard payment option for so many customers.

Investigating multiple vendors is the best way to find lower fees and to ensure you are being treated fairly. When you start moving into addition payments, acquiring a secondary phone line or at least an internet connection will allow you to accept the payments faster. If there is a loss of internet service or telephone connectivity, you may need to use the manual transactions. There are fees for the manual transactions so you want to try and avoid them at all costs to save your business money.