5 Tips to Finding an Affordable Payment Processor for Your Company

Every company needs to develop a simple, convenient payment system. Using a payment processor enhances customer convenience when making payments. However, selecting the right payment processor for your company may be quite tricky. A good payment processor should perfectly fit into your business – it should possess features that are best suited for your company. More importantly, it must be budget friendly.

Finding the perfect payment processor requires lots of research. There are numerous processors with different terms and conditions: get one that will work efficiently with what you have.

Here are 5 tips to finding an affordable payment processor:

• Study different payment processor models

Managing costs is very important for companies as it directly affects business returns. In order to choose an affordable option, you need to understand the processing rates and benefits of each pricing model available. Flat rate is one of the pricing models offered. The transaction fee plus the flat percentage is the same for every transaction. It’s overly easy to understand but more expensive than other models. Interchange plus is yet another model to consider. It is very transparent and is the cheapest pricing model available. For this pricing model however, the company bears the brunt of all underlying costs on each transaction. This leads to increased rates over a certain period, making it difficult for the accounting and financial department. Tiered pricing is a hybrid of the flat and interchange plus, meaning it has benefits of both. Your options should narrow down depending on which pricing model best appeals you.

• Fraud prevention and security

It’s important for your company to check in with the processor company to ensure you are contented with their security tools. You should make sure that your processor is compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security standard regulations which stipulate that a merchant’s payment ecosystem must be inventoried, documented and secured. However, these regulations may be a little confusing for some new merchants. That’s why it is crucial to find a processor that understands your business type and one that can set up efficient systems that comply with regulations. You should also check if the processor provides seller protection and support in case there’s fraud.

• Customer support

It is wise to look for a processor that offers customer support 24/7, preferably with direct help from an account representative. One may think that customer support is not that important but you will definitely need the help of your processor at some point. According to experts, many business owners know their goals and objectives but barely understand how to implement payment and processing. Therefore, contacting a trusted support team helps to get crucial processing information you need. Try reaching out to the payment processor companies you are choosing from and maybe get a feel of how they treat customers and handle customer support.

• Watch out for deceptive marketing tactics

Just like in any industry, the merchant processing is full of con-men with deceptive marketing messages that can trap some business owners. Such account providers have low processing fee rates. When the deal is too good, you may want to rethink your options. With low processing fee rates, you can rest assured that there are other hidden fees in the fine print. It is also essential to decide on purchasing terminals for your business outright instead of leasing the credit card terminals. The initial one-time cost is way cheaper than that of leasing with most providers.

• Look for the best processing terms

Before settling on any processor, it is critical to go through the company’s terms and conditions. This terms should, of course, be flexible enough to fit into what you’re looking for. They should be able to meet not only your needs but also those of your customers. You need to be assured of the freedom to switch providers once you are no longer pleased with the current provider’s services. Avoid application fees-most providers do not charge the setup fees. Avoid hidden fees, nonstandard fees and providers that do not include customer support in their processing terms and conditions.

If you desire a CBD merchant processor, The Southern Institute has you covered.