How to Accept Credit Cards Online, In-Store or Anywhere
Starting to accept credit cards can be a daunting process for some business owners, but it’s actually a fairly straightforward transition. There are many payment processors to choose from, each with their own rates, features and modes of doing business. Obviously you want to choose the company that offers the lowest rate, lowest fees, and a month-to-month service contract that can be canceled at any time with no cancellation fee.
But beyond that, you want to take into consideration other factors. First, take into consideration how you and your customers do business. If you are doing it in-store, or face to face, you want a payment processor that offers either a POS system, credit card terminal or mobile card reader. If you do business remotely, you want a processor that offers services which make it easier to accept cards over the phone or Internet.
Accepting credit cards
Once you’ve picked a company that will allow you to receive credit cards, it’s time to pick a payment processing system. Here you have the choice between a Point-of-Sale (POS) system, a mobile credit card processor, or an online processor.
The POS system is a checkout terminal that may have several components such as a credit card swiper, a touch screen, a printer, and others. This is ideal for businesses that are run out of brick-and-mortar stores.
Mobile credit card processors can be either an app or a physical device that is attached to a phone or tablet or a stand-alone device. This is used to read and process credit card payments and is ideal for businesses that are on the go, such as professionals who make house-calls, or businesses that travel to trade-fairs and expos.
Finally, you have online payment processors, which are used by eCommerce websites and other online businesses. They are also known as payment gateways, and they can be either third party or integrated within the seller’s website.
Signing the contract
This is the basic informational framework you need before signing a contract with a payment processor. Based on your business type, and the features, benefits and fees offered by the processor, you will be able to sign a contract that will be profitable for you in the long run.
For more information on how to accept credit cards or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.
