Common Credit Card Processing Problems

Practically every business in the modern economy can benefit from accepting credit card payments. Credit cards are among the most popular consumer payment methods and adopting credit processing technologies can greatly boost sales and revenue.

That being said, many small businesses face challenges to adopting credit card processing. Here are some of the more common issues businesses face when implementing credit card payment processing systems.

Fraud

The single biggest problem with credit card processing is fraud. Nearly 54% of all data breaches involve credit card numbers and 17% are explicitly aimed at financial assets. Payment processors with strong security systems and bank-level encryption can greatly reduce the risk of credit card fraud and protect customer information.

How to avoid: Make sure any processor you work with is PCI-compliant. Data should be stored with bank-level encryption or higher and use tokenization protocols to protect sensitive customer data.

Mobility Issues

Many businesses nowadays work out of multiple locations. For example, a restaurant may have its main store location, but also a food truck that goes around town. As such, adding mobility to your credit card processing capabilities is a good choice.

How to avoid: You should look for a payment processing service that is compatible with smartphones and tablets; that way you can make payments wherever you are.

Lack of Payment Methods

Some processing companies specialize in only one or a few payment methods. Some vendors, for example, only accept debit/credit cards and do not accept contactless payments or online payments. Consumers want a wide variety of payment methods. In fact, a recent Statista study showed that nearly 50% of respondents said they use their mobile phones to make contactless payments for goods and services.

How to avoid: So, the natural solution is to make sure your chosen processing company can handle several different payment methods.

High Fees

Nobody likes fees, and some processing companies charge quite a lot. Processing fees can often exceed what is quoted by the company’s salesperson and might involve hidden fees.

How to avoid: Shop around, and demand that your provider provide a low cost assurance, to make sure that they have the lowest prices.

Conclusions

Allowing for credit card payments is good for businesses of every size. That being said, credit card processing can carry with it its own set of headaches. To minimize the frustration of credit card payments, it’s important to work with a processing company that is PCI-compliant and gives customers access to a range of payment options aside from just credit/debit cards.

If you are interested in learning more about credit card processing, give us a call at (888) 924-2743 or visit Charge.com.