Credit Card Processing: Is it Really Worth the Fees?
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Posted On :
Feb-24-2010
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Article Word Count :
850
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Credit cards are more convenient than carrying around cash, especially for big shopping trips or large purchases. And if a card is stolen, most cards limit or eliminate the risk to the cardholder, who can receive a new card quickly.
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If you’re a business owner, you know increasing profits even a small amount can require a lot of effort, and even the well-planned, creative, and properly targeted marketing effort isn’t guaranteed to result in an increase in sales or growth in your customer base.
What if there were a single, simple move you could make today that would likely result in a substantial increase in both sales and customer base, soon after that move was implemented? And what if that move was a proven strategy that required minimal work and only a modest investment on your part? Would you do it? If you’re like most business owners, the answer is yes. And the good news is, you can.
If your business is not accepting credit cards – and if you’re reading this article, it’s a good bet it isn’t – you can realize substantial profits and a remarkable growth in your customer base, simply by signing up for a merchant account and allowing your customers to use what is fast replacing cash as the number one method of payment in every business across the globe: credit cards.
Signing up for a merchant account is straightforward, requiring just a small investment of your time to fill out a simple application. Finding the merchant provider that’s right for you can be a little more time-consuming, but with so many providers offering so many different types of services, it’s time well spent.
There are hundreds of companies out there that are willing to assist you in opening your account, so take your time to choose a company that has a good reputation and a relatively long history serving customers like you. Check with the Better Business Bureau and look for forums online, where customers share their insights about different account providers. Also look for one that has experience serving your type of business, and can set up accounts for the ways you do business – retail or online, for instance.
Account fees can vary widely among different account providers, so check into all account costs, and if any provider seems to be offering significantly lower-than-average fees, it’s probably a good idea to steer away from that provider in favor of another.
So now that you have an idea of what a merchant account is for and a few tips about how to find the best one for your needs, it’s time to ask: just how can a merchant account help your company?
First of all, it can help your company grow, by attracting a far wider customer base. More and more consumers are turning to credit cards today as their preferred method of payment, for all types of purchases. Many of today’s cards offer consumers reward points that can be redeemed for airline flights, merchandise, and even cash refunds – try doing that with cash!
Credit cards are also more convenient than carrying around cash, especially for big shopping trips or large purchases. And if a card is stolen, most cards limit or eliminate the risk to the cardholder, who can receive a new card quickly. Finally, consumers know that the regular use of credit cards can help them build that all-important credit history, which can help them qualify for lower rates on mortgages, car loans – even insurance.
All of these reasons and many others are why more consumers today are turning to credit cards for most, if not all, of their expenditures, and why accepting them at your business can help your customer base grow substantially. In fact, if you operate all or part of your business online, you should know that about 90 percent of all business completed on the Internet is done via credit cards, meaning that if you don’t accept them at least on the web, you’ll be losing out on potentially huge profits.
That takes care of your customer base. But how else can your profits grow? Well, statistics show that credit card users consistently make significantly more expensive purchases than those who pay by cash or check. Not only do they buy more items in each transaction, but they also buy larger, more expensive items than cash purchasers. And, they make significantly more impulse purchases.
Customers who use credit cards are also more likely to become repeat customers, thanks to the convenience of the cards, and they purchase much more frequently than cash buyers. So, if you gain a larger customer base by accepting credit cards, and the customers you gain tend to spend more, AND they tend to buy more frequently, it’s easy to see how your business can profit – and profit quickly – simply by opening a merchant account.
So, the answer to the initial question – how can credit card processing help your company – is pretty obvious: by accepting credit cards, your company can grow in both its clientele and its profits. It only takes a few moments to fill out an application: why delay? Find the merchant account provider that’s right for you today.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Credit Card Processing: Is it Really Worth the Fees?_11799.aspx
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Author Resource :
Karen Zabel is a freelance writer who writes about Credit Card Processing Service.
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Keywords :
Credit Card Processing Service, Merchant Accounts, Credit Card Processing,
Category :
Business
:
Business
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