What to Look for in a Merchant Services Provider

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<h1>What to Look for in a Merchant Services Provider</h1><strong> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Karen Zabel.aspx'>Karen Zabel</a></strong><br /><p>Signing up for a merchant account is a step in the right direction for most businesses today, especially those that want to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving marketplace. As companies have embraced new ways of doing business, including online web stores and mobile credit card processing, the options offered by merchant account providers have expanded dramatically. Understanding these options can help you focus your efforts during the search process for a merchant account provider that’s an ideal solution for your business needs. Today’s merchant account providers may vary based on the types of services they offer, their level of technical and customer support, the fees they charge, and their expertise in specific business areas. Before beginning your merchant account provider search, take some time to read over these guidelines to make your search a much more productive experience. • Look for a company with a record of good business practices. First, check with the Better Business Bureau to determine if any complaints have been made. Once that hurdle is cleared, you might want to visit some of the online forums and sites that are devoted to merchant account customers. Many sites offer bulletin boards and other forums where current users can relate their own experiences with specific providers. You can also use these forums to check up on the next item in this list: customer service. • Because your merchant account provider will become an integral part of your business, you want to be sure the customer service it offers is excellent. Reading forums, as noted, is one way to determine how current customers are faring. However, since many customer experiences can vary, based on the individual business owner and their expectations, it’s also generally a good idea to conduct your own type of test: contact the providers you’re considering, both by email and by phone, to determine their overall responsiveness, the accuracy of their answers, and the way they treat you during the interaction. If the provider you’re considering offers a live chat option, check that, too. • In merchant account providers, as with many other types of service providers, experience counts. Be sure to select a provider that has extensive experience in serving the needs of your type of business. In addition to having valuable familiarity with many of the issues faced by business owners in your line of work, these account providers may also be able to identify services that can help your business operate and grow, and may also be able to identify areas of cost savings. • Make sure the merchant account provider offers the type of account you need to serve the customers you hope to attract. Retail, Internet, mail order, telephone order, and mobile businesses all have different needs, so choose a provider that offers – and has experience in – the type or types of account services you’ll need. • Ask the merchant account provider how they deal with issues of fraud and chargebacks. As a business owner, chargebacks can have serious ramifications for you and your ability to accept credit cards at your company. An excessive number of chargebacks may cause your account to be canceled and can make it difficult to establish an account elsewhere. Be sure to choose a provider that has experience in successfully mitigating or preventing chargebacks, as well as fraud. • In addition to customer service, you want to be sure your account provider offers consistent and widely available technical support options, especially if you’ve never had a merchant account before, or if you plan on adding new services to your existing account in the future. Even a small error can result in delayed processing of payments and can have serious consequences for your business. Tech support options vary widely among merchant account providers, and this is another area where online forums can offer some guidance. Be sure to do your own comparisons among account providers for peace of mind. • And finally, ask about fees associated with the merchant account services you’re interested in. Especially if you’re looking for more than one type of account – a retail account as well as an Internet account, for example – some account providers may offer packages or bundles of services at reduced rates. In addition, the types and number of fees can vary dramatically among merchant account providers, and the amount of each fee can also vary. Be sure to do a thorough side-by-side comparison of each company’s fees – and ask the provider you’re interested in to provide a complete schedule of any and all fees associated with the account, including any penalty fees you might incur. Knowing what questions to ask and what features to look for can make your search much more productive. Use these guidelines, as well as information gathered from online sources, to determine your own set of questions and factors before you start to search to help you identify the merchant account provider that’s the best option for your business. </p><strong>About the Author:</strong><br />Karen Zabel is a freelance writer who writes about business that offer<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nabancard.com/merchant-services">credit card processing service</a>.<p> Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_What-to-Look-for-in-a-Merchant-Services-Provider_14465.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_What to Look for in a Merchant Services Provider_14465.aspx</a></p>

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Keywords : Merchant Services, Merchant Services,

Category : Business : Business