Post by John on Aug 20, 2015 23:49:07 GMT
Alternative ways to take credit cards. Ditch your merchant account!
BY BECKY MCCRAY
Taking credit cards used to be a big deal for small businesses. It involved setting up a merchant account, passing a credit check, leasing or buying equipment and agreeing to a multi-year commitment. That was just the getting started part. The traditional merchant processing industry standard seemed to be lots of fees, and little customer service for small accounts. It has been a source of ongoing pain for small business, but everything has changed.
A number of companies have introduced dead-simple tools to accept credit cards with nothing more than a tiny plastic reader that plugs into a smart phone. Fees are lower, and there is no commitment.
Should you convert from traditional merchant processing? I did. Here’s how I decided.
Compare Total Costs
You can’t just compare the low teaser rate that merchant processors quote. You have to consider the total effective cost for processing.
My store’s “qualified rate” was 1.55%. Sounds fine, but it doesn’t take into account all the other fees I paid. I took my monthly processing statement, added up all the fees, deductions, costs, charges, etc., and divided that by the total amount processed. I did that for several different months, and our total effective cost was 3.1% to 3.3%. I also had a leased credit card terminal for $35.67 per month. I was more than ready to eliminate that lease and put that money towards acquiring some new equipment.
What are the choices?
All these new systems share some similarities.
They use a small plastic reader that plugs into the headphone jack on your smartphone or tablet.
There is no charge for the reader, or $15 for Breadcrumb’s reader. With Square or PayPal Here, you may be able to buy a reader at a store for about $15 and ask for a refund later.
There are no monthly fees, so you can sign up and keep one on hand even if you only process credit cards on occasion.
You can use it to charge credit card sales from anywhere (as long as you can get cell signal for smartphones or wifi for tablets).
You can have more than one user on your account, all collecting payments at the same time.
They charge a percentage of transactions, under 3%. Hand-keyed transactions are higher, usually between 3% and 4%. Hand-keyed transactions may be held and not deposited to you immediately.
There are no (or very few) additional fees.
Most offer a way for customers to pay with their phone instead of their credit card.
Note that these rates and details can and do change all the time. I’ll add updates as I get them. Do check for yourself and confirm the details on any of these services before you make any decisions.
Square
Square has been around for several years. This is what I initially chose for my bricks-and-mortar retail business.
Reader: A small white square that can twist a little while swiping cards. Works with iPhones, iPads, and some Android smartphones.
Cost: The total effective cost is 2.75% per transaction. There is a monthly flat rate available for high-volume businesses that can drive the effective rate lower, but you may have to contact Square to inquire about it.
How you get paid: Funds are transferred nightly into your business checking account.
Mobile Payments: Square offers a mobile payment option. Customers create their own account with Square, then only need to bring their compatible phone with them to complete their payment.
Bonus: Square has an iPad app designed to use as a Point of Sale system, handy for bricks and mortar locations.
Intuit GoPayment
Intuit GoPayment is backed by accounting software giant Intuit.
Reader: A grey bar as wide as a phone that is stable while swiping cards. GoPayment works with iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and many Android phones.
Cost: Most cards are 2.75% with no transaction fee. American Express and rewards cards are treated differently (more expensively). Higher volume businesses can choose a monthly fee and get a lower rate on transactions, potentially under 2.0%.
How you get paid: Funds are transferred nightly into your business checking account or onto a special Prepaid Visa card account.
Mobile Payments: GoPayment does not include a system for customers to pay using their phone.
Bonus: Transactions can be downloaded into QuickBooks software.
PayPal Here
PayPal Here is backed by online-payment giant PayPal.
Reader: A blue/purple triangle, with a small brace to hold it still while swiping. Works on iPhone, iPad, and some Android phones.
Cost: the rate is 2.7% on swiped transactions. There is no monthly pricing option for high-volume merchants.
How you get paid: funds are deposited into your PayPal account or can be put onto a special Debit MasterCard account. There is not an option to have funds automatically transferred to a checking account.
Mobile Payments: Customers can pay without cash or cards using their PayPal account via the PayPal app on their smartphone.
Bonus: PayPal Here can accept a wider variety of payment types. I mentioned that it can pull from a customer’s PayPal account using their smartphone. It can also generate and email an invoice to customers, so they can pay from their PayPal account. It can also accept checks by snapping a picture of the check to deposit it. There is no transaction fee at all for accepting checks.
Bonus: It also has an iPad app designed to use as a Point of Sale system, handy for bricks and mortar locations.
Groupon Breadcrumb
Breadcrumb was introduced by daily deals giant Groupon.
Reader: A black oblong shape, it offers a longer swiping path for stability. Works on iPhone, iPad, some Androids phones, and PCs/laptops. The reader costs $15. The processing service can be used with certain existing credit card terminals.
Cost: Visa and Mastercard rates are 1.99% + 15 cents per swipe. AMEX is higher and varies based on your industry.
How you get paid: funds are deposited into your bank account the next business day.
Mobile Payments: Breadcrumb does not include a system for customers to pay using their phone.
Bonus: integrates with Groupon vouchers, if your business issues them.
Bonus: two separate point of sale apps and plans are available, one specifically for restaurants.
Which do I choose?
That depends on your business. QuickBooks users may favor Intuit’s GoPayment. Businesses that depend on PayPal may jump on PayPal Here. But because there is no commitment or monthly fee, there is no reason a small business might not try out all of them.
Keep your eyes on Dwolla
Dwolla is based on cash instead of credit cards. I applaud that. It does require both the customer and the merchant to have an account. Then the customer initiates the transaction, instead of the vendor. It is going to take time for this to reach critical mass in my small town.
A non-traditional merchant account option
Payment Revolution is a traditional merchant processor, but without the long-term contract. It allows month-to-month service. The only monthly fee is a $10 statement fee. All transactions run at a set percentage over the interchange rates. That does mean complex statements and lots of variation between transactions. Rewards cards get charged at higher rates, and you may have 7 different rates just for MasterCard on your statement. If you want to try traditional merchant processing without making a long-term commitment, consider Payment Revolution.
BY BECKY MCCRAY
Taking credit cards used to be a big deal for small businesses. It involved setting up a merchant account, passing a credit check, leasing or buying equipment and agreeing to a multi-year commitment. That was just the getting started part. The traditional merchant processing industry standard seemed to be lots of fees, and little customer service for small accounts. It has been a source of ongoing pain for small business, but everything has changed.
A number of companies have introduced dead-simple tools to accept credit cards with nothing more than a tiny plastic reader that plugs into a smart phone. Fees are lower, and there is no commitment.
Should you convert from traditional merchant processing? I did. Here’s how I decided.
Compare Total Costs
You can’t just compare the low teaser rate that merchant processors quote. You have to consider the total effective cost for processing.
My store’s “qualified rate” was 1.55%. Sounds fine, but it doesn’t take into account all the other fees I paid. I took my monthly processing statement, added up all the fees, deductions, costs, charges, etc., and divided that by the total amount processed. I did that for several different months, and our total effective cost was 3.1% to 3.3%. I also had a leased credit card terminal for $35.67 per month. I was more than ready to eliminate that lease and put that money towards acquiring some new equipment.
What are the choices?
All these new systems share some similarities.
They use a small plastic reader that plugs into the headphone jack on your smartphone or tablet.
There is no charge for the reader, or $15 for Breadcrumb’s reader. With Square or PayPal Here, you may be able to buy a reader at a store for about $15 and ask for a refund later.
There are no monthly fees, so you can sign up and keep one on hand even if you only process credit cards on occasion.
You can use it to charge credit card sales from anywhere (as long as you can get cell signal for smartphones or wifi for tablets).
You can have more than one user on your account, all collecting payments at the same time.
They charge a percentage of transactions, under 3%. Hand-keyed transactions are higher, usually between 3% and 4%. Hand-keyed transactions may be held and not deposited to you immediately.
There are no (or very few) additional fees.
Most offer a way for customers to pay with their phone instead of their credit card.
Note that these rates and details can and do change all the time. I’ll add updates as I get them. Do check for yourself and confirm the details on any of these services before you make any decisions.
Square
Square has been around for several years. This is what I initially chose for my bricks-and-mortar retail business.
Reader: A small white square that can twist a little while swiping cards. Works with iPhones, iPads, and some Android smartphones.
Cost: The total effective cost is 2.75% per transaction. There is a monthly flat rate available for high-volume businesses that can drive the effective rate lower, but you may have to contact Square to inquire about it.
How you get paid: Funds are transferred nightly into your business checking account.
Mobile Payments: Square offers a mobile payment option. Customers create their own account with Square, then only need to bring their compatible phone with them to complete their payment.
Bonus: Square has an iPad app designed to use as a Point of Sale system, handy for bricks and mortar locations.
Intuit GoPayment
Intuit GoPayment is backed by accounting software giant Intuit.
Reader: A grey bar as wide as a phone that is stable while swiping cards. GoPayment works with iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and many Android phones.
Cost: Most cards are 2.75% with no transaction fee. American Express and rewards cards are treated differently (more expensively). Higher volume businesses can choose a monthly fee and get a lower rate on transactions, potentially under 2.0%.
How you get paid: Funds are transferred nightly into your business checking account or onto a special Prepaid Visa card account.
Mobile Payments: GoPayment does not include a system for customers to pay using their phone.
Bonus: Transactions can be downloaded into QuickBooks software.
PayPal Here
PayPal Here is backed by online-payment giant PayPal.
Reader: A blue/purple triangle, with a small brace to hold it still while swiping. Works on iPhone, iPad, and some Android phones.
Cost: the rate is 2.7% on swiped transactions. There is no monthly pricing option for high-volume merchants.
How you get paid: funds are deposited into your PayPal account or can be put onto a special Debit MasterCard account. There is not an option to have funds automatically transferred to a checking account.
Mobile Payments: Customers can pay without cash or cards using their PayPal account via the PayPal app on their smartphone.
Bonus: PayPal Here can accept a wider variety of payment types. I mentioned that it can pull from a customer’s PayPal account using their smartphone. It can also generate and email an invoice to customers, so they can pay from their PayPal account. It can also accept checks by snapping a picture of the check to deposit it. There is no transaction fee at all for accepting checks.
Bonus: It also has an iPad app designed to use as a Point of Sale system, handy for bricks and mortar locations.
Groupon Breadcrumb
Breadcrumb was introduced by daily deals giant Groupon.
Reader: A black oblong shape, it offers a longer swiping path for stability. Works on iPhone, iPad, some Androids phones, and PCs/laptops. The reader costs $15. The processing service can be used with certain existing credit card terminals.
Cost: Visa and Mastercard rates are 1.99% + 15 cents per swipe. AMEX is higher and varies based on your industry.
How you get paid: funds are deposited into your bank account the next business day.
Mobile Payments: Breadcrumb does not include a system for customers to pay using their phone.
Bonus: integrates with Groupon vouchers, if your business issues them.
Bonus: two separate point of sale apps and plans are available, one specifically for restaurants.
Which do I choose?
That depends on your business. QuickBooks users may favor Intuit’s GoPayment. Businesses that depend on PayPal may jump on PayPal Here. But because there is no commitment or monthly fee, there is no reason a small business might not try out all of them.
Keep your eyes on Dwolla
Dwolla is based on cash instead of credit cards. I applaud that. It does require both the customer and the merchant to have an account. Then the customer initiates the transaction, instead of the vendor. It is going to take time for this to reach critical mass in my small town.
A non-traditional merchant account option
Payment Revolution is a traditional merchant processor, but without the long-term contract. It allows month-to-month service. The only monthly fee is a $10 statement fee. All transactions run at a set percentage over the interchange rates. That does mean complex statements and lots of variation between transactions. Rewards cards get charged at higher rates, and you may have 7 different rates just for MasterCard on your statement. If you want to try traditional merchant processing without making a long-term commitment, consider Payment Revolution.
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