Of late, accepting payments via credit cards has become an essential necessity for all businesses, regardless of the size. Working with your merchant account provider calls for strict adherence to the laid down rules. Nevertheless, these regulations don’t prohibit the merchant from regularly looking over their statements to bear out if they are saving as much cash as possible.
Compare All Options in the Market
You must have made some thorough inquiries before you signed a contract with your current payment processor. You rummaged around for a service provider that best suited your business demands at the most affordable price. However, with the ever-competitive market we have, the best alternative last year may not necessarily be the best option today. No wonder it’s wise to once in a while find out what’s popping in the payment processing world. This way, you can negotiate better when the time comes to renew your merchant account.
Here are questions to help you decide if the prospective processor is worth shifting to;
- What’s the total rate I’ll be paying? (Including fees)
- Are there any fees involved in application, termination, or per/month payments?
- Can some/any of these charges be waived?
- Is this a contract or a monthly arrangement?
This information, if compared with the status quo can help you decide whether to shift to the next cheapest merchant services or stay with your current processor.
Asses Your Current Contract
It’s rare to find a merchant read through their contract but such reviews can be quite revealing. Moreover, you could end up saving more money as these assessments often show the areas you need to tweak. Look for redundant costs and those that seem higher than normal and discuss with your service provider about making adjustments. Eventually, you have your monthly charges merged to a lower fee.
Check your Monthly Statements
You are entitled to a statement from your account provider once per month. It has details of your regular payments, plus every transaction (credit card) conducted in your physical or online store.
Reviewing these statements every month is not an easy task, but may someday pay off. In any case, going through these statement helps you spot any errors your service provider may have accidentally made.
Conclusion
Conducting checks on your merchant account can help you save significantly large sums of money. On top of that, it gives you a picture of your sales and the fees you pay to the processing company.
Author Bio
Electronic payments expert Taylor Cole is a passionate entrepreneur who enjoys to write, produce music, and travel. Bestpaymentproviders is the UK’s cheapest merchant service company, serving both traditional and high-risk merchants.