Are You Aware of Risks in Merchant Accounts ?

Most merchants are not aware of the risk and liability involved in accepting credit cards as a form of payment. Oh….not the risk and liability on the part of the MERCHANT, but the risk and liability on the part of the processor and underwriting banks. A business owner can’t understand why a specific transaction can suddenly be suspended and/or not funded within normal processing times. Most of the time funding is held because a specific transaction is outside of the normal processing guidelines set by the processor, outside of the usual processing habits of a specific merchant, outside the usual practices of a specific cardholder, and/or not within the processing guidelines of a card issuing bank. Now THIS is when, who you process with, makes a HUGE difference. If you’ve obtained your own merchant account through normal application processes, AND you know who your agent and processor are, you will be contacted about the transaction in question. With a legitimate processor, you will have a human being to speak to via a phone or many times in person. You will have an advocate to work on your behalf to answer all of the questions the underwriters or banks may have; to get any required backup documentation, and get the funds released as timely as possible. This process could take 1 -14 days to resolve. Merchants who are gravitating to the large conglomerates who have decided to call themselves processors, will find it very easy to sign up for the ability to process; often without any application or cost involved. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well, it possibly is until the first time your equipment doesn’t work or your funds are held because of a possible risk to the processor, underwriting bank, or issuing bank. First, the merchant will usually NOT be notified of the fund holding. A merchant will eventually realize their funding is too low and can’t figure out why. They have no manager or agent on their account so they can only try to contact the processor. If you’re processing with a company such as The Square, you will find they have no customer service department so you can’t call to find out what happened to your money. You can email or Tweet, but your wait time for each response is 24-72 hours. You are also not brought in as part of the resolution to the issue; you are told to wait until they can research the transaction in question. If you process with a company such as PayPal, you will be able to call in and speak to a different hourly customer service rep each time you look for answers. Again, they won’t know much, won’t act as your advocate, and will tell you to wait until they have researched the transaction. This process with the FREE programs such as the Square and PayPal can take from 30-180 days to be resolved ! When choosing who you entrust your company’s credit card processing to, always do your homework. FREE should never be a reason to do business with a company. Understand what you’re getting into. Know who you are working with. Make sure you can contact your processing manager and/or processor when YOU need them. Always confirm that you have multiple means of contact; always including phone contact. Question the processor so you understand how they maintain their risk and liability and how it will affect your company’s money flow. If a salesperson ever says it can never happen with their merchant account, RUN!!! It can always happen with every merchant account. The difference is who works for you, what your options are, and how long their process will take. A good processor will educate you on your risk control to minimize any delay in funding of your transactions. If you don’t receive that education, then you’re with the wrong processor.

Don't Pay Early Termination Fees

Whenever you sign any contract, make sure you read it first and/or have a lawyer review it for you. Many, if not most merchant services salespeople require you to sign a contract which includes an "Early Termination Fee". When we speak to business owners, the majority of them never realized that they signed a term of contract. It can often be very expensive to switch processors. Why do processors lock merchants into long term contracts? Often times it's very legitimate. If the processor has invested money into your business by providing proprietary software, helps create a unique POS System to better fit your business needs, or if they place a terminal (at their expense) free for your use, an ETF (early termination fee) is very legitimate. It will enable the processor to recoup their initial investment in your business. But many salespeople lock you into a contract for their own financial gain or just because they can. What does a merchant gain from signing a long term contract? Usually not much. A processor has no obligation to give a merchant the service they deserve or help when there are issues with their processing. The processor often stands to make more money off of the ETF than continued processing fees. Be careful when signing any merchant services contract. Unless the processor has invested in your business, DO NOT sign any length of contract. Make them earn your business. At Card Solutions Int'l, we don't require any term of contract. You are free to leave with 30 days notice....But you won't want to. Why? Try us…you’ll like us!

Don't be a Fringe Business

Merchant: "I'm not doing much business. Not ready for credit cards yet." Me: "Hmmmm....Maybe if you allow your customers to buy your products and services the way THEY can afford to, you would be doing business!!!"
 Did you know that accepting credit cards actually MAKES you money?
Don't be a fringe business with no clients!
We can show you how to accept credit/debit cards by recouping your fees!

Call us: 800-530-2440

Validating ship to and billing addresses online

                                     Validated Addresses (AVS)

Some online stores require that the credit card a customer uses MUST match the issuing bank’s billing address on file in order for the sale to be approved.

So….Here's another fact few people don’t seem to know:

You can have more than one valid address on a credit card. You can call your issuer and have them add your summer location and even your cousin's house so the address will validate. You can add a permanent second address or even a temporary one. So if you are going away for the summer, you can add your summer address and make it valid only while you are there.

Each issuing bank has its own policy concerning additional addresses on debit/credit cards so check with them first!

"Where eCommerce begins"

Who is operating an ecommerce website?

Have you been trained on how to use proper fraud protection?

Did your agent teach you AVS and CVV blockage and proper use?

Would you know what to do if a thief used your site to test stolen card numbers?

Who would you call?

Oh...sorry that you don't know the name of your personal processing agent to call.

Don't get into a dangerous position where fraud costs you unnecessary expenses. With Card Solutions Int'l, you receive 17 plus years of ecommerce experience with personal agents who actually care about your business.

If you are operating or thinking of operating a business website, contact Card Solutions Int'l for all of your credit card processing needs. Ecommerce with a personal touch.

There is a difference among processors....WE ARE the difference

Good News for all Business Owners

Good news for all business owners. Our government listened and 2 Republican Representative, 1 Republican Senator, and 1 Democaratic Senator introduced legislation that would prohibit the IRS from requiring merchant transaction reconciliation. "Under pressure from retailers and Congress, the Internal Revenue Service confirmed on 2/9/12 it will NOT require merchants to reconcile actual gross transaction receipts reported on their 1099K forms with the aggregate gross receipts they report on their taxes". Senator Thune from South Dakota is quoted as saying: The overreaching and unnecessary 1099K tax reporting requirement will create a paperwork nightmare for small businesses already struggling in a weak economy." The National Federation of Independent Businesses stated: "This is a small, but important victory for small business, and we appreciate the IRS working to alleviate the concerns of small-business owners on this issue. " Great news for businesses and our industry!!!!

It's Just Not That Hard

                                       IT’S JUST NOT THAT HARD!!!

I recently read an article which totally overstated the complexity of obtaining and implementing credit card processing for internet merchants.  We have owned Card Solutions Int'l for 18 years and were one of the first agents actually licensed to work with ecommerce merchants.  Card Solutions Int'l was a beta agent for the AuthorizeNet Gateway back in 1997.  We have made the application process simple and we do the work for the merchant. Our merchants have no long term contracts to sign. Once the merchant is approved, WE do the programming of the software/gateway and hold their web developers' hands for the simple integration to their website. As for PCI compliance, WE assist our merchants with this process and we help them set all of the fraud controls available in their gateway in order to better protect their company. Many gateways today assist larger companies with storing their needed data so the merchant remains compliant but still has access to all of the information needed to conduct ongoing and recurring business transactions.
It's just not as difficult as this article makes it out to be. If you find it to be that difficult, you're working with the wrong processor. We at Card Solutions Int'l process for multi-million dollar corporations as well as mom and pop owned companies. We keep it simple and accomplish the task for the merchant on a very timely basis with no hassle to them.

Simple rates, simple integration…one stop shopping with Card Solutions Int’l.

With larger companies like PayPal and The Square, it is more difficult because you don't have anyone representing you with Visa/MasterCard/Discover/AMEX. Of course it doesn't help the merchant much when The Square doesn't really have a merchant services department to contact!!!

It's just NOT that hard if you work with the right professionals!!!!