HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! –Hard To Believe Phone Call…
First phone call received at our office for the new year:

Caller: Hi! This is Rachael from XXXX. I would like to send a sales rep to your office to introduce you to the new 2013 credit card processing rates just released

CSI: Do you know who you're calling?

Caller: Yes...Card Solutions Int'l

CSI: Sorry, but you're calling your competition
Caller: Oh...then we have no need to talk. HA

CSI: Just one processor to another...what new rates took place for 2013

Caller: Oh...I have no idea sir. I was just told to call businesses and tell them that. I wouldn't know what rate changes there are.

CSI: There were NONE!!! Very deceiving on your side isn't it?

Caller: I'll ask my boss so I know better what I’m talking about. Thank you for taking my call!

REALLY? Don't start the New Year by believing these misleading marketing techniques. Nothing has changed in the interchange world for 2013. If you want your current processing analyzed free of charge and want to work with an HONEST processor, please call

CARD SOLUTIONS INT'L at 800-530-2440.
We look forward to helping you grow your business in 2013!

4% Surcharge to Consumers....Worth it or Not?

By now you've seen the news about the new law that will allow merchants to tack on an additional 4% to the bill of every credit card purchase. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE MERCHANTS WHO DO THIS!!! Let me tell you why......

1. The credit card... processing fee is just a part of a business's overhead expense. All businesses have already factored this cost in to the price of their goods and services.... You're already paying for it. And you should; just as a consumer pays for the electric bill, employee costs, gas costs, shipping costs etc. that a business incurrs in order to exist.
2. You ALREADY pay for their processing costs. Ever pay a "handling fee" or "courtesy fee" online? That's what that is; the costs involved with accepting your credit card. As stated above, for face to face purchasing you are already paying for these costs as they are bundled into the the cost you are already paying.
3. With today's processing fees, most merchants are paying on an "Interchange Plus" fee structure. With this fee structure, the cost to accept your card is well under 2%. A high fee averages 2.5-2.75%. Very few hit 3% anymore. It depends on the type of the card and how the merchant accepts it. Your retail giants such as WalMart, Target, Penney's, Macy's, Tire Kingdom etc. are paying much much less than the fees I quoted above.
4. Because of what I stated in #3, this additional 4% is nothing but pure profit to the merchants and has nothing to do with paying for their banking fees.

Over paying for credit card processing?

Did you know that 80% of merchants over pay for their credit card processing? With the... spring months upon us, it's a great time for businesses to reassess their business overhead, expenses, and operating programs. This would include your current merchant account program. If you've been with the same processor for years, chances are you're paying higher monthly fees than merchants who have taken the time to study the changes in the credit card processing industry.

Now is the time to call Card Solutions International for a FREE cost analysis of your existing processing program. The usual outcome is large savings to the merchants we analyze. Let us help YOU reduce your credit card processing costs...
Call us at 561-721-1900/800-530-2440, info@cardsolutions.us

Are discounts for paying with cash a good idea?

The government and courts are getting involved in the credit card processing industry once again. Please remember that the last time they did this the consumer ended up suffering and the savings were never realized by the consumers. Now the courts are mandating that merchants can offer cash discounts for purchasing. Sounds great doesn't it? Well don't get too excited. It won't be to a merchant's benefit for many reasons.

First....By offering a discount for paying for your products and services with cash, you are actually PENALIZING your customers who choose to pay with their credit cards. It's all about perception. It is your customers freedom to choose if they want to buy from you AND how they choose to pay for it. If they know they will be penalized, they will either lower the amount of their purchase or take their business elsewhere.

Secondly....A merchant who gives a discount for cash purchases is automatically reducing the size of their average ticket, reducing the opportunity for add on sales, and is controling in a negative way what and how much their customers will buy from you.

On the surface it sounds like a really good idea, but think it through: A local Florida restaurant gives a sizable discount for paying with cash. A party of six ate at this establishment last weekend. They had appetizers, dinner, and drinks. They were offered a 15% discount if they paid with cash. Who among us walks around with over $200 cash in their wallet? So in their opinion as a customer, they were penalizing for spending too much and for paying with a credit card. Their calculation is they each paid $2.50 more for their dinners because of the penalty. How do I know this? One of them called me and asked me to help the restaurant owner out because he HAS to be paying too much for his processing. If this restaurant continues with this policy, either this consumer will stop going or will cut way done on what they order at this restaurant. So was this a smart decision on the part of the restaurant owner? Of course not!

If you feel you need to penalize a credit card customer, call ME first. You must be paying too much!

Surcharging is a bad idea for merchants

Don't take my word for it....Here is a professional written opinion from a senior analyst on the new V/M settlement with retailers allowing them to surcharge their customers for paying with credit cards:

Overall, surcharging is a bad idea for merchants. Surcharging can cause consumers to think twice about their purchase at the checkout counter, but there's more to it than that. … Forcing consume...rs to use a given payment type makes them consider how much money is on-hand in cash, in a [checking] account, and available to pay for the purchase, a mindset that can reduce the amount of goods and services consumers will buy and lower the average ticket price of sales for merchants.

Are you overpaying enough that you think surcharging is a good idea? Call us at 800-530-2440/561-721-1900!

Client Testimonial

Testimonials from a loyal client just don't get any better than this: One of my clients emailing a fellow business owner trying to help him with his business.....

"Mike, your people should check into Card Solutions Int'l again if they are not using them already. I just had someone look at my processing fees to see if his company could beat my rates and he said "you have the lowest fees out there! Stay with the company you are with because I cant beat it!"