There are virtually thousands of merchant services-credit card processing companies to choose from and you will want to take a good look at which one is the best choice for your high risk company type. The first questions you might want how to start a payment processing company to ask yourself when beginning to research is this: What are your business priorities? Is cost an important factor? Is saving time important to you? Do you want to go direct or use a third party processor? Let us address cost, time and efforts’ remembering that time is money.
Going direct with a bank for just a small savings without using a third party is not always the right choice when it comes to credit card merchant services and here is why; the biggest reason is that customer service is compromised on several levels such as getting back to clients is an issue as their customer base is too high and supporting your business with credit card chargebacks and complications with consumers will be null and void. Especially when dealing with high risk, chargebacks are always going to be an ongoing issue. A third-party processor is always the best choice if you desire better service and merchant support sooner than later.
If they ask for a small processing fee up front, pay it. It is worth it for so many reasons. Consider that they weed out unproductive customers this way you are made a priority. They see your business as a company that is serious about business and desires to do it right, the first time. The merchant services account processor and their bank will then take you as a serious client and move forward with your account. They will also take time to participate in choosing the very best solution for your business model as opposed to just sticking you in any account just to get you processing.
Another big reason for choosing to go with third party processing is that your business is not limited to one bank that has full control over your account in either freezing your account and/or raising rates any time, which is common. When taking advantage of a third party processor you have access to several banks not just one. That ISO will go to bat for your business and ultimately has the capability of moving your accounts to another bank in their portfolio. If this happens, they are able to bypass a lot of the red tape and paperwork involved in doing so. An ISO, third party processor is a valuable asset to a merchant, in which can save time and money, as businesses have a direct resource of someone working on their behalf. This is so important with a high risk business processing credit cards.
The bottom line here is that if you go direct for merchant services processing it may cost you more time and efforts in handling customer service issues. If you go direct it may cost you a little less money but more headaches in working these issues out yourself vs. having your ISO do it on your behalf. It will cost you more time if you go direct for your credit card merchant services and you decide that you are unhappy and want to switch banks vs. working with your ISO to go with another bank under their umbrella. It will cost you more money and efforts going direct when you get chargebacks and are forced to deal with consumer conflict time after time vs. having your ISO handle these difficult issues for your business. Also think of having your customers dealt with professionally as your ISO represents businesses. Your customers are their priority and are not just a number.
When it comes to card processing these are important factors that must to be addressed when choosing the right credit card merchant account for your high risk business and choosing the right credit card processing company for the right reasons. So, please do take this time to research certain aspects when it comes to a credit card merchant solution.
On the flip side if you do not already utilize merchant services, you will be curious to know that the majority of purchasing transactions are completed via merchant account credit, whether payments are in the form of a credit card, an ACH check card, debit card or electronic check you will find that a very high percentage of business revenues will come from credit. Expect that your cash flow increase will be substantial. There are many forms of merchant services to begin to ponder for your high risk business you may opt to use a payment gateway, virtual terminal, check card reader, credit card machine, ATM Cash advance programs or a combination thereof to accept credit cards. Think about all the ways your business can capitalize on increasing your business income by offering these solutions to your consumers when it comes to credit card merchant processing.