PrintIf your business accepts credit and debit card payments from your customers, it’s wise to open a merchant services account that lets your bank extend you credit while it collects the payments from your customers’ credit card issuers. This provides your customers an easy and convenient method of payment while allowing you to maintain your cash flow.
The merchant services division of your bank will likely provide a number of methods for you to accept credit and debit cards. Depending on your type of business, you may want a countertop point-of-sale terminal to swipe cards in a store, a wireless terminal for a server to swipe a card at a customer’s table, a gateway for accepting cards on your website, or even a mobile processing solution. You’ll typically pay flat fees for the account, per-transaction fees, and lease or purchase fees for a card-swipe terminal. But most businesses find that the convenience and purchasing power that credit and debit cards provide to their customers make accepting card payments worth the expense.
The merchant services department at your bank also offers services beyond simply processing your customers’ card payments and depositing the cash into your account. For example, merchant services can include processing gift cards. Even if you are not interested in issuing gift cards at this time, you’ll want to be sure this service is available in case you change your mind later.
Merchant services can also include fraud protection, which can be extended to check payments as well. This can proactively reduce loss from bad checks and stolen credit cards. Merchants who accept cards by mail, over the phone, and online will especially want to work with their merchant services department to ensure that they are following best security practices because any transaction where the actual card is not physically present is inherently riskier.
Finally, you’ll want to work with a bank that provides excellent chargeback defense. Chargebacks occur when a customer disputes your charge to their account. While most chargebacks are legitimate, others are questionable and some are fraudulent. Ideally, your bank will work to resolve any issues with your customers and thoroughly investigate the problem before they debit your account.
