How To Accept Credit Cards The Best Way
I get asked often how the processing services we offer can compete with a large shopping club like BJ’s & Costcos free trial programs for accepting credit cards. The answer is simple; all processors have the same core expense supplied to them by the card associations called interchange.
How To Accept Credit Cards: Free Trials Not The Best
It seems like many folks just learning how to accept credit cards are intrigued by “trial offers” that are verbally extended by the sales rep to sign them on for the service. Essentially it’s implied that the merchant can cancel anytime if they’re not happy with the service or how to accept credit cards with it but that’s not always true!
The truth about Costco & BJ’s Wholesale Club is that neither is actually in the merchant services business but they do offer programs to help members accept credit cards. They’re simply a marketing group formerly for NOVA and now Elevon who target those learning how to accept credit cards.
What they’ve done is create a third part relationship with Elevon and receive a monthly residual lifetime split, often marketing to those learning how to accept credit cards.
Due to this split and that they need to be perceived as a “cost cutter”, there really isn’t a lot of margin left so once you’re referred to Elevon, the only goal is to close the sale at whatever means necessary, telling you how to accept credit cards their way.
Many of my merchants have told me of the spectacular rates and how to accept credit cards they’ve been verbally promised and quoted by their sales rep.
At first glance to those with little knowledge on how to accept credit cards, the rates are much lower than the industry average but the truth is these rates are often “trial rates” which will incrementally increase over time and if the verbal promise isn’t in writing than it won’t be honored.
You may be saying “if it’s not what I thought it was I’ll just try the service and cancel” but the problem is that if you look closely at how to accept credit cards under the terms and conditions of the merchant agreement, you’ll be required to enter into a contract term which holds an early termination fee. This could be a how to accept credit cards nightmare.
Most who know little about how to accept credit cards are attracted to the seemingly low rate and are quick to sign the agreement with little attention paid to the terms – which is what they’re counting on from people who know little about how to accept credit cards.
After you have learned how to accept credit cards and get your first statement, you may notice that the numbers aren’t what you were promised (assuming you even reviewed the agreement) and it’s often difficult to reach the sales rep that verbally made the promises to you.
This is part of the “free trial” strategy because they’re ultimately making more than you expected to pay.
How To Accept Credit Cards: Low Rates May Not Be So Low
For example, you may see a rate of 1.99% but in reality the likelihood of you running cards at this rate is less than 10% of the time. If you learn more about how to accept credit cards, you will see what they’re doing is charging more for common transactions such as rewards cards and even more for cards that are considered non qualified.
So the 1.99% you thought you were getting rarely will happen. Once you know more about how to accept credit cards, you will know it does cost more to collect a rewards and non-qualified card but if you’re not careful, it can cost you more than it needs too.
By not knowing how to accept credit cards and carefully reading the terms and conditions, you’ll find that you need to pay an early termination fee to get out of the agreement. This is where companies offering free trials and low rates make their money on people who are learning how to accept credit cards because they know most merchants aren’t going to pay the price to get out of the contract.
So the next time you see rates that seem lower than the industry average and feel tempted to take a chance because there’s a “free trail” think again because you’ll pay for it in the end if you don’t know how to accept credit cards!
