subject: Saving On Credit Card Processing [print this page] For small business owners, it's important to stick to a budget. Having the appropriate credit card processing is a small investment, one with a great return, but it is still an expense. Fortunately, there are several ways you can save money on credit card processing.
Here are 3 tips to help you save money on credit card processing.
Credit Card Processing Tip #1: Use Pin-Based Debit Card Transactions as Much as Possible.
Merchant service providers usually bill businesses a lower rate for debit card transactions as opposed to credit card transactions.
Why?
Because a debit card is linked to a customer's bank account, the merchant services provider knows immediately whether the customer has the funds to pay for the transaction. There's very little risk involved. If a customer doesn't enter their pin, preferring to run their debit card as "credit" instead, most often you will be charged the "check card" rate, which is still considerably lower than the credit card rate.
Credit Card Processing Tip #2 - Use AVS and CVV to Increase Security.
Because the Address Verification System (AVS) and Card Verification Value (CVV) help prevent fraud and thus lower risk, transactions that use these security features are often billed at a lower rate. When you checkout and the cashier asks you for your zip code, they are implementing AVS. AVS requires customers to be able to match the billing address or most commonly just the zip code to the billing address on file with the customer's credit card company.
CVV information can be transmitted two ways - through swiping the magnetic strip on a card or as frequently seen in online transactions, having a customer manually enter the number written on a card. Because a consumer must usually have the card in his/her hand to transmit CVV information, CVV numbers add additional security, thus lowering the risk and the cost for transactions.
Credit Card Processing Tip #3 - Encourage Customers to Swipe their Card Instead of Dialing In.
Before credit card terminals came into existence over 25 years ago, most companies would accept payment information and then transmit it over the phone, keying the information in themselves. Believe it or not, some companies still do this; however, it is considerably more expensive than swiping cards through a terminal which allows you to accept swiped payments at the point of sale. For businesses where it is critical to be able to process payments on the go such as towing companies, delivery services, etc, you can save a lot of money over time by purchasing a wireless terminal and paying lower transaction rates as opposed to paying the higher over the phone transaction rate. Encourage customers to swipe their card instead of calling in their payment information to save money on transaction costs.
The bottom line is having the appropriate credit card processing is a great investment for your business, but to maximize its return on investment even further, follow these three steps to cut costs.
