Getting the Lowest Price Possible on Your Merchant Account

By Alfred X Kirkland

I talk with merchants on a very regular basis and the one thing I always here is how much they hate paying Visa & Mastercard... and sometimes I heard complaints about American Express too, but not as often.

I usually make the comparison that credit card processing fees are a lot like taxes. You simply have to pay them even though you don't want to pay more than your fair share. I don't know what is hated worse, credit card processing fees or taxes.

I'm a merchant myself and I don't like paying 2%+ to the credit card companies, but I'll be the first to admit that I like paying that percentage a lot more than I like accounts receivable. The convenience of getting paid sooner than later definitely justifies the cost. However, that doesn't change that I want to pay as little as possible.

What I've done as a merchant service provider is to get the rates that I offer as low as possible. This is the thing... All merchant account service providers have the same rate from Visa and Mastercard called interchange.

Because of interchange, all merchants can usually compete on price up to a point. They obviously can't go lower than interchange and if they do, I guarantee they're going to make up their money some other way. So, what most merchants are looking for is someone they can trust to give them a low rate without trying to make up for it some other way.

I have a program where I pass through interchange to the merchant with a "basis point" fee that covers the cost I incur in setting up the account as well as compensate me as an independent sales agent to care for the account and make sure the account isn't a problem for my merchants.

This service is invaluable and in my mind is truly the only thing that sets one merchant account provider apart from another. Because I believe this, I also strive to make this the best possible experience for you by way of customer service.

I work directly with a support team that has 24/7 terminal support and world class support staff with a state of the art support ticket system to make sure any problems are resolved very quickly and efficiently. As much as I'm promoting the awesome support, the best merchant accounts you won't have to call at all, but when you do, you aren't on hold forever with someone outside the US.

We have our support staff located in Michigan who do an excellent job assisting any of our merchants to make sure they are processing cards fast and efficiently.

So, yes, price does matter. Getting a low price matters with accounts, but don't overlook the cost of a merchant account that creates a ton of hassles for you. Your time is valuable, every minute you spend dealing with a problem merchant is time you aren't spending building your business or reaping the rewards of doing good business.

Sign up with us and you'll have me as your service account manager and easy convenient trouble-free access to our incredible support staff. With us you'll get extremely competitive low rates AND the peace of mind that comes with an account that just works.