How Small Businesses Can Accept Credit Cards

Every person makes a payment with some sort of credit or debit card, recognizing it is not always easy to pay with cash. Every business must make sure they accept these payments types or it could conclude with dissatisfaction towards their company due to the large number of people who use credit/debit cards. By accepting these type of payment methods, it allows for a more convenient and easy experience for the consumer. Cash may not always be accessible, so debit/credit cards create an additional outlet for the customer to make the purchase. It has also proven to increase business and sales! For small businesses, they must apply in order for their company to accept these cards. Below we will list the 5 ways for your small business to get started with acquiring debit/credit cards.

1. Merchant Accounts- For retail locations a merchant account is required. Application processes need to be administered in order to accept these cards, which are incorporated into the merchant account procedure as well. This will simply give you the ability to accept, MasterCard, Visa, American Express and/or Discover credit and debit cards. You can also add on services such as; gift cards, electronic check processing, mobile processing and much more!

2. Processing Equipment- Once the merchant account has been authorized, you can then go ahead and purchase debit/credit card processing equipment.

3. Online Processors- If your business is only online, you can access a merchant account through the traditional approach or an online payment processor. A common example of a payment processor is PayPal but this type of processor normally only caters well for a certain kind of merchant, not all processors are the right fit for all businesses.

4. Fees- There is a cost to accepting both credit and debit cards. There are fees incurred by the card issuing banks that can not be avoided at all. Merchant Services providers then price out the cost of doing business with them. PayHub will do a customized pricing proposal for each business to ensure it is the best fit for your particular business.

5. Rules- Business owners must stay in compliance with the rules of accepting credit cards. Knowing your responsibility is key to staying in compliance and following the rules. PayHub will review these with you upon opening your merchant account.

Source: SmallBusiness.com