Find out what features of a payment processing company will help your business the most and why.
“Why does a payment processing company even matter?” you may be asking.
After all, is there even a difference?
And aren’t there much bigger things a business needs to worry about?
Or, you may have never had a problem accepting credit card payments with your existing payment processor.
Let’s just put it simply: it doesn’t matter – if you don’t mind spending thousands of dollars a month extra on worse service.
But if saving substantial amounts of money and time does matter to you–not to mention avoiding a potential payment catastrophe–it is very important which payment processor your business uses.
Read on to find out what you should look for in a payment processing company.
Low processing rates
We’ll start with the one that likely matters the most to your bottom line:
Get a payment processor that offers the lowest processing rates. This will save your business hundreds to thousands of dollars each month, depending on your volume of transactions and the industry you’re in.
The fact is, different payment processors charge different rates. Some charge you too much via tiered pricing models instead of using Interchange Plus. Others simply assume that just because they’re big-name payment processors they can make more money off of you by charging you more.
Either way, taking a few hours to get an estimate from different payment processors can save you tens of thousands a year on payment processing costs.
Why it should matter to you
Not all payment processors charge the same. Get quotes from different processors to get an estimate for how much you will actually pay, saving you hundreds to thousands of dollars each month.
Simple contracts without hidden fees
By now, you know that not all payment processing companies charge the same. They do this by using different rate models and charging different fees.
Some processors like Progressive Payment Solutions don’t charge any hidden fees in their contracts and use the most affordable pricing models. But that’s not how all processors are.
Sadly, some processing companies take advantage of businesses who are too busy to read the fine print in their contract. These contracts can include unnecessary items and fees that benefit the processor while hurting the businesses they serve.
Avoid processors that have these items in their contracts:
- Annual or multi-year commitments
- Early termination fees
- Auto-renewals
- Tiered pricing
- Rates that rise over time
- Liquidated damage fees
Despite what they may say, none of these items need to be included in a contract. So if you find a processing company that includes any of these items, run the other way.
Why it should matter to you
Do you want to fill the pockets of dishonest processing companies via sneaky contracts and unnecessary fees? We didn’t think so.
Get a trustworthy payment processing company on your side and pay the least amount of money on processing per month.
Good customer service
This one might seem like it’s not important. After all, it’s all about saving money–right?
Try telling that to someone who is having a problem accepting payments. They’re losing potentially tens of thousands of dollars with each hour that their payment system is down–and they’re stuck on hold with a 1800 number that connects them to somewhere in the Pacific ocean.
The fact is, every business depends on the ability to accept payments to survive. So if something goes wrong, make sure you can quickly and easily get a hold of someone that speaks English well who can resolve your payment problem.
Progressive Payment Solutions is proudly based in New Jersey, USA and is famously helpful to their clients, even going out and physically troubleshooting payment issues in person. Contact us today to see how fast and knowledgeable we are when it comes to everything payments.
Why it should matter to you
Does turning away customers because your payment system isn’t working sound like fun? And yet, it happens every day for businesses who partner with big, multi-national processors who couldn’t care less if their systems aren’t working.
That’s why you should always get a US-based payment processor and call their customer service line to see what happens before you partner with them.
Summary
Whoever said “you get what you pay for” wasn’t talking about payment processing companies. After all, big payment processors charge the most via high fees and sneaky contracts while providing the least amount of service.
So take a moment to research your payment processor before you sign up with them. Find out how much money you’ll actually pay per month, look at the contract they provide to make sure it doesn’t contain anything harmful, and actually try out their customer service to see how well it works.
Progressive Payment Solutions was started because its founder, Jonathan Kramer, worked for other processors–and was appalled by how dishonest, greedy, and incompetent they were.
That’s why Jonathan started his own payment processing company almost twenty years ago: to provide the best service with the lowest fees.
If you’re done paying too much for inferior customer service, then it’s time for you to try the last payment processor you’ll need. Contact us today for a free estimate about how much you’ll save each month on processing and to see what real customer service feels like.