Understand how the Payment Gateway affects Business

A merchant running the e-commerce business or online business must understand the influence of the Payment Gateway on his business. A Payment Gateway is an online alternative of the Point of Sale that provides a platform to make a safe online transaction. Furthermore, there are a number of Payment Gateways providers available in the market and they provide attractive payment options to the merchants.

THE PAYMENT GATEWAY PERFORMANCE IMPACTS THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

In order to bring more traffic to your business, it is most important to keep your customers happy. As a merchant, you need to keep your customer’s money protected by providing a secure payment gateway. As we discussed, the Payment Gateway affects Business and the customer plays a very important role.

In order to ensure the best experience for your customers, you can follow this list.

• Mention everything about the payment method and provide a well-explained payment process.
• Add trusted and familiar logos for your payment methods like Visa or MasterCard.
• If you are sending the customer to the offside then make sure it is safe.
• The experience that your payment gateway provides should mirror the experience of your store.
• Do not distract or annoy your customer with multiple pages or multiple click options.

Use the best payment practice to provide the Payment Processing to your customer and your business will definitely flourish.

FOR SMALL BUSINESS, PAYMENT GATEWAY IS THE KEY

Running a small business and dealing with various issues. This includes chargeback, merchant account, credit card dealing and much more. However, the merchant can avoid any issue related to the payments by using the payment gateway.

This gives the company the freedom to expand and set up their branches at different locations.

To expand your business from small to medium, you can try international dealing and use the payment gateway for various transactions.

If you are looking for more detailed explanation related to how Payment Gateway affects Business then feel free to contact Merchant Stronghold at the toll-free number - +1 (888) 622 – 6875.

Does Zero Credit Card Processing Actually Cost Nothing?

Zero Credit Card Processing – Credit Card Processing fees are applied as a cost of managing the exchange of money from customers account to the merchant’s account in a secured manner.

Does Zero Credit Card Processing Actually Cost Nothing?

As we have discussed, in the case of zero credit card processing the customer has to pay most of the charges.

However, it is not like the merchant is not paying anything entirely. Because there are still other charges to be paid by the merchant such as :

PCI Compliance
Monthly Fees
And many more.

Generally, these plans are designed in such a manner that the processing fees are reduced to “zero” or “no cost”. However, all the other charges are increased by a bit.

And when a customer is introduced to these prices, it seems like that the processing fees are reduced to zero.

What Does It Cost To Your Customers?

• The charges are generally set to 4% or less for the customer as the surcharge of no-cost credit card processing of merchant.
• Also, customers are generally charged dynamically and the range is between 3.45% to 3.65%.
• However, this is not any kind of hidden charge and your customer will see the surcharge in the receipt on their purchased goods and services. And in such situation, a customer can feel like being charged more than he/she should.
• No customer wants to pay extra for any goods and services and if this is the case with you then you can lose customers.

What To Do Next?

As the merchant, the first thing you should do is check your competitors. If most of your competitors are using the surcharge method to get a minimized credit card processing, then you can also use this method for your business.

However, if your competitors are not into “no-cost credit card processing” then you should also reconsider your payment methods. Applying surcharges to your customer results in loss of customers.

In such a case, you can try other methods that can help with the reduction of credit card processing charges. Also, you can contact an expert to help you choose the ideal credit card processing method for your business.

We, at Merchant Stronghold, provide you with an expert who will customize the perfect deal for you depending on the industry your business is in. Contact us at the toll-free number +1 (888) 622 – 6875 and get the required services that you are looking for as a merchant. We also offer assistance regarding high-risk payment gateway and merchant account services.

Virtual Terminal and Its Benefits

Virtual Terminal: Virtual Terminal is an online application or operating system where a merchant can check all the transactions and get a detailed inquiry of it. By using virtual terminal merchant can accept the payment without physically using the credit card. It is contrary to physical payment where the credit card must be present at the time of the transaction. You don’t need an electronic machine (POS) or go through any hassle if you had opted for electronic payments. What you need to do is promote payment gateway, which will allow you to process your transaction without any inconvenience. You can get your payment even from miles away within a few seconds with the help of virtual terminals. Multiple companies are now offering these facilities one of them is IBM, PayPal, Linux and many more.

How does Virtual Terminal work?

As it is online, so it obviously requires an Internet connection. Usually, it is powered by the gateway, which means each and every transaction that the customer will perform would be processed by the gateway, which we are calling the virtual terminal.

For executing the transaction the gateway lands the customer to the payment page where he puts all the required card details manually, and then after getting a confirmation from the bank, the transaction takes place. For processing the transaction, the virtual terminal charges some amount, which is called gateway fees. Virtual terminal gives diverse options of payment to the customer. In case of recurring payments, the merchant can directly ask card details from the customer for the payment, which will allow deducting the charges till the subscription ends.

Benefits of Virtual Payments

Virtual terminal helps in processing a lot of transactions instantly. It is the solution that turns your computer into a payment processing device. It will allow you to accept your payment anywhere at any time without being necessarily present there. You can even process the transaction once you get the card details of your customer over the phone or e-mail.

Virtual Terminals also centralize data and make it more secure. So the chances of fraud or scam also reduce.

Unlike their physical POS counterparts, virtual terminals can handle recurring payments, easily.

Tips To Handle The Credit Card Information

Keep your customer’s data safe with these useful tips.

Use Approved Software

When a merchant uses POS (Point of Sale) terminal, mobile running payment processor software or swipe machine to conduct transactions, as a merchant it is your duty to make sure that your hardware, as well as software, is PCI Compliant. There are many applications and card readers available that come with security loopholes. So, it is advisable to choose reputable hardware and software vendors who take full responsibility for the integrity of their product. For the long run and good reputation of your business make sure to use a tested and approved the solution.

Genuine Service Provider

You can avail services of a reputed service provider to install credit card processing software, manage credit card processing as well as credit card storage for your business. Service provider includes:

SaaS (Web-based software)

IVR phone services

It might also include companies to which the merchant outsources payment-processing functions. Through extensive testing of these service providers, you can make sure that they are trustworthy. Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) who performs a comprehensive audit of policies, procedures and the system of the service providers does this type of testing. You can only use PCI DSS Validated service provider as a part of a contract signed.

Storage of Sensitive Information

Payment processing regulations specifically prohibit the storage of credit card security code or any data contained in the magnetic strip of a credit card. Although you may have business reasons for storing credit card information. The card security number is in place to know whether a user of the card over the phone or internet has the possession. But if the security code is stolen, this approach will not work. In the magnetic stick, which is on the backside of the credit card, track data is stored. This contains the information of the account that is otherwise don’t show on the card. This data assists with authentication and the card cannot be fake.

FINAL WORDS

By simply following these five steps, you can meet your contractual requirements to protect credit card account information. Also, the merchant can be PCI compliant. It will also help merchant in gaining customer’s confidence and loyalty, which will help in increasing the revenue.

What is Credit Card Processing & How does it work?

Credit card processing is not a new concept. Everyone claims to know the process: swipe the card, hit the button and the transaction is complete in a blink. But do you really know the process? Do you think that it is as simple as it seems? It actually is a much more complex procedure than what you witness. The fact is swiping the card and signing the recipe is the first and the last step of the procedure. In between lays multiple steps that include more than one person working invisibly for the customer to complete that particular transaction.

Let us understand the transaction process in just three steps

STEP 1: AUTHENTICITY

At the point of sale, a cardholder gives the card to the merchant to swipe the card on POS terminal to make a payment.

Credit card details are sent to the acquiring bank, which forwards the same to the credit card network

Authorization request includes credit card number used for the payment, expiration date, billing address, card security code and the payment amount.

Credit card network clears the payment and a request is sent to the issuing bank for authorization.

STEP 2: AUTHENTICATION

When the issuing bank receives the authorization request, it validates the credit card number, checks the availability of the funds in the cardholder’s account, verifies the billing address and validates Card security code (CVV number).

It is up to the issuing bank whether to approve or deny the request. When they make a decision, it sends back the suitable response through a proper channel (credit card network and acquiring bank).

Once the merchant receives the authorization, the customer is provided with the receipt at the completion of the sale.

STEP 3: CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT

In the clearing stage, the transactions get the post to the cardholder’s monthly billing statement and in the merchant’s statement.

For settlement, service provider routes the batched information to the association member, which in turn forwards all the approved transactions to the corresponding issuing bank.

The merchant sends all the approved authorizations in a batch to the acquiring bank by EOD.

The merchant account gets credited for the cardholder’s purchases by the acquiring bank (minus merchant discount rate). At this time, the issuing bank posts the transaction information to the cardholder’s account. The cardholder receives the statement and bill is paid off.

Then the issuing bank transfers the funds (minus interchange fee, which is shared with the credit card network) within 1-2 days. Then the credit card network pays from the remaining funds to acquiring bank as well as the acquiring processor.

Important Online Credit Card Processing For eCommerce Businesses

Let’s see some benefits of online credit card processing.

SECURITY

It is important for every online merchant to consider security and stability as the key factor of their business. For the long run of business and retention of customers, a reliable online credit card processing service is a must. The technology that is used for security includes PCI compliance standards. This makes it very difficult for criminals to crack the code and obtain customers data. Therefore, the customers gain confidence to use their credit cards to make a payment without hesitation.

FLEXIBILITY

When an online business touches international boundaries, it becomes essential to have a payment processor that can accept major currencies. We, at Merchant Stronghold, create such an E-commerce solution to deal with a variety of currencies. No longer bound by geographical boundaries, limited currency acceptance; the sky is the limit for your E-commerce business.

ACCESSIBILITY

To smoothen the process and gain accessibility from any part of the world, online credit card processing service can be configured to facilitate merchant to access the merchant account at any time. No longer bound to geographical location and address of the store, it is easier for the merchant to control and review business transaction from any part of the world with online access.

For more than a decade, Merchant Stronghold has proven its worth by providing excellent customer services, resolving queries of clients. And, providing them with the best solution for credit card processing. Go through the list of various options available, pricing, after sale service and compatibility before finalizing a payment gateway for your business. So, connect with our professionals now.

Credit Card Payment Processing Services for Apparels Stores

Painless Payment Processing Service

When we talk about payments, the first thing that a merchant would expect is a secure and uncomplicated payment processor. But it is common to come across certain complications like wrong entry, human error, duplicate authorization etc. While dealing with these issues, it is also important to take care of data security and compliance. So choosing a payment processor that simplifies these complexities rather than increasing the mess is a highly important decision that every merchant has to take.

Payment Processor for Apparels Store

Three things that your payment processor should fulfill are:

1. Connect from anywhere

2. Connect to any payment

3. Connect via the device of your choice

It is important for the merchant to choose a payment processor that provides a comfortable payment experience to his/her customer so that you can win customers trust as well as his loyalty. It is important to understand what your requirements are while choosing a payment processor. Few “must haves” are:

FLEXIBLE PAYMENT PROCESSOR

Payment processor should work in favor of your business and customer, both. It should be well integrated, should reflect the working of the business (how business operates), type of payment accepted and back-end system. A highly integrated system works as a lifeline for the merchant and the business.

SCALABLE

Payment processor should be able to cop up with the growth of the business, else merchant will end up in wasting a lot of time, resources and money in the up gradation of payment processor.

SUPPORTIVE

There are times when things do not work as planned. Choose a payment processor provider that is by your side when needed. The provider should be available either by phone or through email or live chat whenever needed.

FINAL WORDS

We at Merchant Stronghold are a leading provider of payment processing services. We have a long list of happy customers who are engaged in the apparel industry and hence, we can do the same for you! Our team understands the unique needs of various industries including clothing and they are the best professionals to meet your business needs.

Ultimate Guide To Accepting Credit Card

According to studies, business accepting credit card payment is likely to generate more revenue as compared to others. The main purpose of you being in the industry is to earn profit and credit card is a great mode of payment. So, it is better to get a reliable credit card processing before starting off.

What do Business Owners need?

If you want to accept payments through credit card, the first thing that is must is Merchant Account. To carry out online transactions and validate credit card acceptance, a merchant account is mandatory. A merchant account is like any other bank account with a slight difference; it enables merchant/business to accept payment through various means like credit and debit cards. If the merchant has an online merchant account, so this will eliminate the need for a credit card processing machine or terminals to accept payments.

Parties involved in merchant account set up process are:

The Retailer

Merchant Bank

Payment Processor

Three things that every merchant should be aware of when accepting credit card with an online merchant account are discussed below in detail:

ONLINE PAYMENT GATEWAY

A payment gateway is a merchant service provided by an e-commerce provider responsible for carrying out transactions or direct payment processing for e-business or retailers. E-commerce transactions (online transactions) are authorized by this e-commerce service (payment gateway). An e-commerce service provider can be:

Bank

Specialized financial service provider.

A payment gateway transfers the information between a payment portal and acquiring the bank, where payment portal can be any of the following:

Mobile phone

Website

IVR machine (Interactive Voice Response)

For every payment processing service on debit/credit card transactions, the merchant has to pay. It is a fee imposed on the merchant that he/she must consider while managing the overall costing of the business. Merchant must discuss the fee for this service before starting to accept debit/credit card payment. It is basically a card-processing fee that is charged to the merchant. Discount rate includes the following:

Card processing fee

Dues

Assessments

Markup and network charges

Hence, along with the merchant discount rate, an additional fee is there to the merchant when conducting transactions through an online merchant account. These fees are:

• Statement fee
• Monthly minimum fee
• Authorization fee
• Annual fee
• Chargeback Fee
• Early termination fee
• Customer service fee
• Batch fee (charged when settling a terminal)

Online and Offline Payment Processing | Advantage & Disadvantage

These payment methods are different in terms of advantages and disadvantages. In the next section of the article “Offline vs Online Payment Processing”, we will discuss a detailed difference between the both.

Advantages of Offline Payment Processing

There is a reason why most people around the globe still prefer to use cash for their daily money transaction. Some advantages of the offline method of payment are given below:

• Being a traditional method of payment makes it more trusted. People still trust the bank checks and drafts and use them for payments.
• TThe offline transactions are transparent. This means both the lender and receiver are sure about the transaction at the moment of the deal.
• Offline mode of payment is direct and do not depend on any other source. For example Internet or payment gateways.
• Easy to use and understand. Many people face difficulty with the online mode of payment.

Advantages of Online Payment Processing

In the war of Offline vs Online Payment Processing, the online method is winning so far. This is due to some advantages of this mode of payment.

• Online method is quick and easy. You can transfer a big chunk of money with just a swipe of your finger.
• You have the record of all the payments. This helps in reducing the payment frauds.
• Speaking of frauds, the online methods are safer as the online payment gateway takes the responsibility for the money during the transactions.
• You can make a transaction in any part of the world without facing the issue of currency difference.
• Worldwide acceptance and 24*7 availability.

Disadvantages of Offline Payment Processing

There is also some disadvantage to the offline payment that makes the user go for the online method. Here is some notable disadvantage of offline payment method:

• The offline method is limited by many factors by distance and acceptance of another party.
• It’s not safe at all. The party on the receiving end will have to check and recheck the received payment.
• Not recommended for the transaction of a large amount.

Disadvantages of Online Payment Processing

There is a reason why the offline payment method still exists even when the online method is winning in the Offline vs Online Payment Processing. This is because the online method is not as good as it sounds.

• Card frauds – All of us heard about the credit card and debit card fraud reports.
• Identity theft can cause the loss of money and data of an individual.
• The online method requires the person’s identity in order to make the transactions.