Processing Secrets

It's one thing to save money by using the credit card processing services of a discount processing company, but it's just as important to make sure you are processing in such a way that you're not throwing money away. Here are 8 secrets to save yourself lots of money:

1. Avoid Fraud When processing point of sale payments, be sure to check for a security match for the signature on the back of your customer's credit card. If there is no signature ask for additional identity verification. This small step can save you a fortune on your credit card processing costs. Fraud, charge backs and disputes account for dramatic increases in processing costs.
2. Batch Daily If you do not batch out your transactions at the end of each day, transactions older than 24 hours are subject to downgrading, resulting in higher fees (much higher than the savings incurred by not batching). So be sure to remember to process any sales you receive on the same day the transaction occurs. In most cases you can have this automatically done for you. Check with your credit card processor.
3. Swipe Whenever You Can You'll get the lowest discount rates when you swipe the card at the sales location. If you swipe the card and and it gives you an incorrect reading, try swiping again. A swipe will always save you money over entering credit card numbers manually.
4. Keep Your Terminal Clean Your terminal may give you an incorrect reading if it is not kept clean. This will result in downgraded transactions, costing you unnecessary extra charges. So keep the reader area clean. (We can provide such a cleaner. Contact us).
5. When Keying, Get Zip Codes If it's absolutely necessary to key in a transaction, make sure to get the zip code of the billing address. This will keep the additional charges to a minimum.
6. Avoid Disputed Charges If a customer does not recognize or remember your charge on his statement, he is likely to dispute it with his credit card company. To minimize this problem, make sure to include your customer service phone number on the line item of the credit card statement.
7. Follow Terminal Instructions Sometimes your terminal will prompt you for additional information for processing of some corporate credit cards and debit cards. Don't ingnore the prompts. Save money by taking the time to respond properly.
8. Evaluate Your Statements Periodically As businesses grow, they sometimes find themselves in a position to qualify for lower rates. It's therefore advisable to have your credit card processing company evaluate your situation every year or two to ensure you're getting the lowest possible rates.

Want to learn more? Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter.