Merchant Account Articles and Facts
How to increase your sales by accepting credit cards
You may be new to increasing your sales and profits by accepting credit and debit cards. You may be getting a second opinion to benefit from lower rates/fees and better service. No matter the reason, you should be congratulated for knowing that accepting credit and debit cards is a true benefit for your business. Did you know that the.. CONVENIENCE of multple payment methods increases sales:
You probably already know that accepting alternative forms of payment like credit and debit cards and making it more convenient for people to pay you will INCREASE YOUR SALES AND PROFITS. Some studies say by 30 -100% or more (Visa International). But is this reason alone enough to invest? Maybe not.
MERE PRESENCE OF CREDIT CARD LOGOS increases CASH SALES But I bet you didn't know that a fascinating study was explained in the book "Influence" by Robert Cialdini. This scientific experiment documented that the mere presence of Master Card/ Visa logos will INCREASE CASH SALES by 29% in contolled studies - even though credit cards were not used!
ADVERTISING GAINS CREDIBILITY
Did you also know that advertising that you accept credit and debit cards INCREASES YOUR CREDIBILITY? It's true. The public knows that Merchant Account status is not always easy to get and will look at you as more of a solid company - here to stay. "Hmmm... doesn't accept credit cards? Is there some kind of credit problem I should know about this company" This makes sense doesn't it?
AVERAGE SALE AMOUNT GOES UP
Were you aware that the AVERAGE SALE AMOUNT GOES UP? Studies prove (and I am sure it's true of most of us) that when we are ready to make a purchase and we are paying with a credit card we are more inclined to purchase the "upgrade" product or service. Human nature seems to cause most of us to be inclined to purchase the "better model or service upgrade" when we can finance the purchase with a credit card don't you agree?
IMPULSE PURCHASES GO UP
Did you also know that your willingness to accept credit cards also causes IMPULSE PURCHASES TO GO UP? Customers are more likely to purchase that "Upsell" extra product or that "Back End Product". CLICK HERE for more information
How Cardservice International (CSI) works?
Editorial By Jack Kimball - Agency Owner
Many prospective clients and existing Merchants call me wondering how all the pieces fit together at Cardservice International. Particularly frustrating is the variances of pricing which can result from talking with different Agencies.
CSI has a corporate office in Moor Park, Californiawith better then 800 employees. By definition CSI Corporate is a "Transaction Service Provider". This means that as a company they "acquire" businesses to help them accept credit cards for a consortium of banks. An "Acquirer" is in fact a licensed member bank. CSI for the most part makes money on...
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How to Avoid Your Money Being Held By Your Non-Cash Transaction Processing Company, or(?My Money For Credit Card Orders Never Reached My Bank Account!?)
What happens when you process credit cards for approval and then find out later the money never reached your bank account? This can be a very frustrating experience and can be avoided with a little knowledge.
Many business owners don't realize that the credit card processing company is at considerable risk for credit card orders that are processed. Imagine this scenario..
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How Merchants Get Their Money
Once a merchant accepts a credit card and processes the customer's purchase as a transaction, how does he or she get the money and how does it get funded to the merchant's bank? This is a very commonly asked question, and not really that complicated. There are four steps to getting your money-initiating, authorizing, completing the transaction and receiving your funds. The first step is to initiate the transaction, which verifies that your customer's credit card is active and the amount of the purchase is within his or her approved spending limit. This happens in a number of ways, depending on what kind of business you operate:
- In brick-and-mortar, retail or restaurant environments the card is physically present. To initiate the transaction, you swipe the card or key in the number through a point-of-sale terminal.
- In mail order and telephone order environments, the card is not present. To initiate the transaction, you enter the card identifiers the customer has provided you by mail, telephone or fax-these include the credit card number, expiration date and card verification or validation codes (the three-digit numbers on the back of the card).
- Address Verification Service (AVS) helps verify street numbers within the United States before the merchandise is shipped. Be sure to input all your customer's numerical address and ZIP code information. If you don't have AVS, contact your credit card processor to add this service to your arsenal of fraud-prevention weapons.
- In an Internet environment, the card is also not present. To initiate the transaction, your customer provides your Web site with the same card identifiers as a mail order or telephone order transaction.