Why You Should Switch Your Merchant Account Today
Written by Brian Armstrong on October 26th, 2008Business owners often overlook their merchant accounts because it only represents a small part of their overall financial picture. The reality is that merchants are overpaying and often don’t do anything about it because they believe it’s too much of a hassle to switch. Merchants that process transactions on a regular basis can save a significant amount of money by switching and it is significantly less work that most merchants might think.
When you initially researched your merchant account for pricing information, you probably did so looking for the least expensive discount rate or percentage rate. Many advertised rates pull the “bait and switch” where you are drawn in with some insanely low rate only to realize after you start processing that the low rate originally advertised isn’t for you. Most merchant accounts have a qualified rate, a mid-qualified rate and a non-qualified rate.
You have a discount rate that represents a percentage of your overall volume, but you’ll also have a per transaction fee which is a flat fee charged on all transactions. This fee is charged to cover the cost of sending those transactions electronically. This is a revenue center for both the banks as well as the merchant account companies but should still be something you’re aware of as a business owner.
If the average sale or average ticket items are small, the per transaction fees will represent a larger percentage of the overall fees than the discount rate. This fee doesn’t get taken advantage of by most merchant processors nearly as much as the discount rate, but shouldn’t be overlooked.
Merchants processing high tickets, the discount rate will usually always overshadow the per transaction fee simply because a $.25 per transaction fee for a $5,000 product is extremely small where a higher discount rate of say .5% higher on that $5,000 transaction represents an increase of $25. So if you process the higher ticket items, you need to negotiate as low as you can the discount rate even if you pay a higher per transaction fee.
Switching merchant accounts is not difficult and should come with an option to make sure that you can back out if the new contract doesn’t lower your overall effective rate. The point of switching your merchant account is to lower your rate and get better services. Find a provider that has a good rates, can lower your rates and has exceptional service.
Some small business owners are hesitant to switch to a new account simply because they have an early termination fee hanging over their head from their current processor. You can look for merchant service providers that can help you by offering a reimbursement or voucher that will pay you back for any termination fee that you incur.
Getting new equipment can also be a benefit of switching your merchant account. Competition for new merchant accounts is fierce so some of the incentives that processing companies are offering include new equipment. So, if your equipment is older or if you just want new equipment, make sure to ask about that and make that a part of your switching strategy.
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