2 responses to “Q&A: looking for credit card machines for use in stores?”

• 

  myacumen.com January 23rd, 2012 at 00:53

  The answer above is good. If you already have a merchant account (you will need one) and your bank can help you set one up, they (the merchant provider) will also sell / lease you the equipment.

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  Cliff P January 23rd, 2012 at 01:14

  The key element in credit card processing is knowing all the rates up front and what they are there for. Most businesses take the lowest rate they see, only to get hard with extremely high rates for corporate cards and Keyed cards. Do not be fooled.

  Another big key to getting the best credit card processing rates is to have the right pricing structure for your business model.

  How do you take cards, keyed or swiped?
  Who do you accept them from, individuals or businesses?
  What products or services do you offer?

  Visa & MC offer different rates based upon the above three questions and more. These three are the most important.

  Example:
  If you take most of your cards over the phone, you should never accept a retail pricing structure with rates such as:
  CheckCard 1.39% Credit Card 1.79%

  Those rates are for swiped cards only, and the machine keeps track. You will never get those rates. You will be charged those rates + a downgrade charge for a keyed card over 1% additional. So total rate for you on keyed cards with a retail rate structure would be almost 3%.

  Instead for keyed transactions you should look for a MOTO (Mail Order Telephone Order) pricing plan. This should always be some where around 2.20%.

  You should talk to some one who will yake the time to show you different rate structures, and how to get the lowest rate possible on that plan.

  OmniTranz has been saving merchants money for years with an array of pricing programs to ensure the best rates for your business type. We also include ongoing training to help you keep your rates as low as possible.

  http://www.omnitranz.com

  Hope that helps!