Reduce Credit Card Processing Fees

What Complexities May Businesses Face When Understanding Credit Card Processing Fees?

Businesses often face the challenge of understanding credit card processing fees. These fees can add up quickly, and it’s essential to be aware before making any decisions. 

There are several complexities that businesses need to consider when trying to understand credit card processing fees. Here are a few: 

• Processing Fees: The first complication is the processing fee itself. The merchant charges this fee each time a payment is processed through their credit card processor. It typically ranges from 2% to 3%. 
• Merchant Transaction Fees: Another complexity involves merchant transaction fees. These charges are levied on every purchase made with a debit or prepaid card issued by your business’ bank or the financial institution (in addition to other associated costs). Depending on your contract with your specific processor, these charges may also apply for electronic payments made using mobile devices or online wallets.

What Are the Factors That Can Impact Merchant Credit Card Processing Rates?

Several factors, such as transaction volume, type of card, and payment method, can impact merchant credit card processing rates.

1.Transaction Volume

Transaction volume is one of the essential factors in credit card processing. The more transactions are processed, the lower the cost per transaction.

However, businesses need help understanding and managing their transaction volume because it takes time to predict future books accurately. This makes it hard for them to understand where their costs lie and make informed decisions about how best to handle them.

One way that businesses can overcome this limitation is by using a processor that specializes in high-volume processing. These processors have experience dealing with large numbers of transactions and can offer significant savings over traditional processors. Knowing which processor will work best for your business can minimize processing costs!

2.Type of Card

Businesses often need help understanding and managing their credit card processing costs. This is due, in part, to the varying types of cards that are available today. There are three main types of cards – plastic, magnetic strip, and contactless. 

• Plastic cards are the most popular type because they’re easy to use and relatively cheap to process. They work like traditional debit or credit cards but can be used anywhere Visa or Mastercard are accepted. 
• Magnetic strip cards use a swipeable bar code that stores your account information and payment data. These cards can be used at point-of-sale terminals but usually require an additional fee for each transaction processed. 
• Contactless payments use radio frequencies instead of traditional swiping mechanisms, so there’s no need for a separate reader or software application. With contactless payments, you hold your phone close to the terminal when making a purchase!

3.Payment Method

One of the main problems businesses face regarding credit card processing is that payment methods can make it difficult for them to understand and manage their costs. Different payment methods have other pricing structures, which can affect a business’s overall revenue and expenses.

Payment processors capitalize on theses complexities and continually look for way to increase your rates.

What Are the Services That Can Help to Navigate Complex Payment Processing Rates?

To help you navigate these complexities, some of the most commonly offered merchant credit card processing services include ACH/EFT transfers, prepaid cards, online payments via PayPal or Stripe, and direct debit from your bank account. 

• ACH/EFT

Businesses that use ACH/EFT transfers to process their credit card transactions can save money on processing costs. ACH is a payment method that helps companies to send and receive funds from bank accounts, while EFT is an electronic fund transfer system used by banks to move money between different accounts.

ACH and EFT transfers are faster and more secure than traditional credit card transactions. They also avoid the fees charged by banks for processing cards, which can amount to around 3% of the transaction value (plus other fees).

Businesses can substantially reduce their overall costs using these two payment methods instead of traditional credit card processing. And since they’re faster and easier to use than conventional methods, customers love them too!

• Prepaid Card

Businesses can skip the intermediary and get direct access to Visa or Mastercard networks using a prepaid card. This means they can process more transactions in less time and pay lower fees than if they were using traditional credit cards.

Moreover, prepaid cards have other benefits, such as fraud protection and free shipping. Therefore, by choosing the right prepaid card for your business, you can reduce your overall spending while still getting the same security and convenience that comes with using a traditional credit card processor.

• Online payments via PayPal or Stripe

Online payments via PayPal or Stripe can reduce these costs significantly.

PayPal is the world’s largest online payment provider, with more than 200 million active users worldwide. With PayPal, businesses can process and manage transactions using their account and currency. This eliminates the need for third-party processors or shady financial institutions. 

Stripe is a leading cloud-based software company that helps business owners accept digital payments via Visa, Mastercard, American Express®, Discover®, and other cards and platforms. With Stripe, businesses can access various payment options and built-in fraud prevention features.

• Direct debit from your bank account 

Businesses that use direct debit to pay their credit card bills can save much money on processing costs. By automatically deducting the correct amount from your bank account each month, you avoid the need to input precise payment information every time you make a purchase. This saves both time and effort and makes it easier for you to keep track of your expenses.

Plus, by paying with direct debit, businesses can enjoy peace of mind knowing that they are always in compliance with applicable credit card policies and regulations.

Our Proprietary Software Can Deliver Savings

At Mountain Valley Consulting Group, we believe that it is possible to achieve significant savings on your organization’s payment processing costs without the need to switch payment processors. We do this by combining our proprietary software, benchmarking data, and industry expertise to identify opportunities for cost savings and negotiate better rates on your behalf.

Our proprietary software allows us to analyze your organization’s payment processing data in great detail, identifying patterns and trends that can help us identify opportunities for cost savings. This is combined with our extensive benchmarking data, which gives us a deep understanding of the payment processing market and allows us to compare your organization’s costs to industry standards.

Our team of industry experts brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, allowing us to provide valuable insights and recommendations on how your organization can optimize its payment processing costs. We work closely with you to understand your business needs and goals, and use this information to negotiate the best rates possible with your payment processor.

Overall, by combining our proprietary software, benchmarking data, and industry expertise, we are able to deliver measurable savings through our process to reduce credit card processing fees.  And, you can continue to work with your existing payment processor while still enjoying the benefits of reduced payment processing costs.