Questions to Ask of a Credit Card Processor

You shouldn’t be afraid to ask a lot of tough questions when it’s time to select a credit card processor to help you accept credit card payments. After all, not only will this be an essential part of your business, but the credit card processor will have access to intimate business information along with the financial information of your customers. Along with making sure the process has a solid security system in place, Charge.com Payment Solutions, Inc. knows that there are some other questions you need to ask any processor before you do business with them:

What Type of Customer Service Do You Have? Customer service is one of the most overlooked aspects of comparison shopping for an eCommerce merchant account provider. You’ll like have issues that come up as you accept credit card payments and you’ll need to know that you can count on a merchant bank to give you outstanding customer service. This means that there is someone qualified to assist you available 24 hours a day, seven days a week no matter where you are calling from.

What Are the Terms of Services?: Much of your relationship with your credit card processing company is detailed in the terms of service that you agree to when you first set up your account. Among the details that are included are the length of the commitment, the steps you will need to take to terminate services, the account fees (including initial costs) and the amount you’ll pay for each transaction. Many hidden fees are including in these terms of service, so you’ll want to make sure you are comfortable with them before you sign anything.

What Happens If I Need New Equipment?: As with any other piece of equipment, credit card terminals can break or simply become obsolete over time. They last thing you need is to be stuck with an older terminal or have to pay a large amount of money to get your machine repaired or replaced. Your small business credit card processing company should be able to tell you their policies for replacing or upgrading equipment before you sign anything.

Do You Have References?: A successful merchant bank should have plenty of satisfied customers who are happy with the level of service they receive. Ask to see if the merchant bank is willing to get you in touch with one or more of their clients so you can ask them some questions about their experience. If a company is reluctant to give customer references, you might consider this a red flag that they haven’t been in the business very long or that their customers don’t leave on good terms.

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Charge.com Payment Solutions, Inc. contributed this article about credit card processing. Visit their site to learn how to set up an eCommerce merchant account for small business credit card processing.