http://cheapestmerchantaccounts.com/articles/lowest-possible-costs/ Merchant service providers are very experienced at marketing to small business owners. They will try and grab your attention by advertising the “lowest rates” available. Many offer available rates on their websites, such as “Rates as Low as X.YZ%”. Their approach can be very effective in signing up small businesses. However, this can be a trap that leads to businesses far overpaying on their processing costs. Visit the above to find out how to secure the lowest possible costs for merchant services.

1. How to Secure the Lowest
Possible Costs
By
CheapestMerchantAccounts.com

2. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
The Following is Our Advice for Securing the Best Deal for Your
Business:
Avoid Worrying About Rates – Focus on Cost
As mentioned above, the merchant service providers are very
experienced at marketing to small business owners.
So they try and grab your attention by advertising the “lowest rates”
available.
Merchant Account

3. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
Many even offer available rates on their websites’, and you’ve likely
seen banners offering “Rates as Low as X.YZ%”.
This approach from a small businesses owners perspective is very
effective, compare rates, find the lowest, sign up.
While an effective marketing tool, it is exactly the type of trap that leads
to businesses far overpaying on their processing costs.
Merchant Account

4. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
The reason for this is that the processor’s
advertised rate only applies to a single card
and transaction type.
Visa or Mastercard, Business or Personal,
High Risk or Rewards, each card type is
unique and has its own rates; which rate is
determined by the transaction type, was
the card swiped or keyed in, does the
business keep receipts, are the transactions
handled online?
Each of these impacts the type of rate the
processor can offer.
Merchant Account

5. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
This is a long explanation for why focusing
on rates is a trap that many business owners
fall into, when what they really need to look
at is overall cost.
This is not easy, but a trained and qualified
sales representative should be able to
understand your business, the type of
transactions and typical card types the
business will see.
They can then craft a merchant account that
fits the business and has the lowest overall
cost.
Merchant Account

6. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
At All Costs Avoid Specified Length/Term Contracts
One of the most frustrating parts of the merchant account industry is
the use of contracts.
Many processors have standard 3 year contracts with hefty cancellation
costs.
Merchant Account

7. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
These contracts have no place in the
industry, yet have somehow become
the norm.
Worse yet is that some processors
are actually devious enough to have
no “cancellation” fee, but do have an
“early termination” fee, or perhaps a
clause that entitles them to a
monthly minimum payment each
month through the remainder of the
contract.
Avoid contracts at all cost.
Merchant Account

8. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
Customer Support and Service
Often this is one of the most overlooked items when comparing
merchant service providers.
Many small business owners assume that if they have a problem the
processor will “just take care of it”.
Unfortunately these are exactly the types of assumptions that have
made this industry so reviled, as those same merchants find out very
quickly that not all credit card processors are created equal.
Merchant Account

9. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
Many processors are small operations, maybe even a single sales rep
working out of his basement.
Customer Service is outsourced to the cheapest bid, with the hope that
issues will not arise, and even if they do when the merchant is signed
into a 3 year contract, what is the penalty to having a poor customer
service experience.
Merchant Account

10. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
Level of Trust
You are entrusting one of the most
critical aspects of your business to a third
party.
It is a relationship that you need to trust
in, and to do so you need to trust that
you are working with a processor that
realizes their success is dependent on
your success.
The higher your profits the more you can
invest in your business, which in turn will
lead to more sales and processing in the
future.
Merchant Account

11. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
While difficult to quantify in a phone call, one of the best measuring
sticks you can use is the level of knowledge the individual you are
speaking with has about your business and credit card processing.
As noted there are so many factors that go into setting an account up
correctly, any call that does not involve the processor learning more
about your business, the type of cards you will see, and the ways you
will processing credit cards is not one to put much trust in.
Merchant Account

12. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
We hope that this guide on what to look for, and look out for, can help
you find the merchant processor that with best fit your specific needs.
Each business is unique and finding the best merchant account for your
business is not a cookie cutter process, by asking the right questions you
can put yourself in a great position for success.
Merchant Account

13. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
We here at CheapestMerchantAccounts.com
have also attempted to grade many of the
top and most popular credit card processing
companies on the market today.
Our full list of reviews is available here, each
has been graded on their standard rates, any
dues/fees typically assessed to merchants,
along with the customer service offered and
any contract/cancellation fee concerns.
Please use these ratings as a guide, but most
importantly make sure you feel comfortable
with the company you speak with.
Merchant Account

14. How to Secure the Lowest Possible Costs
If you are not being asked the right questions,
or the answers to your questions are not
what you expect to hear, try someone else!
Ideally finding a merchant account provider
will be a one time process for you; set your
account up with the right processor and with
very little maintenance you will be happy
with the results, while rushing through the
process quickly or comparing rates through
emails means risking potentially thousands of
dollars a year.
Good luck and please let us know if we can
help in any other way.
Merchant Account