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Merchant Accounts
Source: Minority Business Development Agency
Getting a Merchant Account
Most banks charge a percentage of each transaction, called a discount rate, and
a fixed per-transaction fee. There is often a fixed monthly fee, a monthly
minimum order, and a one-time setup fee as well. A payment-processing system,
whether hardware- or software-based, is an additional expense, as we shall see.
Fees for merchant accounts are like interest rates on loans - they vary
depending on the perceived level of risk to the bank. Users of credit cards may
refuse to pay certain charges for a variety of reasons, ranging from returned
products to honest errors to fraudulent charges. Banks want to encourage the
view of credit cards as a
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safe and convenient way to buy, so they are generally
pretty lenient about allowing buyers to make chargebacks, as they are called.
The risk to the bank, of course, is that chargebacks may occur after the
merchant has already been paid, and the bank could be left holding the bag. How
favorable a deal you get therefore depends not only on how large a company you
have, and how long you've been in business, but also on what kind of business
you're in. Banks have stats on the rates of chargebacks and other hanky-panky in
various different industries. Somebody in the business once told me that porno
Web sites average over 50% chargebacks, meaning that over half of the charges
made don't get paid in the end.
Banks do several things to limit their exposure to chargeback risk. They may ask
you to personally guarantee the account agreement, meaning that if your company
ends up owing money to the bank, you will be personally liable. Naturally,
companies in businesses that have a high rate of chargebacks, especially those
selling big-ticket items, will pay less favorable fees. Banks will also hold
back a certain percentage of your money every month as insurance against future
chargebacks. If you are deemed to be a high chargeback risk, it could be months
before the customer's money makes it through the system to your bank account.
The bank's chargeback policy has a dollar cost, because money in your bank
account earns interest for you, while money owed to you by the bank does not. Be
sure to get all the details of a bank's chargeback policy.
As with loans, insurance and other such financial services, some banks simply
don't offer accounts to businesses in their "high-risk" categories, while others
are happy to do business with anybody, for a suitably high price. Some of the
businesses considered "high-risk" are what you'd expect - anything to do with
porno, gambling, MLM or GRQ (get rich quick). Weight-loss programs, herbal
remedies, and (don't ask me why) water filtration equipment are considered
slightly less risky. If your business is on the official poo-poo list, you'll be
forced to deal with a smaller bank, and pay premium fees.
Whatever you're selling, an Internet-based store is automatically in a
higher-cost category than a traditional merchant. In a traditional store, the
customer's card is "swiped" through a gadget that reads the data in the magnetic
stripe, and transmits that data to the card issuer, which either authorizes or
declines the transaction in a matter of seconds. The cardholder also signs a
receipt. Such "cardholder present" transactions present little risk to the bank,
and thus earn the lowest merchant rates. Merchants doing transactions when the
cardholder is not physically present, whether over the phone or whatever, will
pay a higher rate. Merchants doing business over the Internet will pay yet
another slight premium, just for general purposes. When you apply for a merchant
account, the bank will ask you what percentage of your transactions are
"cardholder not present" transactions, and offer you a rate accordingly (for
Internet merchants this will of course be 100%).
To sum up, these are the factors that banks use to determine how good a rate to
offer you:
| 1 | The percentage of "cardholder not present" transactions. |
| 2 | The political correctness of the products you're selling. |
| 3 | The average amount per transaction. |
| 4 | Your projected monthly sales volume. |
| 5 | How long you've been in business, and what kind of credit rating you have. |
| 6 | The kinds of cards you want to accept. American Express charges higher fees than Visa and Mastercard. |
Merchant Accounts Services and Fees
In today's competitive business environment, a merchant account is an essential ingredient to expanding the customer base. Many consumers will look for the credit card acceptance marks on the door or near the cash register to be assured that they will be able to make the purchase.
Merchant accounts can provide a full array of accepting payment electronically, and the costs and fees can vary greatly. Read your service contract carefully and ask many questions for signing.
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Credit cards can be accepted via:
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Manual Hand Swipe Machines
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Point-of-Sale Terminals
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Cash Register Systems
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Touch Tone Phones
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Virtual Terminals using Personal Computer
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Wireless Hand-Held
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Online Shopping Cart
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Recurring Payments Manager for Subscriptions and Routine Payments
Check Services
Some merchant account providers also provide electronic check services which is the process of converting a paper check into an electronic funds transfer. This gives the merchant a faster turn-around on payment fulfillment, typically 2-3 days. And since it's accomplished electronically, merchants do not have to make daily trips to the bank. Collection of insufficient funds can also be accomplished electronically providing greater convenience.
Cost and Fees
Read the fine print. The discount rate is the
percentage of each credit card transaction that goes to the merchant account
provider on average 1.75% for a swiped transaction. Internet and phone
transactions are higher risk and will incur a higher discount rate. Since
a low discount rate looks good in marketing, some providers may lower the
discount rate, but charge higher fees in other areas. Also beware of
teaser rates which expire, or low advertised rates with high volume
requirements. There will also be a per-item
charge between .10 and .40 cents on average. Other fees may include set-up
fees, early termination fees, Customer Support Fees, Chargeback Fees, Retrieval
Fees, Gateway Fees (Internet Sales)
Gateway Per Item Fees, Over Limit Fees, Voice Authorization Fees and Statement
Fees.
Electronic Check Conversion fees are on a per item basis from .20 -.40 cents per transaction on average.
Ask the sales rep for complete list of fees, since many of these hidden charges maybe written into a long laborious contract.