This new law requires payment settlement entities to report the legal name, address and taxpayer identification number (“TIN”) for each participating merchant, along with the gross amount of the reportable payments to each merchant in settlement of payment card transactions for goods and services.

Here’s the truth about the “One Flat Rate” scam!

• All banks and processors have the exact same costs from Visa, MasterCard and Discover.
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• Therefore, how can a credit card processor offer you “One Flat Rate” when Visa, MasterCard, and Discover have various rates depending on the type of business and type of credit card?

It’s like if the Federal Reserve sets the mortgage rate of 5%, and then someone says they can offer it to you for 1%. It’s too good to be true.

To prove our point: Download the actual costs from Visa that credit card processors have to pay. BE SURE TO NOTICE how many different rates there are depending on the type of business and type of credit card.

Please know that there is a much more honest way of processing credit cards.

Is the trickery about the credit card processing industry making it difficult to trust any of them at all?

I’ve called multiple providers myself asking for some essential information and what they tell me is always the bare minimum. Seems to me that a business owners best interest is not in mind. No wonder why business owners are becoming more and more reluctant. The processors don’t disclose any information at all about PCI Compliance or about their Non-Qualified rates. Even when I prompted about Non-Qualified transactions, they calmly said “oh, no one has told you about those?” I would only assume that they are banking on no one asking and when I say banking, I mean laughing all the way to the bank. When I asked more about the Non-Qualified transactions they flat out lied saying that it was on occasion with “international cards.” From the experience in processing, I know that rewards cards are also a big lump of these Non-Qualified transactions and would make up for at least 50% of my transactions. With processors like that, no wonder the consumer confidence has dwindled.

What I’ve found is that transparency is key, letting the consumer see all.

You have credit card processing company “A” telling you that you’ll be paying this specific low rate. Then you have credit card processing company “B” telling you exactly how everything works inside and out. At first “A” sounds cheaper, until you get your statement and find out that there were all of these surcharges, non-qualified rates and various fees. Then you have “B” whom told you everything up front and could have saved you a substantial amount of money in which you could be using to keep your doors open and thriving as a business. Let transparency restore your confidence as a consumer and put integrity back into business.

Business idea – check.
Product – check.
Website – check.
Accept credit cards – um….

Sure, you can sign up for a quick PayPal account, and they’ll gladly charge you a high percentage of each transaction. On top of that, you’ll have to send your customer off your website in order to pay through PayPal’s system (hoping that they find their way back to your website to finish transaction).

4 Easy Steps to Accept Credit Cards Online

1. Choose your website platform.
   Most likely, you’re going to choose a hosted e-commerce solution such as Shopify, Magento Go, or Volusion. These companies give you the tools to quickly set up a website where you can sell just about anything. Pick one, sign up, and starting entering your products.
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2. Apply for a merchant account.
   It may sound like a big deal, but it’s really quite simple. We’ll ask you a few questions about you and your business, and we’ll check your credit. Usually within 24 hours, we are able to open your account (based on approval).
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3. Obtain a payment gateway.
   When we setup your account, we’ll also make arrangements for you to obtain what is called a payment gateway, which authorizes payments for online businesses. It is the equivalent of a physical point of sale terminal located in most retail outlets. Payment gateways protect credit card details by encrypting sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, to ensure that information is passed securely between the customer and the merchant and also between merchant and the payment processor. One of the most common payment gateway companies is Authorize.net, but there are other options as well.
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4. Connect your payment gateway with your website.
   No matter what hosted e-commerce solution you choose, you’ll login to the website’s administrative dashboard to enter the payment gateway settings including the API login ID and transaction key (which are provided to you). You’ll test the system by making a sample transaction before launching your website.

Within a matter of days, your new e-commerce store will be up and running. You’ll be able to offer your customers the option of paying my Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. Don’t be overwhelmed by the process. We’re here to help!

Efficient service keeps diners coming back time and time again.

To develop a strong customer base, you’ll need to acquire easy-to-use restaurant merchant account software and equipment that allows your staff to focus more on the food and your customers…and less on credit card payment processing. There are three essentials to processing credit cards as a restaurant…

1. Avoid three-tier pricing.
   Every week, we hear from restaurant owners who have been suckered into “one flat rate” when they were actually being sold “three-tier pricing.” When shopping for a merchant account, look for words like Qual, Mid-Qual, Non-Qual, Surcharge, Discount Rate, One Flat Rate, or Three Tier Pricing. If you see any of those words on the application or agreement, just say NO! Three-tier pricing is the worst fee structure that a restaurant could agree to when working with a credit card processing company. You’ll want to look for a merchant account provider that will pass along the Interchange Rate plus little or no mark-up.
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2. Ensure that you are PCI compliant.
   If you haven’t experienced it firsthand, you’ve probably heard of a fellow restaurant owner experiencing fraud at some point in time. Because the potential for theft is higher than ever before, PCI Complianceis not only critical…but mandatory. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is an information security standard for organizations that handle cardholder information for the major debit, credit, prepaid, e-purse, ATM, and POS cards. Defined by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, the standard was created to increase controls around cardholder data to reduce credit card fraud via its exposure.
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   PCI DSS requirements state that you must select an approved scan vendor to scan any public IP address that connects to or can indirectly connect to the cardholder data environment. The cardholder data environment is that part of a network that possesses cardholder data or sensitive authentication data, including network components, servers and applications. For most merchants, this means your website and your office Internet connection. However, more devices may need to be scanned as well. This is not something that is optional or to be taken lightly! In fact, proof of PCI compliance is required of all merchants who accept credit cards. Fines and deadlines for non-compliance vary depending on the acquiring bank and credit card companies you accept.
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3. Coordinate your front-end POS equipment with back-end accounting programs.
   To ensure that your customers experience efficient service, you’ll want everything working smoothly between your Point of Sale systems and your accounting programs, such as Aldelo, Aloha, Squirel, POS Value Exchange or Micros. You need a restaurant merchant account provider that will work closely with you to make sure your POS equipment integrates seamlessly and eliminates the need for double data entry and wasted time by your staff members.

There’s nothing worse than thinking that you’re agreeing to one thing and realizing that you’ve been sold something completely different. That’s why we strongly recommend that restaurant owners and managers do the homework needed in order to acquire a restaurant merchant account that’s customized to your unique needs. As always, we’re available to answer any questions and protect you from being overcharged.

Today’s interview is with Mike Hess who has been part of the Best Merchant Rates team since 2008. He graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in business economics, and he is known as a sharp, hard-working team member who is a tremendous asset to our organization.

1. What is your primarily role at Best Merchant Rates?
   My role would best be described as Account Manager. I currently board prospective customers with our processing bank and perform maintenance for existing customers. I’m a bit of a jack of all trades, however, as I also jump on the phone to help with customer service and technical support.
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2. There are so many “deals” when it comes to credit card processing companies. How can a merchant possibly sort through all the options?
   There are so many “deals” in credit card processing, because every company’s goal in this industry is to create the illusion that they offer the best pricing. The truth of the matter is that most of them have a variety of ways to trick you into an unfair pricing structure. The best way to sort through the options is to educate yourself on the industry. Once you have the knowledge to sift through the nonsense, you can find a solution that’s best for you.
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3. What’s the most common question merchants seem to have regarding credit card processing?
   In my experience, the most common question merchants have is: “What exactly am I paying for each credit card transaction I process?”
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4. If you had one piece of advice to a business owner who is shopping for a merchant account, what would it be?
   Educate yourself on credit card processing as much as you can. Figure out your needs, learn the different pricing structures, look at all of the options available, and make a well informed decision. You’ll regret it if you don’t!
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5. From your perspective, what is unique about what Best Merchant Rates offers?
   What makes Best Merchant Rates unique is our approach to attracting new accounts. We take it upon ourselves as a merchant services provider to teach business owners about our industry, and we have no problem doing this because we have the most transparent and fair pricing structure around.

If you have questions about credit card processing, we’re here to help! Simply, give us a call at 866.576.5757 or submit a quick application online.

One such website is FeeFighters.com.

With a slick interface and easy-to-navigate website, Fee Fighters has created a system through which merchant account providers can “bid” on your business. On the surface, they seem to have built a one stop shop for small business owners to access transparent pricing (which usually includes Interchange plus pricing instead of three-tier pricing). They even have a fancy “take a tour” feature that explains all the bids that have been provided to you. Although we applaud Fee Fighters for their benevolent efforts, you may not realize two underlying issues with their system.

Two Reasons to Steer Clear of Fee Fighters

1. Rates and fees offered by Fee Fighters are based on your processing volume.
   As a merchant, you are asked to enter a few pieces of information in order to acquire bids through the Fee Fighters system including your monthly processing volume, average transaction size, how transactions will be processed, and the nature of your business. Here’s the secret behind their system (and most merchant account providers)…your rates and fees are based on the amount of money your business processes. If you are a small company that processes a couple of thousand dollars a month, you’ll be charged a higher rate than a business that’s charging $100,000 a month. The larger the business…the lower the rate. Wouldn’t it be great if every business received large corporate pricing? We think so.
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2. You are paying to use Fee Fighters (and you don’t even know it).
   With a line of customers showing up to search the Fee Fighters system, you may wonder why all merchant account providers aren’t throwing their name in the hat to bid on your business. Could it be that Fee Fighters actually charges credit card processors for the opportunity to place that bid? Do you realize that the companies “bidding” on your merchant account are paying Fee Fighters a residual commission if you sign up through their system? That’s right. You are the one paying Fee Fighters to use their system, and you don’t even know it!

Although the Fee Fighters website (and accompanying mission) is quite impressive, we’d suggest finding a credit card processor that doesn’t provide a rate based on processing volume or pay Fee Fighters for the chance to bid on your business. Our guess is that you’ll be quite satisfied with a better (less expensive) option.

After Googling “Sam’s Club Merchant Accounts”, we headed on over to www.samsclubms.com to fill out an online application. Guess what? After 36 hours, they still hadn’t called or emailed. We’re not quite sure how these companies can treat potential customers this way and still stay in business. We didn’t want to wait around any longer, so we jumped onto their handy “chat with a consultant” feature to get the conversation going.

Asking the Right Questions to Get All the Answers
After asking for the details in the online chat, Josh provided this information and our conversation continues below…

[Josh] Visa/MC/Discover Credit & Debit: 1.98% + $0.31 per transaction
American Express (optional): 3.50%
Batch Settlement Fee: $0.00 per batch
Monthly Minimum Processing Requirement: $5
Annual Compliance Fee: $39.95
First Data Global Gateway:  $149 setup / $8 per month

[Me] I thought I saw 1.49% + .20 cents on the website…?
[Josh] You did. However that is when you swipe cards. Processing online is considered more risky per Visa/MC. Therefore, more to process.
[Me] That’s weird that the site doesn’t say that.
[Josh] It should, it probably says retail or something like that.
[Josh] It’s in the ** at the bottom of the page.
[Me] Get exclusive, low rates. 1.49% + 20¢ per transaction1
[Josh] Rate applies to retail card-present transactions with an average ticket up to $350. Some types of businesses are subject to different rates

Frankly, this is not unusual. With most all the companies that we’ve researched, they rarely advertise what you really get. They advertise the “Qualified Rate”, but they fail to mention that over 50% of your transactions won’t qualify.

Three Reasons to Avoid Sam’s Club as Your Credit Card Processor
After multiple emails and providing a SSN, bank name, account number, and routing number, this is what we finally discovered about the merchant accounts that Sam’s Club offers to small businesses…

1. Sam’s Club has a $149 “start-up” fee.
   Strike one. That’s an immediately $149 out of your pocket before you even start processing credit cards. With many merchant account providers waiving any type of setup fee these days, there’s really no reason to expect to pay one. Strike one.
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2. Sam’s Club has a 36 month contract with a $90 cancellation fee.
   Strike two. They’re locking you in for three years. Although this isn’t that unusual, we don’t think that it’s necessary anymore. Small businesses should have the right to change credit card processors if they’re being overcharged.
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3. Sam’s Club advertises one rate and fail to mention their SURCHARGE on rewards cards.
   While examining their application and agreement, it became apparent that the 1.98% that Josh quoted us was only for “qualified” transactions. This would include any credit card that was not a business or rewards card. If we processed a business or rewards card (any card that offers the consumer a reward of any type) with an Interchange rate of 2.70% (passed along from Visa/Mastercard), we would be charged the 1.98% plus the difference of the Interchange (2.70% – 1.98% = .72%) plus a surcharge of 1.49%. See the calculation below…
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   + 1.98% – Qualified rate quoted by Sam’s Club
   + 0.72% – Difference between the Interchange rate (2.70%) and the Qualified rate (1.98%)
   + 1.49% – surcharge by Sam’s Club because you’ve processed a business or rewards card
   = 4.19% – total rate charged on the Sam’s Club transaction
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   Ironically, he forgot to mention this small detail in our initial online chat. In fact, it required multiple emails before Josh was willing to share that all rewards cards get hit with the 1.49% surcharge as well. That’s typically 50% of the all transactions for a small business. STRIKE THREE.

We’re hoping that Sam’s Club will wake up to the reality that small businesses are the bread and butter of our nation and that overcharging them isn’t doing anyone a favor. Remember, there is a better option.