Go ahead and search Google for a merchant account provider, and you’ll see any number of rates advertised. Through a quick search of “credit card processing“, we just found six rates quoted (see image to the right). There’s something within us as human beings that wants to boil everything down to one number, but it won’t help you find the best pricing.
Here’s why…
- ‘One low rate’ is usually three-tier pricing in disguise. Some companies try to hide the fact that they are really selling you on three levels of pricing. The oldest trick in the credit card business is to just quote a business owner the “qualified” rate which is the lowest of the three. Don’t fall for it.
. - Comparing rates is like comparing apples and oranges.
Merchant account providers want you to think that the rates you see advertised are all pertaining to the same thing (apples to apples). Not true! In order to find out what the rates are all about, you have to do your homework.
. - Focusing on a rate distracts you from the true pricing structure.
If you want to know how much a credit card processor is going to charge you, you need to know how they structure their pricing. Looking at an advertised rate is just distracting you from the real bottom line.
In all our years of helping merchants, this is the hardest thing to communicate and oftentimes seems counterintuitive. By focusing on the way that a merchant account provider structures their pricing, you’ll learn if you’re going to be overcharged or not. At Best Merchant Rates, we offer wholesale pricing that is simple and clear. We don’t offer three-tier pricing, and we don’t hide our fees in the fine print.
Do your business a favor and don’t get sucked in by a rate!