Tips on Finding the Best Method to Accept Payments Online

Learn how to find the best merchant accounts for your business.

If you want to survive in today’s business economy, you need a reliable method to accept payments online. Most freelancers start out the old fashioned way by sending Word document invoices, but that won’t work as you scale. You need a reliable merchant account that can process payments without taking too much of your hard-earned cash in the process.

If you need help finding credit card processors, this guide will give you all the information you need to search for and evaluate merchant accounts for business purposes.

Vet the Company

Make sure you can trust your representative. Ask him or her tons of questions, ask to see documentation explaining the rates you’ll be paying, and never sign anything you’re not comfortable with. Merchant accounts can be a big commitment, don’t get locked into an unfavorable deal.

Ask Good Questions

Find out whether the account requires a contract, and whether there are any monthly minimum fees attached for payment processing. Ask to have those fees waived, if any exist, and see what the company says. Also be sure to ask about annual fees, and whether or not there is a setup fee. One good way to tell whether a company is trustworthy is to ask about the setup fee. There shouldn’t be such a fee, unless you’re getting equipment or software you’ll need to use in store or online.

Customer Service

Having a good support team that remains accessible, even during busy seasons, will be refreshing the first time a register goes down on Black Friday. Having solid phone support is extremely important to the process, so call multiple companies while you shop around. You might find that you appreciate the service of one company over another.