Advice to a Business Owners Looking for a Payment Processor

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You have to find a way to accept customers’ electronic payments today. Whether you run a brick and mortar business or one online, to become profitable, you’ll need to deal with electronic payments like credit and debit cards and e-checks. While the number of payment processors wasn’t an obstacle just a few decades ago, for companies looking for the right processor today, the choice can be nothing short of overwhelming.

Who are the best payment processors and what are the differences between payment processing solutions out there? This guide might help you sort things out and find a processor that works for your company.

What to Look For

The first trick to landing the right payment processor is to watch for the signposts of a good processor as you read about each company. Good payment processors:

  • Are upfront about their fees – Fees vary from company to company. Make certain you find a company that is willing to discuss those fees and not hide them from you. Understand what the cancellation, withdrawal, and batch processing fees might be. Good payment processors will offer you a full schedule of fees before you ever sign up.
  • Offer fast access to funds – If your processor constantly needs to investigate suspicious activity, you could be without a paycheck for weeks. Find a company that, even in potential fraud cases, have a simple process that means access to your cash as fast as possible.
  • Care about data security and fraud protection – Protecting your customers’ data is a must, and it shouldn’t fall on your shoulders. After all, that can be an expensive process that may suck time away from your company. Choose a payment processor that offers secure, reliability with anti-fraud technology built right into the services. Make certain they reduce your PCI compliance workload so you don’t have to have an additional, costly system.
  • Have dedicated set-up support and assistance – You need help. It’s the bottom line in accepting electronic payments today. Ensure you have a processor dedicated to customer service so you get the assistance you need when you need it the most.

Are There Really Differences between Payment Processing Solutions?

The answer to that question is a solid “yes.” A Nilson study found there are 14.4 billion credit cards in the world as a whole, and with numbers like those, the industry will only continue to grow. Make certain you find a processor you can partner with to better run your business.

Contact Y2Payments today to learn more about our Payment Processing solution and our Conduit 3.0.

What’s the Difference Between Chip and Signature and Chip and PIN Transaction?

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It seems nearly every major credit card issuer has gone to chip-enabled cards, and for good reason. These cards have far more fraud-prevention features than others available today, and that not only protects the credit card companies that issue them but merchants as well. There are, however, two different kinds of cards available – those cards that are dubbed chip and signature cards and those called chip and PIN cards. What’s the difference between the two, and which is the best payment type for your business? Take a look.

Chip and Signature Cards

At the heart of the difference between these two kinds of cards is how customers buy merchandise. A chip and signature card means the customer inserts his or her card, then signs for the purchase. This should be a pretty familiar process, as it’s a bit like the older, magnetic cards. It’s fast, it’s convenient, and it’s a familiar process for many consumers. There is a drawback, though. Signatures can easily be forged in this system.

Chip and PIN Cards

With this type of card, a customer puts it in the chip reader, then keys in a PIN, personal identification number, to complete the transaction. This system is probably the safer of the two, and while customers are familiar with the swipe and sign, as debit cards have become more and more important across the United States to consumers, they’re more familiar than every with entering a PIN for purchase. Studies have shown that fraud losses plummet with the adoption of a chip and PIN system for all cards.

Do You Have a Choice?

Just because there are two kinds of cards available doesn’t mean you have a choice of which ones to accept. Most of today’s updated terminals read both chip and signature transactions and those that require a PIN, so you don’t have to worry about choosing between the two. In fact, few payment processors even require a different fee for one over the other. What you do need to know, now, is that there is a difference, and should an option pop up in the future, you may want to go with chip and PIN to protect your business.

Learn more about payment processing options for your business at Y2Payments.