How to Review Contracts for Merchant Accounts

In order to accept credit cards, a store owner must enter into a contract with a payment processor. These terms can last for at least one to three years, but may be much longer. It’s important to understand that contracts are fairly standard for most of the industry, because they help the payment processor ensure they have the opportunity to recover some of the costs of doing business. That said, you as the business owner must read the contract thoroughly to understand its terms and decide if the deal is good for you. Here are tips on what to look for.

Equipment

What kind of credit card readers are being offered to you, and do you have mobile capabilities? Most of the time, you’ll either purchase this equipment upfront or lease it as an additional cost on your statement each month. If you’re going to pay, make sure you’re somewhat future-proofed and that you’ll be able to use your system for the next five years at the least.

Mobile credit card processing is another important factor to keep in mind. It’s fast becoming a popular method of doing business, and some of your customers may already rely on it.

Early Cancellation

As with most contracts, there is usually an early cancellation fee. If you want to avoid paying high costs to leave the service, try and reduce the number of months you have left in your contract. Sticking it out can help you in the long run, especially if you plan to switch to a different provider who will charge upfront.

Other Tips

Costs and fees are important too, but those are usually listed in plain English and front and center. What you want to look for are interchange fees and rate fluctuations. Those are red flags that you may be charged more to process certain transactions.

Charge.com Payment Solutions Inc. is the fastest and most affordable solution for payment processing for businesses of small or medium size.