Archive for December, 2007
Tips for businesses that want to accept credit cards
Posted by: | CommentsLet’s be honest, most businesses cringe when they are looking to set up a merchant account for accepting credit cards. In order to be in business nowadays though, you must be prepared to accept all types of credit cards including American Express and Discover. If you have a business over the Internet and you are not offering a complete array of credit card acceptance options, I must warn you, you will soon be out of business.
One of the only downsides to accepting credit cards is that the business can be at risk for not only the amount that has been charged on the card, but a charge back fee can be imposed as well. The processing bank, can take the disputed charge plus a charge back fee directly from the merchants credit card account. There are now more than a few banks that recognize that these charge backs are not always the merchants fault, and that merchants in general are ethical with their credit card dealings. I am sorry to say that there is an abundance of credit card fraud out there today, and because the merchant is typically liable, you must take pro-active steps to protect yourself and your business.
The first and most important step to take is to be vigilant in verifying that the name, address and cvv number are all correct. Do not get into the habit of becoming lazy because as quickly as money is credited to your merchant account it can and will be taken away due to charge backs that we previously discussed. As we speak there are organizations including the Card Companies, Banks and the Processors themselves that are working to try to change the rules and regulations so that businesses both large and small will have more protection against credit card fraud.
The time to protect yourself and your business is immediate. All you have to do is pick up any newspaper, or read news reports, to know that the risk is very real and always present. Current statistics state that there are over 40 million credit cards in the hands of criminals who have no fear about using these credit cards for any activities that they can think of.
The purpose of this post was most certainly not to scare you. I simply want to remind you of the dangers and risks associated with processing credit cards for your business and let you know there is always help from us all at Emerald Payment Solutions.
Call now for a comprehensive evaluation of the cost savings your business can achieve.
