Beside the basic criteria to look at when you are analyzing your merchant agreement, there are more advanced issues to be considered. These are as follows.
What are the equipment costs?
Are you going to use some hardware such as payment terminals or card machines? Does your agreement provide for usage of new or “second-hand” equipment? Are you buying this equipment or renting it? In view of the upcoming EMV “liability shift” it would be useful to check if payment terminals you are offered support EMV standard (i.e. can accept ICC cards). Some present-day merchant account providers offer modern equipment at no expense or at very low prices as part of the merchant agreement, so don’t pay twice.
Is customer support simple and accessible?
You are not going to spend money on customer support, if you’ve already signed the agreement (some sort of customer service has to be included), however it may take time and efforts to get the support you might need. Make sure, that you will be able to contact a specialist online or by calling him, once you need an advice or consultation. Don’t settle for a customer service, involving support tickets on the web-site, or telephone menus, preceding the contact with the physical customer support specialist. Also make sure that you can get to customer service 24/7 and not only from 9 to 5. Credit card processing is the core of your company’s activity, and transactions may be processed around the clock, so you need to be able to contact a specialist at any time.
If you make an informed and competent choice, it can save you time and efforts, and reduce your merchant services costs by approximately 40 percent or more. At Open Source Payment Gateway we have a team of specialists, who will gladly assist you in your choice of a merchant services partner. Contact us, and we will help you make the best choice.
