Partnering with your software is possible!

What features do I want? 
What is the cost?
Which one should I choose?

There are thousands of apps and software that allow industry merchants to do their jobs easier like setting appointments on their website or a mobile app, tracking inventory, tracking customer history and more! Many businesses are attracted to these apps because they fulfill a need or a "Pain-Point" in their business! Here at Merchant Processing Solutions, we are all about making your business work better for you at a fair cost! 

Recently, we had several opportunities to help merchants save money and reduce "Pain-Points" in their business! 

Example #1: Customer uses PhotoBiz and was using the suggested merchant processor and paying over 3.50%. The cost was not so much the problem, but the lack of data capture. The processor she chose did not add anything but the last 4-digits of the card used and an email address. This required weekly reconciliation to match up orders with payments! 

Merchant Processing Solutions helped this merchant change to another processor within her same software and we helped her design the fields she needed to capture data and made her business run smoother! She is also paying less on her processing fees! 

Example #2: Customer uses Repair Desk software for his repair business. This company automatically linked his account to PayPal! He found out that he was paying over 4% plus $.30 per transaction! He was going to drop the software company due to the high cost or bite the bullet and increase his prices to his customers. He called me to see if I had a suggestion on software through Merchant Processing Solutions. We chatted on what he liked about the software and if he knew another that would work as well! He did not and really liked this one for his business. 

Merchant Processing Solutions contacted his software company and asked about the possibility of connecting our company with their software? I was told that they actually had several options however PayPal was the most well-known and many merchants just chose that processor. After about 10 minutes of conversing with the agent, I found out that they also work with the Vital/TSYS platform which is one of our products. She told me how to connect our account to his software and not only could he stay with what he liked, but at a much lower processing cost!!! 

Merchant Processing Solutions cannot always mesh with a software or mobile app, but we take the time and research each request to see how we might be able to help our potential customers! This is one of the reasons Merchant Processing Solutions has retained more than 85% of all our merchants since 2006! We are proud of this accomplishment and our dedication to our merchants is the reason why! 

Thinking about buying software for your business? Know the good, the bad and the ugly prior to purchasing! Call us!

Merchant Processing Solutions
954-938-2420

No need to be an expert in merchant services, call us!

It is next to impossible to become an expert on the payment processing ecosystem. What is important is for a business owner to understand the rates, fees, assessment and monthly charges associated with a merchant account. Fortunately, this is actually very simple when you work with Merchant Processing Solutions Inc! 

The Brands

The Card Network: BRANDS (Visa/MasterCard/Discover/American Express) determine "Interchange" it is the universal cost all businesses must pay in order to accept credit card payments. Interchange is set by the card networks (BRANDS) and interchange rates are always made public and can be found online. The reason Interchange is so hard to understand is that each had BRAND issues hundreds of different rates between the various cards networks and issuing banks (DEBIT/CREDIT/REWARDS/POINTS/BUSINESS). The good news is virtually every business pays the same interchange and there is no negotiating interchange! 

In order for a customer to get a credit card, they must work with an entity that has a relationship with one of the BRANDS (Visa/Mastercard/Discover/American Express):

• Sam's Club works with Discover Card
• COSTCO works with VISA Card
• Macy's works with American Express
• My Bank's Debit Card works with MasterCard
• Amazon works with Visa
• Disney works with Visa    

Each of the above examples of credit cards leads to confusion due to their negociated BRANDS Interchange Rates & assessment fees, merchant processing fees and merchant platform transaction fees. So, if every merchant pays the same fees for interchange and association dues, why are merchant processing fees so different? Its because each of the above mentioned cards were negociated at different Interchange Rates 

• Simple Signature debit cards is .05% - 1.00%
• From simple to a high end rewards credit card is: 
• Visa Rates: 1.15% + $0.05 - 2.40% and $0.10 per Transaction
• Mastercard Rates: 1.15% + $0.05 - 2.50% and $0.10 per Transaction
• Discover Rates: 1.35% + $0.05 - 2.40% and $0.10 per Transaction
• American Express Rates: 1.43% + $0.10 - 3.30% and $0.10 Per Transaction

Pricing Structures for Merchant Services! 

The REAL variability which a merchant can control, is what he is paying in merchant processing fees! This is where this get "sketchy", "confusing", "misleading", and sometimes, "out-right dishonest"! How can they do that? Its how they calculate your rate:

• Interchange Plus Pricing - Using the EXACT RATES, FEES & ASSESSMENTS given by the BRANDS and adding a flat percentage on top for their pay of accepting, capturing, approving and depositing money into the business bank account. They may also charge monthly costs. This is considered the most transparent of all the rates because the ONLY variable is the merchant processing rates/fees/costs.

• Tiered Pricing/Bucket Pricing/Standard Pricing/Qualified Pricing/Packaged Rate Pricing - Uses a rate structure usually with three groups; “Qualified,” “Mid-Qualified,” and “Non-Qualified” rates. These tiers, or “buckets,” represent three different possible rate tiers imposed by a merchant processor on credit card transactions ran by your business. Qualified transactions receiving the lowest markups while Non-Qualified transactions receive the highest. Instead of getting the REAL Interchange Rates for each transaction, your are being charged at the very high-side of those Interchange Rates due to their bundling hundreds of rates together into a TIER! This means you pay more and their is no transparency in what you are paying! They could just charge you Mid-Qualified or Non-Qualified for all your rates and you would not even know! Companies that offer Tiered Pricing adverstise and get merchant to sign 3year + contracts based on the Qualified Rates and then hit then with the other Tiered Rates! This pricing method is the MOST DECEPTIVE! 

• Flat Pricing: This pricing was designed to take the confusion and provide a simple and easy to understand fees structure. Because of the widespread confusion in the industry, coupled with merchants tired of being hit with hidden fees, this pricing style has been wildly successful. Companies like Square and Paypal have built their entire business models around flat-rate pricing, and Square especially owes much if its success in offering flat-rate pricing.  So, what’s the catch? With flat-rate pricing, it's simple, but simple is not cheap. In fact, it's pretty expensive. For small businesses or startups not processing very much in card volume, flat-rate pricing is a great solution. However, for most businesses, you're leaving a lot of money on the table by going with a processor that offers flat-rate pricing.

Know what you are getting - Consult with an Expert!  

Merchant processing is a necessary evil that ALL BUSINESSES need to deal with. Knowing which of these pricing methods makes most sense for your business like: 

• Is it easy to reconcile at the end of the month? (Square and PayPal take out their fees on each transaction making is nearly impossible to reconcile Sales with Deposits!
• With Interchange Pricing all you need to control is your merchant processing company - so consult and negociate!  
• Look for a company that has NO CONTRACT - this way if it does not work out, you are not held HOSTAGE! 

From the perspective of a business owner, you don’t need to become an expert on the payment processing ecosystem. What is important to is speak with a company willing to consult with your about rates, fees and charges, be negotiable and offer a variety of hardware and software solutions that meets your needs; NOT THEIRS! 

Merchant Processing Solutions offers Interchange Plus Pricing, the have no contract and offer a variety of equipment to meet the needs for your company! We are happy to consult with you and offer one of our solutions if applicable or tell you to use another type of payment method, like Flat Rate. Give us a call we would be happy to help you make the right decision for your company! Already got merchant services? Send us a statement or call and we can talk to you about what is happening with your account! 

YOU BE THE EXPERT IN YOUR BUSINESS/LET US BE THE EXPERT IN OURS! 

Merchant Processing Solutions Inc
954-938-2420

Whose involved in your credit card transactions?

Most businesses have no idea how many different entities/layers are involved in accepting credit and debit cards. In a typical transaction, as many as seven entities are involved in a single transaction, and it all happens in seconds or less.

Here is the participants involved in a typical transaction:

1. Cardholder/Customer

2. Business/YOU

3. Merchant Processing Solutions Inc/US

4. Merchant Acquirer/Platform

5. Settlement bank/Platform Sponsoring bank

6. Issuing bank/Customer's bank that provided the card to your cardholder

7. Card network/Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express

There are at least 7 entities involved in a credit card transaction! 

Once a card is swiped, the business’ point-of-sale device (terminal/card reader/POS System/Website/etc), requests an approval from the merchant processor (Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.). 

Your merchant processor (Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.) requests an approval from the customer’s card issuing bank (Customer's Credit Card Bank) to confirm the customer has credit available to complete the purchase via the Card Network (Visa/MasterCard/Discover/American Express). 

The issuing bank then sends back an approval -- or denial -- through the credit card network to the merchant processor (Merchant Processing Solutions Inc). 

The merchant processor (Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.) then notifies the business electronically, via their point-of-sale device (terminal/card reader/POS System/Website/etc) , if the purchase has been approved or declined.

Finally, upon approval, the customer's credit card bank debits the customers credit card the amount of the purchase AND your Business Bank deposits the amount of the purchase into your business account. 

Every step of the way, these entities are adding fees to the credit card process:

1. The Customers' banks add fees on the amount on their credit card each month

2. You bank monthly fees to have a business account open to recieve these payments

3. Merchant Processing Solutions Inc and all merchant processors charge for their part in giving your point-of-sale devices to accept credit cards and capture the data for processing and payment.

4. The Merchant Platform adds fees to get the approval for the transaction from the Customers' banks and the Card Network

5. The Settlement Bank adds a transaction fee or Authorization fee for their part in accepting payments.

6. The Customers' Banks charges interest on credit card transactions - these do not impace the rates or fees for credit card processing but this entity is making money on credit card transactions! 

7. Card Networks (Visa/MasterCard/Discover/American Express) have added Assessment Fees to the cards. The average is about 18 Basis Points per transaction and sometimes more if the credit cards accepted originate offshore.

The ONLY part of this transaction that a Business Owner can control is how much they pay to the Merchant Processor (Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.)! All other rates/fees/assessments are controled by the other entities and unless you try to sue, like Walmart did, and lost, you will have to pay all the other entity costs. However, working with the right merchant processor who will set you up correctly on the best point-of-sale for your business/industry will help you save! 

Call Merchant Processing Solutions today! 
954-938-2420