Trying to find out where you cut costs on your processing fees? Understanding what a specific company is charging you on a monthly basis to accept credit and debit cards can be confusing. In this article, we’ll break down what individual processing charges you’ll see on your statement and where you can save the most money on your processing fees. One of the realities of using a payment machine to process a debit or credit card is the processing fees, as they are unavoidable no matter what processing solution your business uses. This leads to every business owner’s question: what are the cheapest ways to accept credit card payments? Fees are standard from all credit card issuers, payment card networks, and merchant providers, whether you use payment machines, online shopping carts, or mobile card readers. The good news is there are several ways you can minimize fees and score higher profits for your business. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best practical strategies business owners use. Cheapest Ways To Accept Credit Card PaymentsThe Basics Of Credit Card FeesWhenever you take a credit card payment using a payment machine (i.e., a terminal, mobile card reader, or online system), you are charged three fees:
An interchange fee is attached to risk and reward. If it’s keyed in, it’s considered “risky.” Whereas, if the card has rewards, the card issuer will pass those hard costs onto the merchant through their interchange fees. An assessment fee is attached from the payment network, such as VISA, MasterCard, and American Express, usually a small percentage mixed in with the interchange fee. Both fees come directly from the credit card issuers and are considered “hard costs.” A processing fee (also called a discount) is given to the merchant services provider for accepting and routing payments from the terminal to the issuer, network, and your bank. The processor fee is typically a percentage fee, plus a cost per transaction. You won’t be able to avoid or change the issuer’s payment card network’s fees unless you stop accepting certain credit cards, and limiting payment options can get in the way of a sale. That being said you can lower the price-per-transaction by focusing on the processing fee. What To Look Out For With Processing FeesUnlike credit card issuers and networks, the processing fees are added by your merchant service provider and can be negotiated. Now, you won’t be able to eliminate them. Processing credit cards and debit cards is a service and involve costs to the person providing the service, such as technology, support, and facilitating transitions for your business. There should be a small bit added in addition to interchange and assessment fees to cover their expenses and pay their staff, as most processors offer support. Unfortunately, there are several less-than-reputable credit merchant companies out there who are ready to take advantage of you. They excel at hiding processing fees that have a way of working their way into your bill. Take time to carefully review the processing fees before accepting any contracts to ensure you get the cheapest deals. Negotiating A Fair Processing FeeOne way to score price breaks from merchant companies is through understanding the fee options they offer. Most providers offer several choices like tiered pricing, flat-rate pricing, and interchange-plus pricing. These options are available for most payment methods like payment machines, mobile credit card processing, and online ordering. Companies offering interchange-plus and companies providing online reporting are often trustworthy credit processors because their fees are clear, and the companies don’t feel a need to hide their fees. However, every business is different. Depending on the type of cards your customers frequently use may change what processing fee structure, you’ll get the most value from as a business. How To Understand The Types Of Transaction FeesThe method of accepting payments also affects costs. For instance, if you are an online company or take phone orders, you take card-not-present transactions. These are high-risk transactions, so merchant providers sometimes issue a higher fee. If you take a large number of online orders or process recurring online payments, these fees can add up. Inversely, direct transactions in brick-and-mortar stores traditionally save money when customers pay via debit cards. Knowing the type of fees issued for each transaction can score you some nice savings, so be sure to negotiate with providers on the types of card transactions your business processes the most. Using A Bank Vs. A Merchant ProviderWhen it comes to the type of businesses that provide processing services, usually there are two types of businesses. Mainly, a bank or a merchant service provider. Traditionally in the industry, banks aren’t the cheapest option. There is typically a limit to their merchant servicing capabilities, which require them to enlist third-party companies. At this point, they simply move you over to them while accepting a portion of the processing fees. This means there’s an additional party expecting to receive a cut of your processing fees. Merchant service providers don’t hand you off to third parties. They work directly with you to provide all kinds of processing services, such as using a payment gateway, offer PCI compliant support for added security, backed with fraud protection. They are directly responsible for accepting payments and maintaining smooth and secure credit card processing. And they offer hardware like payment machines, mobile credit card processing, online payment processing, and back-end support to make payment processing easier. Use An Established Merchant ProcessorReputable merchant providers take time to build strong relationships with banking services to ensure safe, reliable, and timely credit card processing. It helps boost their reliability and reputation in the industry. Read reviews from other businesses in your industry and see how their experience has been working with any merchant service provider to ensure they are offering real value. Take A Closers Look At Multi-Year ContractsAlthough many processors will offer “lower fees” if you sign a long-term processing agreement, run away. Many processors hide a large number of fees that will haunt you later. And if you terminate the contract, you may face a hefty fine. Keep a close eye on those terms and conditions. The more reputable the credit card processor is, the more transparent the fees are, and they will not lock you into a contract for credit card processing. Understanding The Right Terminal For Your BusinessYou can avoid high credit card fees and save even further with certain terminals. Traditional terminals used to be thousands of dollars, but now you can score payment machines for quite a bit less. You can also take advantage of mobile credit card processing through a phone, tablet, or online shopping cart, minimizing upfront costs significantly. In several cases, you can choose a specific terminal option for a lower fee, and can buy or rent the terminals, whichever is best for your budget. Finding A Cheap Way To Accept Credit CardsGoing forward, your business should be better informed about the various types of fees you can expect to see on your processing statements and how to find affordable and fair processing options. In addition to offering payment machine processing, we offer mobile credit card processing through tablets, phones, laptops, and even specialty terminals such as table-side terminals in restaurants – all with easy-to-use interfaces. You can take orders manually or online, keep an eye on stock and employee performance, and maintain immediate profit and loss statistics, all backed with expert customer service. Contact us to find out more about our fees and contracts and how we can work with you to structure our fees to benefit you the most.
The post How Your Business Can Score Higher Profits When Accepting Credit Card Payments appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/blog/business-accepting-credit-card-payments
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When your business is searching for a new payment processor, learning what questions to ask credit card processing companies is an integral part of the shopping process. However, many credit card processors are not always honest about their pricing because it is easy to disguise fees. Many companies appear low priced to win your business, only to surprise you with additional charges after you’re locked into a contract. There is good news, and you can prevent being overcharged for payment services by asking the right questions during the sales process. Asking these types of questions when you’re interviewing a company will help you understand how each processing company makes its profits and help you avoid overpaying. The better the processor is, the more transparent they will be with their pricing because they aren’t making the bulk of their profit hidden in fees. Questions to ask credit card processing companies#1 What transaction fees do you charge?Fees are a significant component of a credit card company’s profit. In some cases, there may be hidden fees so confusing; they’re near impossible to catch. The idea is that you don’t think to question them, and that’s what they are hoping. Some fees are notated as annual or monthly fees, while others have names like “regulatory fees,” “compliance fees,” and “statement fees.” Be sure to ask about each type of fee and their average cost. #2 Are there setup fees?It is common for processors to charge a separate setup fee when advertising low rates. Knowing the complete pricing early on and how it compares to the competition helps you better evaluate your initial cost and avoid an unwelcome surprise in the last stage of a lengthy buying process. #3 Are there services and solutions above simple payment processing?The more services you get, the more value you get. Usually, processing companies that offer more than just payment processing can make money by providing more value-added services. By doing so, it makes it easier for them to stay in business without hiding additional fees in your processing. Here at BNG, we supply a wide range of benefits such as order tracking, mobile processing, gift card/reward card capability, and back-end management solutions to ensure your business runs smoothly. #4 How do you determine my pricing options?Most processors offer a range of purchase options such as tiered pricing, flat-rate pricing, and interchange-plus pricing. We typically recommend the simple interchange-plus option because the fees are transparent. On Interchange-plus pricing, you can see what the actual cost will be on every transaction. Interchange costs are and what your processor is adding above that. Every business is different, however, and there is no single pricing structure that is the best for every business. We prefer to look at the company as a whole and determine which pricing structure is the best fit for your business. #5 Is there a different rate for each type of transaction?Many companies charge different rates for different types of transactions related to their risk of fraud. If a credit card payment is inputted manually while taking orders over the phone, the rate will be higher than a chip reader on site. Having different rates is common, but knowing the charge per payment method helps you significantly toward your profits. Rates can also vary depending on the card brand (VISA, MasterCard, American Express), the card level, and the type of business taking the payment. . Knowing how your pricing structure is affected by these variables helps you avoid unwelcome surprises. #6 Are there charges for refunds?If the processing company provides a refund, will it refund you the transaction fee too? Many companies charge the fee for supplying the original service, and some even charge the refund transaction. #7 Is there a monthly minimum fee?If transactions are low on a particular month, a processing company may charge a minimum service price. This can be an unwelcome surprise for small businesses and startups where every penny counts. Knowing where the dividing line is aids toward your profit. This fee can also be affected by your pricing structure, so understanding your pricing structure is very important. #8 Is the company EMV compliant?EMV compliance means machines offered by the processing company support EMV technology. These credit card readers accept credit card payments via chip card and smart payment and allow PIN input. EMV technology is safer than swipe technology by eliminating your card’s risk from other card reading devices copied. EMV payment systems are the go-to method of fraud prevention and will remain so for the foreseeable future. They ensure your customers are safe, and you maintain a lower rate per transaction due to decreased fraud. #9 How will you assist me in remaining PCI Compliant?PCI is another way to ensure safe transactions. PCI is a set of guidelines that credit card companies require to protect customer information and prevent theft by employees or online hackers. You must adhere to these guidelines as a business, such as data storage requirements and network security. Requiring that your processing company adheres to the same standards ensures your customers’ best protection. #10 Will you ever raise my rates?We all love a good deal, but what good is it if it only lasts a few months? Knowing if and when payments are raised and the typical increase rate helps you compare it with the competition to catch excessive rates. Sometimes the card issuer raise their interchange rates, so to say your rates will never increase isn’t accurate. Just be sure to ask how frequently costs will be raised, and under what circumstances. #11 Are there any contracts (or terms)?It is essential to understand when the contract expires and what changes to expect when it does. Any cancellation or early termination fees are also crucial to know. Some processors charge higher rates than others. At BNG, we prefer not to have a contract whenever possible. We believe it is our job to earn your business every day. #12 Will I get next-day funding?In most cases, processors will provide next-day funding or 2nd-day funding. For many processors, the default is 2nd business day funding, and next day funding is an option available for a small fee. There are processors available that have next day funding as default and some that even offer same-day funding. Knowing how quickly you will get paid can be an essential part of keeping your business running smoothly. #13 Can I purchase my terminals instead of renting them?Some processors allow for terminal renting, which can be an advantage if you have a tight budget. Sometimes purchasing a terminal works best, ensuring the most profit for you longterm in exchange for higher initial investment. Here at BNG, we offer the capability to rent or buy, and in some situations, we can do a free terminal placement, making it easy for you to select the option that’s right for you. #14 Can I contact customer support at any time?To ensure you get the help you need when you need it, look for processors with a dedicated support team that offers 24-hour support, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Here at BNG, we provide customer service on processing accounts at no charge to help you maintain a fully functional payment environment and provide a service level to help set you apart from your competition. Final thoughts on interviewing a credit card processing companyCredit card processing companies can be a powerful way of securing reliable payments and keeping your business organized on the back-end. By asking the above questions as you shop for processors, you can filter out companies that work hard to disguise costs, ensuring you have a reliable vendor and profit in the ways that are best for you. Here at BNG, we offer clearly outlined rates, fees, and plans that help you achieve the greatest profit for your business. We do more than accept credit card payments; we offer additional services, such as mobile processing, virtual terminals, payment gateways, accounting support, inventory management, and more. On top of that, we also provide exceptional customer service so that you can run your business more efficiently and reliably. Contact us to find out more about how we can help you determine if you’re overpaying for credit card processing services. The post Searching For A Credit Card Processing Company? Where’s What Interview Questions To Them appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/blog/questions-credit-card-processing-companies The ugly truth is every business that accepts payments via credit, debit card, or ACH is the potential target for a data breach. It is one of the most stressful situations to find yourself in and can lead to a damaged reputation on top of financial repercussions. The key to security is multiple layers of defenses; this layered approach is critical today and incorporates your employees, bank, etc. Cybercriminals are lurking and watching for weaknesses in your defenses. Below we will discuss these malicious actors, their motivations, your risks as a business, conventional strategies of attack, and the tools, policies, and features at your disposal. With this additional knowledge, we hope you may build or enhance your multi-layer defensive strategies. Motivation: Why are they targeting businesses like yours?The primary motivation for these malicious entities to target your business is simple, Money. They are looking for a means to make the most illicit gains, as easily and quickly as possible. Fraudulent strategies take several forms. The most common focus is scrubbing lists of compromised card numbers to identify ones that remain active/viable, utilizing stolen cards to purchase tangible goods that are then resold on secondary markets. Businesses are targeted to compromise their points of purchase to steal card numbers and build new lists of card numbers. Your risks: How do these strategies work? How might they harm your business?Fraudulent Purchases: Traditionally, this strategy follows a pattern. A fraudulent entity makes contact with your business wishing to purchase some tangible products or materials. Once they have succeeded in having their order created, they utilize a previously compromised payment card to “pay” for these items and arrange shipping or pickup. Typically, these entities will opt for the fastest delivery method, regardless of potential costs, as they intend to gain possession of the goods before their stolen card information is discovered. Once they have received the products, they will immediately transfer them to unknown locations and resell them into secondary markets. If your business falls victim to this form of attack, you won’t know until days or weeks after the materials have left your door. You’ll often receive a notice that the card used has been charged back and the funds debited back out of your company bank account. In these cases, you have lost the funds and the hard costs associated with purchasing those products from your suppliers. Fraudulent orders are usually either for large quantities of products or for high dollar items, often resulting in businesses that fall victim to losing $10,000 or more. Scrubbing Lists Of Compromised Cards: It seems a data breach makes the news cycle every month or so, and for every massive breach we hear about, hundreds of other smaller-scale compromises occur. This myriad of ongoing breaches leads to tens of thousands of card numbers being stolen, bought, and sold on the dark web every day. But a list of compromised cards on its own has only limited value. This is because those entities buying and selling this list know that often a vast majority of cards on an unverified list have already been invalidated and will not work for new transactions. If a malicious actor can winnow that list down to only those cards that remain active, this new list grows in value many times. It can be immediately resold at a profit or used in a second phase to complete fraudulent purchases/charges. The best way to determine if a stolen card number is still active is to submit a transaction using that card and look at the result. If successful, then the fraudulent entity knows that card is still valid and valuable. But, submitting these transactions must be done via a valid credit card processing account, and doing so incurs a communication fee. When attempting transactions to determine the validity of thousands of cards, these fees add up quickly. Furthermore, running thousands of transactions in a short time, the bulk of which are declined, will often lead to the processing banks flagging the credit card processing account and suspending it’s access to the processing networks. These two factors explain why the malicious actors are looking to break through your walls and access your processing accounts. They don’t want to pay the fees or risk having the accounts they use in their scam shut down. Suppose they do manage to compromise your processing systems. In that case, they may then execute their scheme, and your business is stuck staring down the resulting fees and operational interruptions as a consequence. So what might this look like in dollars and cents? For the sake of example, let’s run a realistic, round number scenario below and find out. Say one of these fraudulent actors finds a hole in your defenses and sets up a means by which they run a list of 10,000 cards through your processing account in hours/days. Depending on the specifics of the cards used, each attempt will likely result in your account being charged total transaction/communication fees of somewhere between $0.15 & $0.35. For the sake of this example, we will use $0.25 as the average fee your business incurs. As a result of this one failure in your defenses, your business is now looking at a bill of $2500. Additional expenses are likely as a result of an interruption to your ability to process legitimate transactions and the work involved with correcting and dealing with the fallout of the attack. Compromising Point Of Payment Systems: This type of attack is used by those committing cybercrime to compromise valid cards in circulation and create new lists of card numbers for sale and use in schemes like those described above. A successful attack often relies upon weakness and lack of vigilance on the part of businesses keeping their electronic payments systems up to date. There are many ways weakness can occur.
The Purchase Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) was created so businesses can measure themselves and their systems to ensure they are implementing the necessary security protocols to protect themselves from being a victim of this type of attack. You can learn much more about the PCI standards, how they affect your business, and find valuable resources directly from the organization in charge of maintaining these standards, here. Suppose you do fall victim to a breach of your payment systems. In that case, it represents a risk to your business’s reputation and a potential loss of clients/sales. Still, it may also result in significant financial loss due to fines, penalties, legal fees, and other costs. The Enemy Is On The March and Looking For WeaknessSocial Engineering: The term “Social Engineering” refers to a strategy by which cybercriminals don’t directly attack your software or hardware systems, but instead target your workforce. They may have access to the capabilities they wish to take advantage of. This type of attack often relies on using your team’s emotions and habits against them and is one of the most effective weapons in a cybercriminals arsenal. This is because, somewhere in your organization, at least one person has access to your ordering, payment, or security systems. One example might be a malicious entity contacting a member of your sales team so the criminal may place an order for a dozen laptop computers, which need to be overnight shipped to a remote office. Everyone has been instructed they will be working from home effective in two days.
These techniques are powerful and too easy to fall for if inexperienced. Teaching your team how to avoid this well-laid trap will help you prevent a data breach. Unprotected Online Payment Tools: If your business employs an online product marketplace that allows customers to select, pay, and have items shipped to them or offer simple electronic payment of outstanding bills, these features may put you at risk if not implemented with proper security in mind. An online marketplace that fulfills and ships client orders without oversight controls the amount of each order or number of items that can be purchased, elevates your risk of being the victim of fraudulent purchases. A bill pay form which allows individuals to enter their card details and run a transaction, without first verifying their identity or knowledge of the specifics of their account with your business, is an unprotected target for a card scrubbing attack. Compromise Of Payment System Login Credentials: If criminals gain access to your payment systems’ account credentials, they could hijack your processing account and increase their list of stolen credit cards. As mentioned in the example above, even a relatively small list of 10,000 cards can easily result in $2500 or more fraudulent transaction fees for your business. Outdated Hardware And Software: When the systems used to accept payment from customers are not maintained and updated regularly, they may open you to an attack designed to compromise the cards used by your customers and allow cybercriminals to generate new lists for sale and use across their criminal enterprises. These updates and maintenance cycles are critical considerations for your payment software, the computers and networks through which the software communicates, and even the point of purchase devices designed to interact with the customer’s payment card. What Defense Options Do I Have?Your team is both your greatest security asset and liability.Your team is the first line of defense that must remain vigilant to external and internal threats to the business. A touch of paranoia or suspicion is necessary for this day and age for every member of your team to maintain a state of constant vigilance. Thus, it is important to give guidance and training to every team member on the threats they face, like suspicious urgency or out-of-character email requests. Not only these, and others mentioned above, but many more. Further, this training must not be a one-time occurrence, but something reinforced regularly. In addition to regular training, supporting your team members to follow strict operational security policies is another vital component to assuring their success and the strength of your defenses. A couple of examples include:
Passwords
Gateway
Physical Acceptance Devices
Need help with gateway security?This guide is meant to help you address any potential weak points within your business, but it’s only the beginning. If you want to implement any of these additional security features in your business and develop a dedicated multi-layer security approach, reach out to our support team with any questions @ [email protected]. The post The Top Ways Your Gateway Could Become Compromised (And How You Can Protect Yourself) appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/blog/payment-gateway-security You may be looking to update your company’s B2B credit card processing to make your payment processing simpler and faster. Today, a merchant’s needs extend far beyond simple transactions. You can take advantage of superior payment tracking and accounting automatically anywhere you are at any time of day. And with advanced tools and solutions, including mobile processing, phone orders, table-side processing, stock maintenance, and digital e-commerce solutions, you can generate income with greater ease than ever before. Gift cards and loyalty solutions boost your brand even further, while fully protecting each transaction in your business. Whether you are an enterprise client or a small or medium-sized business, we provide the right tools and services to make and track payments simple and safe. Our ability to adapt to your existing systems helps you avoid the added cost of an entirely new system while providing you with expert service and competitive pricing to benefit your bottom line. Whether it be payments from credit and debit cards, mobile payments, digital e-commerce payments, eCheck, or ACH payments, we provide the superior tools and services you need at a price to fit your budget. Let’s take a look at the wide range of services we offer for each business structure. Benefits to small businessesWe offer solutions for small businesses ranging from traditional-brick-and-mortar store transactions to e-commerce business payment solutions that can be done anywhere you and your customers are. When it comes to small businesses, margins are very important. This is why we offer the lowest credit card processing rates to give you greater profits. And without requiring a contract, we further lower costs, while providing superior customer support at a quality you would expect for a large enterprise client.
Midsize and enterprise businessesOur secure payment processing services have been used by large corporations and publicly traded companies, helping them conduct large volumes of payments at reduced costs. We offer these same solutions to your business, improving the systems you have, and ensuring your organization remains PCI compliant, backed with our superior customer service. We excel at adapting systems to work with existing business tools, integrating with multiple financial software and customer management software systems. We giving you the power to collect and manage payments in a secure system that works for payments in both the U.S. and Canada. Benefits include:
NonprofitsWhether you are a single nonprofit or a national association, we provide the best tools and competitive pricing to give you the most funds for your dollar. We provide the flexibility in a wide range of payment acceptances at a lower transaction cost, helping you benefit further in your nonprofit goals. This includes no monthly fees. Our systems make payment processing simple while providing a wider capability of tracking funds collected by specific individuals and locations. You can track every donation and gift you receive from single donations to full events.
The range of systems we useB2B Credit Card Processing:No matter what size or style of business you run, you will enjoy highly competitive processing rates and first-rate customer service. With no contracts, you’ll experience the best value for your investment. Meanwhile, you can rest at ease that customer payment information is collected in a secure, PCI compliant method in line with the top financial institutions in the business. We service most businesses, such as medical facilities and hotels, and high-frequency locations such as supermarkets and convenience stores. We also provide simple and reliable processing for today’s mobile and digital e-commerce businesses. Our company is consistently at the forefront of technology in the merchant payment industry. Payment Gateway:A payment gateway is designed to work with a wide range of third-party software systems, bridging together your systems with our advanced technology to make payment processing easier and more affordable for you. Our custom-built systems allow you to maintain your current systems to save costs while boosting your transaction capabilities. These systems accept credit cards, debit cards, and ACH payments, and allow you to take payments over multiple devices for improved frequency and improved customer service. You can track all payments and sales results easily through one secure source. With our open API, the gateway can integrate with other important tools you use to manage your business. B2B Mobile Processing:You and your employees can benefit from payment processing anywhere with our advanced mobile processing solutions. Accept payments and track individual sales performance across multiple devices on the same merchant account. This system works with both cellular and wifi-enabled devices such as iPhones, Android phones, and tablets. There’s no limit to where your business can go. B2B Point Of Sale Services:Our POS systems excel at credit card processing and a wealth of additional benefits. You can process credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, and loyalty cards in one location, multiple locations, or out on the road. If you are a restaurant or bar, you can also process table-side payments,, and online payments, as well as make reservations, immediately forward orders to the kitchen, and coordinate final delivery. You will also enjoy manager support and after-hours capability while keeping you in touch with multiple locations at a time, anytime. We provide specialized systems that work for any size business from small convenience stores and restaurants to national retail franchises and e-commerce businesses, offering you a full range of options to make taking payments and staying organized easy. B2B Online PaymentsTake payments over the phone or online without the need to have credit cards physically present. You get full e-commerce solutions such as shopping cart capability, mail order, and telephone order capabilities, all at affordable prices to benefit any size business. Ensuring transactions are safe is a chief concern with these types of purchases, but our extensive experience in the field will give you the peace of mind you need. We have decades of experience collaborating with top-tier financial institutions that excel at fraud protection. Special encrypted keypads and Security Gateway capabilities further secure your transactions. In addition to better protection, you will benefit from advanced tools geared specifically for these types of transactions. You get the full support you need, such as invoice creation, reoccurring payments capability, custom software integration, and accounting integration, keeping you organized. EMV Credit Card Guide For B2B TransactionsUnderstand the world of today’s “EMV” credit cards is not easy, which is why we made a special guide directly on the subject. EMV (Europay, Mastercard, and VISA) cards help protect you from chargebacks and financial liability. You will learn ways your business can accept these cards and how EMV chips and pins can affect your restaurant or small business. You’ll learn what happens when a transaction is processed and what you need to know about the EMV “liability shift.” PCI CompliancePayment Card Industry (PCI) data security is a global security standard specifically created to prevent credit card fraud by aiding businesses with increased controls around data and further reducing the risk of becoming compromised. Dealing with a security risk is something no business should endure, and this is why we only provide solutions that are fully compliant with today’s PCI guidelines. This includes end-to-end encryption, tokenization, payer authentication, and Level 1 certified data vault. We even offer EMV certified devices, making it easy for you to enjoy maximum protection. B2B Gift and Loyalty CardsBring customers back again and again with gift and loyalty cards. These options are excellent for maintaining reoccurring sales and are available in affordable options, letting you provide the same high level of service as national companies. These transactions will make you stand out from your direct competition, maintaining customer recognition and frequency while boosting your company identity with your customers. We make it easy for you to take advantage of these benefits. You can create special incentives that coordinate with specific days such as birthdays, or base them on other benefits such as volume, referrals, and special promotions, just to name a few. These cards are an ideal way to increase brand loyalty and recognition. Final thoughts on credit card processingWith so much to offer for any size business, we have positioned ourselves as a one-stop source for secure processing and quality back-end support. You enjoy faster and more reliable processing with the full ability to read each transaction on any device, whether you and your team are in an office or out on the road. And with full digital e-commerce capability, phone order capability, and advanced fraud protection through collaborations with top-tier financial institutions, you can accept payments in more ways as your business evolves. Contact us to learn more about these services and how we can specially package them to suit your needs. Providing today’s advanced technology and high-quality customer service is what we do, and we do it while providing some of the lowest credit card processing rates in the industry. Contact us to find out more. The post Looking For B2B Credit Card Processing Options? Here Are Your Options appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/blog/looking-for-b2b-processing-options-see-what-merchant-transaction-methods-are-available/ If you’re looking for the single best way to take payments online, the short answer is that there isn’t one. Now more than ever, customers are making more online payments in 2020 compared to previous years, and more businesses are looking for ways to make it easier to collect money. In particular, mobile payments are on the rise. The number of consumers making mobile purchases doubled from 2010 to 2017, making its way up from 7% to 17% of customers. In order to offer your customers the best experience, it is best to offer multiple ways to take payments online if they are offered at all. With so many different types of businesses, many require different types of online payments that work with their industry. Customers can use an average of 3.6 different payment methods each month to pay their bills. Being able to offer multiple billing and payment methods for your customers increases customer satisfaction and reduces the amount of time it takes for your business to get paid. Here are some of the types of payments your business can take online. 1. Accept Debit and Credit CardsOne of the most common types of online payments is offering the option the pay via credit or debit cards. In order to offer this feature to your customers, it is best if you have either your own dedicated merchant account or intermediary holding account. A dedicated merchant account is provisioned specifically for use by your company, while an intermediary holding account (or aggregated account) such as that provided by PayPal makes use of a single merchant account to provide credit card processing capabilities to a whole host of other companies. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express are all among the most widely accepted credit cards in the business. Visa even accounted for 47% of credit card transactions in 2015, while Mastercard and Amex clocked in at just 21% and 12% respectively – nationwide. In addition, Visa and Mastercard debit and credit purchases are projected to increase in value by billions of dollars by the end of 2020. Visa will be worth $114.1 billion and MasterCard will be worth $47.8 billion. Accepting debit and credit cards is one of the easiest ways for your company to accept online payments. 2. Accept eChecks through ACH ProcessingThe second most popular way to accept payments without going through a traditional bank account is through using an eCheck – otherwise known as an electronic check, these allow your customers to input their information the same way they would from a paper check. Customers can enter their routing/account numbers, name, the amount of money they’re trying to send, and their authorization for the transaction in an online payment format similar to what one might encounter on a software interface. There is no paper check to be found here because electronic checks payments require no paper. Some potential upsides to using eChecks over credit cards can include lower transaction fees and more security. ACH processing is governed by the National Automated Clearing House Association and has different, lower transaction fees than credit cards. In addition, they’re much more secure and predictable than credit card payments. 3. Mobile PaymentsSometimes, you may need the ability to take payments from your phone or mobile device, even if you predominantly sell items from an online store. As many businesses continue to grow, the ability to process credit cards physically through a mobile device are viable options for making payments online. In fact, these kinds of mobile payments are becoming the norm for many customers and businesses. Payments are instantly confirmed and an email receipt is sent immediately. Mobile payment apps offer this feature in addition to a whole host of others, including the ability to access cash flow reporting, manage customer accounts, and send invoices from anywhere there is a phone signal. In a 20% increase from 2014, 79% of households reported having at least one smartphone in the house. That’s up from 59% in 2014. Chances are, if you need an easy way to take a physical payment, all you may need is your smartphone, and a type of processing app and a swipe reader. In order to circumvent security concerns customers might have about storing their credit card information on a mobile app, your company should consider offering a secure payment acceptance method in order to provide more value to your customers. There is a proper way to handle credit card information. 4. Click-to-Pay Email InvoicingBeing able to send your customers an invoice by email makes all the world’s difference. It’s much more convenient than asking them for their credit card information via phone. Sending your customer’s invoices by email allows them to pay with just a few clicks, and they can receive a receipt/instant payment confirmation within seconds. Online payment forms can be shared with customers via email for even easier payments. You can streamline your reporting and manage your data securely using click-to-pay email invoicing. With a fully integrated experience waiting for you – including email, web payment forms, and customer databases – you can better manage your customer’s data. When they hit “pay”, the invoice is immediately and automatically marked as “paid” in your system. Email invoicing is also much more environmentally sustainable than paper checking. Up to 60% of customers have stated that their expressed concern for the environment is a major factor in their decision to pay and view bills online. In order to get more customers to transfer from paper checking to email invoicing, harp on the convenience and environmental sustainability of email invoicing as compared to paper checking. The value of email invoicing is inherent in its time-saving nature. 5. Recurring BillingAn increasingly popular method of paying for monthly services, including gym and child care services, is to use recurring billing. A recurring billing system is much more convenient for your customers and guarantees that your business is paid on time. Staying on top of finances and payments is a large issue for customers. Up to 35% of your customers are worried about properly keeping track of their finance due dates, while up to 29% of customers are worried about the possibility of being unwittingly late on payments. By sending email reminders or having customers pay on a recurrent basis, it is easier for businesses to increase customer satisfaction while simultaneously making their customers’ lives easier. Why you need an online payment gateway for online paymentsNow all of the above payment methods require a special piece in addition to a merchant account, and that’s a payment gateway. These are a virtual portal that makes it safe to store payment information and transfer data. Being able to offer your customers an online payment form enables them to pay you with ease and even allows you to accept payments by credit card, debit card, and ACH payments. When you work with a brand that processes payments and has web experience, they can help you set up an online payment form. It is both easy and necessary to begin accepting online payments. So while there is no best way to accept payments online, the list of options for how to do so is constantly growing. Continual evolution has made the practice of accepting payments online not only mainstream but commonplace, and you’d be remiss to find a successful business that doesn’t have a credit card terminal (or eCheck capabilities, or email invoicing, or mobile payments). Don’t hesitate to reach out today with any questions or concerns for us! The post How Make It Easy For Your Business to Accept Online Payments appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/blog/how-make-it-easy-for-your-business-to-accept-online-payments/ Payment Gateway vs. Payment Processor: What’s The Difference?If you’re a business owner, chances are you’ve already heard about payment gateways and payment processors. Both are related to any online selling or shopping that you do. However, have you ever wondered what makes each of these items unique? They occupy two critical positions in any payment processing chain – but to understand how they both work at securing your company’s finances, we need to understand the basics of a credit card transaction. In short, a payment processor is typically a company that facilitates transactions between a card holder’s bank and your merchant account. A payment gateway is an encrypted application that authorizes credit card or direct payments processing for e-commerce, online retailers, or any other card-not-present transactions. Whenever you swipe your credit card, four parties are involved in the transaction: the merchant, customer, and two banks. Firstly, the bank responsible for issuing your credit card, then the bank collecting the funds from your account – are all necessary components of any successful credit card transaction where the card is not being physically swiped face-to-face. To accept credit card payments, your business needs to make use of a payment gateway and a payment processor. Each is vital to have for any merchant looking to make sales online or via credit card. Here’s a more in-depth analysis of the two. What is a payment processor, and how are they categorized?Payment processors are the companies responsible for sending data among you, your bank account, and your customer’s bank account. Your payment processing company usually provides your company with credit card scanning machines and other kinds of equipment used to accept credit card transactions. To accept payment via a credit card at your company, you can set up a merchant account. Merchant service providers will set up your merchant account for you. Payment processors are so important because they move money from one account to another. There are two kinds of payment processors – they’re known as front-end and back-end processors. Back-end processors are responsible for settling transactions – they move money from your customer’s issuing bank into your company’s bank account (the merchant’s bank). These back-end processors ultimately send funds to your merchant bank account when all is said and done. Front-end processors, on the other hand, maintain online connections to the data obtained from your card networks and settlement services. They also manage merchant accounts on behalf of you, the business owner. They work in tandem with back-end processors to deliver your money safely to your company’s bank account. Payment processing companies routinely carry a pricing structure and cost a fee to use. These factors vary by the number and value of transactions your company is making. Generally, each payment processing company you decide to work with will firstly charge a percentage of each sale you make. Often, there will also be several other small fees to pay (including a per-transaction fee, a monthly account statement fee, a monthly minimum fee and an annual PCI compliance fee, and nonnegotiable, interchange rates ) – but don’t balk yet. The services of payment processing companies are ridiculously affordable. They’re worth every penny they charge for the sheer number of inconveniences they can resolve for your company. Payment Gateways – The other piece of the credit card puzzlePayment gateways work to facilitate online credit card payments from a customer to merchant and a needed step for any business that does have “card-present’ transactions. Payment gateways make use of technology that can create a secure connection between you and your payment processing company – in essence; they serve as the secure “gateway” between your company’s website and the customer’s credit card account. Payment gateways are standard for businesses with “card-not-present” transactions, or cases of recurring payments which require prior authorization. This security comes in the form of data encryption, where the payment gateway’s secure connection is utilized to encrypt sensitive credit card data for each transaction. Through using data encryption techniques, your payment gateway company can verify the authenticity and validity of any transaction made via credit card. This keeps personal information out of the hands of phishers and other malicious individuals who might be looking to steal your customers’ hard-earned money. Having a payment gateway established within your company to ensure the integrity of credit card transactions is an essential box to check if you want returning customers. Without a payment gateway, the confidentiality of your customers’ most sensitive information (their credit card number and their three-digit security code) is at stake. It only takes one data breaching incident orchestrated by a malicious hacker to tank a business’ revenue sources for months or even years – just look at Equifax, a credit card company that experienced a data breach involving 147 million people. They ended up paying around $125 to each impacted person who took advantage of the class-action settlement Equifax released – that’s a loss of more than $18 billion because of an isolated incident involving a data breach. How can I protect my payment gateway?Even if a payment gateway is encrypted, human error is always a possibility. To be sure your payment gateway is secure, work with a professional processor who has experience in the industry. The other key thing to protect your credit card payment gateway is to make sure your business is following PCI Compliance. Every business with a merchant account will need to follow PCI Compliance guidelines to protect their customers’ data they process. Does my business need a payment processor and a payment gateway to process credit cardsAgain, it depends on the type of business you have. A company that is a retail store with no online store would only need a merchant account through a payment processor. However, payment gateways are always through a payment processor; therefore, if you need a payment gateway, you’ll have to have a merchant account set up through a processor. A payment gateway can be viewed as the secure tunnel your customer’s money goes through to get to your bank account safely. Setting up a payment gateway for accepting credit cards on your company’s website is very important. Doing so can offer unmatched data security and the knowledge that your client’s most sensitive information – and your money – are safe and sound. Virtual terminals (those accessed through your computer) require the use of a payment gateway to accept all sales conducted via credit card. Some businesses (which as Doctors offices or legal firms) may need an option to store recurring payment methods on file, as well as swipe a physical card in their office. The good news is, payment gateways are perfect for this situation. We have several options to make it easy to safely store a payment method, as well as swipe a card at the front desk. Get payment processing account and equipment todayAre you a business owner looking to make the transition to an online marketplace during COVID-19? If so, you need a credit card payment processor and gateway first. With the cheapest fees available, there’s no way your company can go wrong by protecting itself and making it easier to accept credit card transactions by phone, online, or at the point of sale. If you’re interested or have any questions about the payment processing and gateway we offer, don’t hesitate to reach out. The post Payment Gateway vs. Payment Processor appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/blog/payment-gateway-vs-payment-processor/ If you run a small business, invoices are your best friend. You can reduce billing errors for services/products, provide a summary of the transaction, track current and potential orders, verify stock, maintain accurate accounting records, and (most importantly) track payments. They also provide you and your customers with valuable contact information for future sales. But how you choose to design and track invoices is important. Here are some invoicing best practices to keep in mind that help your business run smoothly. Choosing your accounting softwareThe first step is to find an invoicing software that integrates with your accounting software, assuring that it makes your billing process easier. Many people assume that invoicing is automatically included in your accounting software, but depending on what billing software you use if it doesn’t integrate with your payment processing, you’ll have to manually enter invoice information from your accounting software. Quickbooks is popular and has both a desktop and cloud-based solution, but there are many other highly-rated companies on the market, such as Xero, Hiveage, Square Invoices, and Zoho. For small businesses, software such as Freshbooks, Wave, Invoice2Go, and Invoice Ninja are good choices. One complaint about accounting software is the cost, and this can be especially important for small businesses. But what software costs in price can easily be mitigated by how much time it saves you on a daily basis. Many companies also offer tier-based accounting packages at varying price levels. As a small business, you can choose a trimmed option to keep pricing down. You’ll always have the option of more advanced services as your business grows, which you may need depending on how complex your invoicing needs are as a business. The more services or products you offer, the more line items and details will need to be added into your invoicing software that is carried over into your accounting system. Many software companies provide pre-made invoice templates to make tracking payments and receipts a breeze. You get a clean look of your finances and accurate records for tax purposes. One audit, and you’ll wish you had them. Whatever software you choose, make sure it is intuitive for you and your staff. Aside from that, make sure your invoicing software and accounting package are compatible. Having to struggle with interfaces makes selling more difficult for them and you, as well as creates a lot of extra manual work. Finding a cloud-based invoicing solutionIf your business uses multiple devices, storing your invoice data on a network keeps them all up to date. You can still protect data by restricting access for individual users, and prevent data changes you haven’t authorized. You can also limit information so employees don’t see all your finances. One issue with servers is the dreaded “crash,” but this is where the cloud server comes in. It stores all your data in a separate server off-site, protecting data from issues that arise inside your business, such as computer theft or fire damage. Whether you opt for accounting software or prefer manual invoices, backing up data on a cloud is the smartest choice, and this is why many software companies offer cloud-based storage in their list of services. If you have an internal network, doing a second backing up in the cloud is the best form of protection. And it’s easy. These systems can update data automatically each night after business hours. Creating invoice templatesWhether using software with customizable invoices or generating your own designs, here are some important items to include: Invoice NumbersEach invoice should have a unique invoice number. It can be a series of numbers or a blend of numbers and letters indicating information such as the month and year for added clarity and improved organization. Each invoice number must be unique so it can be tracked by you and customers and referenced toward payment. The numbers are regularly included in the memo section on company checks. Specific Customer InformationOther important items to include are dates, business names and addresses, contact names, and any/all phone numbers. Each of these factors not only verifies who is purchasing the item for tax purposes, it also aids you and your customers with accurate records of payments. You also have their contact information to aid you toward future sales. Contact names are sometimes not included, but they are important. It makes it easier to reach out for invoice approval and lets larger companies know who approved the invoice, resulting in prompt payment. And again, these names and phone numbers help toward future sales. In some cases, you can put the contact name within the business address using the term c/o (care of), but it is better not to. The contact name you input could show up on past and future invoices, removing other vital contacts. SKU Numbers For All Goods and ServicesBecause SKU numbers are unique to each item in your store, having the data in your software makes pulling up and tracking individual costs for goods and services fast and accurate. You also get a direct look at your stock. The more precise a SKU is (not grouped with other costs), the easier it is to show a breakdown of pricing to customers to alleviate questions and gain faster approval. They also work to reflect taxable and nontaxable pricing more accurately (goods vs. labor), preventing tax mistakes that come when writing invoices manually. Automatic TotalsAccounting software, and even basic software like Excel, can be programmed to automatically generate total costs for more accurate pricing than you can do manually with a calculator. Due Dates, And Payment TermsThe unfortunate reality is businesses and individuals often wait until the last minute to pay. This can be particularly troublesome if you change prices regularly or have sales with end dates. The due date on an invoice protects you, letting customers know that time is of the essence and they should prioritize payment. If you don’t indicate one, you will face difficult discussions later, as well as struggle estimating future income due to delayed payments. Another important factor is the start date. Showing the date an invoice was created and signed gives customers a clear view of when their order began. It also marks the starting date of your terms. Giving your customer a clear indication of all payment terms (credit card, cash, or check, 50% deposit, etc.) ensures that customers have all they need to plan payment, avoiding delays that come through back and forth correspondence. Thank You MessageThis is a courtesy, but an important one. Your invoice works much like a business card, reminding them of the people behind the business. This personal touch lets customers know you are more than just a business and also shows how important they are to you. The more personal the message is, the more they will come back. SignatureThough not technically legally binding, invoices with signatures help establish a more professional agreement, better ensuring you have reliable customers. Sending invoices via emailThe go-to way of sending invoices is through email, and for good reason. Emails are reliable ways of sending information instantly to help you track the time and date an invoice was received. When using email, be sure to request a read receipt so you know your email was read. This gives you and them a record showing you did as you were asked and they received proof of any changes. Ensuring customers pay the correct amountInvoices are a fantastic way to track your costs and record payments made, but there is also a safeguard to ensure payments your business actually receives are correct. In today’s day and age, some customers will want to pay by cash or check, but credit cards are by far the most popular. As more companies move their business online, credit cards will prove to be even more important. Thankfully, the systems that record these transactions are great for balancing invoices and maintaining accurate accounting so you know your invoices are paid correctly. For online businesses, small brick and mortar locations, outside sales teams, and restaurants, credit card processing provides you with fast, accurate, and documented proof of payments. In some cases, these same systems process checks with equally verified accuracy. If needed, you can also input cash payments in the same systems. Recording payments on these systems gives you and your customers accurate readouts of funds applied to invoices. These systems also bring other advantages that other methods don’t. You can set start dates for sales so pricing automatically changes in your system. You can input gift cards, track inventory, document refunds, check stock, and accurately read payments by customers to prevent theft by employees. You can even see the time of a payment to check employee overtime. These systems work for computers and wireless payment processing through tablets, smartphones, and iPods. You can generate payments and receipts anywhere in your store or on the road. Restaurants can avoid the time of moving back and forth from registers, saving time in payment processing. And these systems are easier to use than manual registers, avoiding potential manual errors. Of all these benefits, one of the most important for your bottom line is the accurate record payment to your business bank account, and these terminals excel at it. Running reports on invoicesThe general rule is to check invoices at least weekly. Sales and revenue are what keep your business alive, so having a clear look at what is paid and what is outstanding helps you gauge profits and pay expenses accurately. Invoice reports provide a clear look at what is coming and what is still to come. For small businesses, staying in the black as much as possible is integral. This means knowing money is in before paying money out. These reports show you what’s approved and what to expect so you have a plan in place to keep your business running smoothly. When running a small business, keeping track of finances may not be fun. The easier you make it, the better your business will function. These best practices ensure payments for jobs are properly recorded and sales run smoothly. The more of these items you implement, the easier your life will be. The post All You Need To Know: A Guide To The Best Invoicing Practices For Small Businesses appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/all-you-need-to-know-a-guide-to-the-best-invoicing-practices-for-small-businesses/ One of the key challenges that small businesses face is their employee’s decrease in productivity over time. While there are many factors that may be attributed to this, repetitive tasks related to billing and collections are at the top of the list. Repetitive tasks lead to boredom which, in most cases, also leads to errors. As a small business, you cannot afford to have errors, especially in your billing department. Using billing software to automate the collections process over manual billing methods can reduce errors and increasing productivity. Automated billing systems are designed to make accounting departments more effective so they can easily manage aging accounts receivables, as well as sync with your other business tools. Automated billing systems have proven to be an effective solution to a wide range of problems that are caused by sudden increases in the number of clients, errors made during manual billing, as well as increasing the likelihood your business will be paid on time and not experience cash flow issues. Before we get into the benefits of automated billing systems, let us take a look at how they have helped different business models. What types of businesses benefit from automated billingNon-subscription service-based businessTraditionally subscription services are thought of when it comes to automated billing, but non-subscription based businesses benefit from automated billing. Take, for example, a business where clients are billed by the hour for consultation. If such a business has many employees handling the consultations, it becomes hard for the accounting department to accurately measure the amount of service their clients are getting, and consequently, how much to bill them for it. It is for such scenarios that automated billing computer-based systems were created. These systems use a mixture of computer vision, AI, machine learning, text recognition, and other tools to accurately analyze and track the tasks being carried out by an employee from his work station and automatically bill the client being served. Subscription-based/ Returning clients businessesThere comes a time in the lifecycle of a business when it is growing too fast for the billing department to keep track of revenues manually. This is especially true for subscription-based businesses or those with a wide base of returning clients. Say you run a local fitness center and want the ability to bill clients every month for a recurring fee. Or you run a lawn care business that has an agreement to provide a set of services over the course of the summer, surely you don’t want to reach out to customers every month asking for a payment method? Or worse, complete the service, and then wait weeks for a paper check. How have automated billing systems helped in such cases? Companies that have used automated billing when it comes to billing, invoicing, and handling a surge of new clients enjoyed benefits such as scaling easily, a reduced number of errors associated with manual billing and so much more. Let’s recap and take a look at the full list of these benefits. The benefits of automated billing systemsImproved accuracy and elimination of errorsAutomated billing systems eliminate the need for a constant input of data by people. This helps in reducing errors as data (such as credit card information and addresses) is input only once and then reused for the client’s lifetime at your business.\ Simplified payment collectionWith automated billing systems, you do not have to manually charge clients at the end of every billing period. Instead, clients are charged automatically and on time after every period. Due to how they store data, they are simple but effective for billing many returning clients. They improve customer relationshipsJust like with the case of a seamless and faster shopping experience courtesy of IoT, automated billing helps in improving customer relations by giving them a hassle-free business experience. Businesses save time and moneyAutomated billing systems remove the need for businesses to hire many people to manually bill clients. As a result, they cut down on the amount of time it would have taken people to do manual billing and the money they would have used to pay those people. They help you prepare your business for the futureAutomated billing systems are designed to collect key metrics such as sales, revenue, and so on. Using these KPIs, businesses can predict future trends and performance with some degree of accuracy. Does your business need an automated billing system?Absolutely. Maybe not right now, but what if your business starts growing exponentially? Maybe you need to improve customer relations or their shopping experience. Maybe you need a faster and cheaper alternative to your current billing method. Whatever the reason may be, we are sure that your business will need an automated billing system at some point in its lifecycle. When our company had a growth spurt, an automated billing system reduced our time spent on billing and payment collection. With all the benefits we have discussed above, your business simply cannot afford to stick to traditional billing methods. The post Automated Billing Systems: An Overlooked Method For Business Growth appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/automated-billing-systems-an-overlooked-method-for-business-growth/ See What Options Your Business Can Use To Accept ACH Payments Through Your Bank Account Or Through QuickBooksMore often, merchants are looking for less costly alternatives to credit cards for their business. With numerous options on the market, more businesses are trying to see if ACH payments are a good replacement for credit cards. Accepting ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments is a relatively easy, simple, and inexpensive process, and it can be conducted through a number of mediums. Beyond the cost savings for you, many consumers enjoy having a set of options to choose from when it comes time to pay their bill. ACH payments carry low overhead fees because they are conducted electronically and oftentimes replace paper checks. ACH payments are a kind of EFT (electronic funds transfer) occurring between financial institutions, and funds can be sent and received through this payment medium. Why businesses should consider offering ACH paymentsAutomated clearing house payments are oftentimes used for direct deposits to pay employees, or they can be used to pay for recurring services, such as utility bills. ACH payments are applicable to only online transactions in the (B2B – business to business) space. The enticing low cost is making businesses want to switch to ACH payments (the average cost per transaction is under $0.40), as they are cheaper than the average credit card fees. But what are ACH payments and how do they work? What does it look like in the real world, and how does it differ from other common forms of payment? Most importantly, why will the switch to ACH transactions benefit your business astronomically? The criteria defining what makes an ACH payment an ACH payment is as follows: an ACH payment must allow businesses to receive an electronic payment directly from a consumer/buyer’s checking account. Through some processors and integrations, businesses can see the ACH payment reconciled in QuickBooks automatically, saving them time when it comes to bookkeeping. ACH transactions are more efficient than their counterpart forms of purchase because large numbers of ACH payments can be batched and subsequently processed together. In addition, they can be processed as one-time payments or automated to run on a recurring schedule, meaning that no further work is required once you’ve set up the ACH payment acceptance system. ACH payments differ from ACH direct deposits, but they utilize the same processing network for optimal efficiency. ACH Direct Deposits are generally used for payroll costs, tax refunds, annuities, interest payments, and anything else having to do with an individual rather than a business. ACH Payments are conducted between businesses. They can be classified as either ACH Credits or Debits, and they both have differing functions. ACH Debits withdraw funds from your customer’s account and are used on a recurrent basis to pay for things like subscriptions or memberships (for example, ACH Debit Payments would be utilized to pay for services such as utilities, rent, car payments, mortgages, gym/health club memberships, and insurance premiums). ACH Credit Payments, on the other hand, push funds from your customer’s account to yours for one-time payments, like a singular consumer purchase of goods or services from your business. Examples would include contracting jobs and other one-time gigs; freelance workers can even benefit from implementing ACH payment systems into their business model. Automated clearing house payments occur at the domestic level because each country has their own processing system – here in the US, the ACH Network is the accepted payment system. NACHA, formerly known as the National Automated Clearinghouse Association, is the ruling body in charge of the ACH network. However, the actual processing of ACH transactions is handled by the Federal Reserve and Clearing House Companies. NACHA has a distinctive set of rules and regulations that must be followed by every business using ACH payment technologies. ACH transactions are superior to paper checks, credit/debit card transactions, and wire transfers as forms of payment. How ACH payments compare to paper checksACH payments blow paper checks out of the water in terms of their comparative efficiency, versatility, and ease of use. In addition, some other advantages of accepting ACH payments over paper checks give you the overall ability to better customize your business model. Some of these advantages include saving time, saving on paper and ink, increasing the security of transactions conducted across business lines, setting up automated, recurring payments that never show up late, creating an online record that can be synced with other software or applications, and being made aware of a transaction’s status faster (because ACH payments are electronic, a notification can be sent directly to your phone informing you about whether a payment went through or not). In addition, banks frequently prioritize the funds availability of ACH payments as opposed to paper checks. ACH transactions also bypass the credit card networks stealing money from your pocket through bypassing wholesale interchange and assessment fees – they cut out the middleman in any transaction and are therefore much less expensive to conduct than credit card purchases. The same principle applies to debit cards – while both ACH debits and debit card purchases withdraw money from a customer’s account, debit cards are prone to the same kinds of fees as credit cards due to their being processed via the same networks. ACH transactions are therefore superior to credit and debit card transactions because they factor in long-term cost savings for your business, in opposition to the flat rate you’re being charged to process debit and/or credit card transactions. By using ACH payments and transactions instead of credit card or debit card payments, your business will save money per transaction in the long term. In addition, ACH transactions are relatively final compared to debit and credit card transactions because the set of rules surrounding both differ greatly. The rules surrounding ACH transaction reversals and chargebacks are much stricter than those surrounding credit and debit card reversals, and there are only three instances in which your customer can initiate a transaction reversal for an ACH payment. Chargebacks are not impossible with ACH payments, but the instances include dealing with a revoked (or unauthorized, meaning it was never approved in the first place) transaction, dealing with a transaction processed at an earlier date than its authorization, and dealing with a transaction that is either larger or smaller than the authorized payment amount. The time limit to initiating a reversal for an ACH payment is only 90 days (and sometimes 60 days after the transaction shows up in your bank statement), whereas with a credit or debit card the reversal period is generally closer to 120 days. Contrary to ACH transactions, a customer can ask for a chargeback or reversal on their credit or debit cards simply because they were unhappy with the quality, timeliness, or efficacy of the products or services provided. However, any chargebacks are less likely to occur compared to when customers pay via credit card. Some of the other advantages provided by using ACH payments over debit/credit card transactions include having a lower cost to process, converting recurring customers to a less expensive payment processing method. There is another added benefit, which is reducing the number of declined recurring payments due to expired debit or credit card information, making it harder for customers to initiate chargebacks or reversals on transactions they have done with your company (in addition to reducing the time period during which a chargeback or reversal can be requested by a consumer). Some consumers refuse to use debit or credit cards, but almost everyone has a bank account. Reach the portion of your consumers without a debit or credit card and make the switch to ACH payments today. Two final advantages include less fraud exposure and the chance to use a payment method not offered by your competition in order to save money and time. Another question you may have is in regard to wire transfers and if they are the same as an ACH payment. Wire transfers are another kind of electronic funds transfer occurring between two parties, but their respective applications in the business world are very different. Wire transfers are used for payments both higher in value and smaller in number than ACH transactions. This means that while wire transfer payments are not limited to domestic use, they are also irreversible and time-critical. ACH transactions are grouped together and processed in batches for increased efficiency and time savings, but wire transfers are processed as individual, real-time transactions. They offer no support for automation of the payment process, have an expensive fee associated with their use, and are intended for one-time payments to presumably extra-important parties. The fee associated with a wire transfer is there because of the convenience it offers, but in addition to being expensive to conduct wire transfers also lack the versatility and applicability of ACH transactions. The main advantages of conducting ACH payments over wire transfer payments are oriented around saving money for both parties involved – ACH payments are free for customers and less expensive for merchants, while the same cannot be said of wire transfers. What kind of businesses are ACH payments suited for?So, with all of those cited advantages over paper checks, credit/debit card transactions, and wire transfers, how can your business accept ACH payments easily and efficiently? ACH payments can be thought of as “e-checks”, since they serve the same function as an electronic check. More often than not, the two terms are used interchangeably except when referencing high-risk merchants – the reasoning for this is that high-risk businesses often have a hard time finding a merchant account to use for credit and debit card payment processing. Some high-risk businesses are not eligible for traditional ACH processing but might be able to qualify for an e-check processing system mitigating some of the risks associated with chargebacks and reversals initiated by consumers. In general, these kinds of systems work by implementing a type of middleman. For example, a common technique employed by high-risk businesses wishing to utilize the framework offered by ACH transactions is setting up their e-check processors with an aggregated account to process and clear the funds, followed by submitting a normal ACH transaction to your business’ bank account on your behalf. Some ACH payment providers charge a flat fee ranging from around $0.20 cents to $1.50 per transaction; others charge a percentage-based fee (from around 0.5% to 1.5% with variances for high-risk merchants). Merchants with larger average transaction sizes should look to per-transaction flat rate fees for a cheaper option to percentage-based pricing. But what are ACH payment providers? ACH payment providers include companies that can help you begin accepting ACH payments, such as merchant account providers/credit card processors, business bank account providers, dedicated ACH processors, accounting software providers, and all-in-one processor/payment gateway companies (as BNG Payments). ACH payments can oftentimes be added to an existing service package for no additional fees, but your inquiry is required if you want to benefit from free services. Banks won’t mention them to you, but they are usually an option – call your financial institution today and inquire about implementing an ACH payment system and you may be surprised with the answer you receive. Although there may be a separate underwriting process for establishing the ACH payment system initially, no more fees should be paid to your bank after that. So, how are ACH payments processed once they have been conducted or requested? In order to properly process ACH payments they must firstly be authorized, and important customer information needs to be collected. Obtaining the name of your customer along with the details of their financial institution (like their routing and account numbers) is necessary for payment authorization. The ACH network offers three ways to process payments: check scanners can be used to transform paper checks into digital ACH transactions, and checks can be run through the scanner in order to deposit them remotely. Virtual terminals are useful for processing keyed-entry payments, such as those made via telephone or mail order. Account information can be entered into the computer in order to process payment information. Website payments are the final method of ACH transactions approved for use in the United States; account providers can establish payment gateways via webforms (used to collect ACH payments within your website). In addition, you may also need a way to verify the account information of your customer, especially if your ACH transactions occur via webform. A common method of establishing the veracity and verifiability of the account includes setting up a micro-deposit or two to ensure the account exists (for example, you might deposit $.03 and $.12 into a customer’s bank account to make sure it is a real account, and when the deposit clears the funds can be withdrawn once again). The time taken to process ACH payments is not long at all; it allows for same-day payment and receival because ACH payments are batched three times per day. If your business is looking for a new payment methodology to boost time and costs savings, look no further than establishing an ACH transaction system. The post How to Accept ACH Payments Via Your Bank Account Or QuickBooks appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/how-to-accept-ach-payments-via-your-bank-account-or-quickbooks/ With E-Check Payment Processing Available For Merchant Accounts; Credit Card Transactions Are No Longer NeededThe world of payments is changing, and now merchants are gaining the ability to replace credit/debit card transactions with e-check payment processing. If you’re not caught up on the latest advancements in business technologies, this article will explain how e-check work and if they are a good solution for your business. For a brief overview, e-checks, otherwise known as electronic checks, are forms of online payment in which money is electronically withdrawn from the buyer’s checking account, then transferred over the ACH network and re-deposited into the business’ bank account. ACH payment processing and e-check payment processing strategies are very similar in nature, with differences being evident only in terminology. ACH payments (Automated Clearing House payments) and e-check payments (electronic check payments) are interchangeable in name, except when dealing with high-risk businesses. Whether a business is high-risk is determined by how frequently customers request a chargeback or reversal of funds is high due to the nature of the goods or services being provided). By establishing an ACH merchant account to process payments, a business can withdraw payments for their goods or services directly from their consumer’s accounts. This means you do not have to have the physical card to swipe or pay credit card processing fees. Electronic check processing works in a similar fashion to paper check processing, but the difference lies in the time taken for both to occur. e-check payment processing typically occurs at a more rapid pace than paper check processing can; saving both time and paper waste in the process. There are four main steps needed for e-check payment processing, and they are listed below. 1. Obtain Customer Authorization. The first step for processing any transaction made via electronic check is to request customer authorization for it. This step may be completed by obtaining customer authorization for a transaction by way of using an online payment form, signed order form, or phone conversation (for recording your customer’s consent to withdraw money from their account). 2. Establish Payment Details. After authorization for an e-check transaction has been obtained, the business inputs the payment information into the online payment processing software (this can be any software rated to handle ACH transactions, and may even be offered for free by your financial institution – inquire with your bank for further details). If the payment in question is recurrent in nature, details of the schedule by which payment should occur are also included in the transaction information. 3. Finalize and Submit Transaction Details. Once all of the payment information has been correctly entered, the business conducting the transaction clicks “save” or “submit” and begins the e-check/ACH transaction process. E-check payment processing is now taken care of on the customer’s end – you are responsible for ensuring the rest of the process goes off without a hitch because the customer has no further role in the transaction. 4. Confirm Payment and Deposited Funds. If all of your customer’s information was correct upon entry, the payment will be automatically withdrawn from the customer’s bank account. Upon sending a payment receipt to the customer via bank statement or email, the online e-check payment processing software deposits the initial payment into the business’ bank account. Transaction time to payment deposit ranges from three to five days. E-check payment processing is a relatively easy, simple, and waste-less process. Though very similar in nature to paper checks, electronic checks offer easier, more efficient payment processing sure to save your business both time and money in the long run. Because electronic checks fall under the category of being both an EFT (electronic funds transfer) and an ACH transaction, it can be hard to differentiate between EFTs, ACH transactions, and e-check transactions. Are e-check payments right for your business?Now that you understand the basics of e-check processing, now it’s time to see if it is a good fit for your business, and why you may want to consider implementing this kind of transaction. First off, because they are similar to paper checks by transferring money from the buyer’s account to a business account, there are fewer fees in transferring money. Unlike with credit cards, which always have interchange costs from the various credit card brands (i.e. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, etc.) e-checks only have a small per-transaction fee and can save businesses hundreds of dollars over the long run. E-checks can be used to pay for higher-cost items, such as car payments, rent, or mortgage payments; they are also used to pay for services dealing with monthly fees – legal retainers and fitness memberships are two examples. This makes them a very popular form of a recurring payment, and E-check payments can also be called “recurring ACH payments” because they utilize the same network. If your business is interested in learning more about how to successfully implement an E-check payment processing system, give us a call or send us an email today. The post Is E-Check Payment Processing Replacing Credit Card Transactions For Merchant Accounts? appeared first on BNG Payments. from https://www.bngpayments.net/is-e-check-payment-processing-replacing-credit-card-transactions-for-merchant-accounts/ |
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