Understanding merchant account fees will be vital if you are to avoid falling prey to hidden or junk fees. Merchant service providers that offer an extremely low rate to commit to a contract, or rush you through the signing process before you have thoroughly read a contract, can cost you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. It will be important to be aware of what some of the bogus charges are to protect your business.
A common hidden fee is the signing bonus. On the surface, this is an excellent deal. The provider will often profess to have the lowest rates and greatest service available. However, this teaser fee will be raised a few months after signing and will normally be followed by regular raises in rates until you are paying more than you would have paid a reputable provider.
Lower rates may only apply to specific cards. In many cases, the transactions you conduct for the majority of your business will not fall into the category required to meet the lower rate. In addition, other rates will be higher than normal so you will be paying a premium for your transactions in other categories. "At will" changes in rates is often buried in the fine print of a contract. This gives the provider the ability to change rates at any time with no cap on the amount they can increase a fee.
If you exceed a specific number of transactions on a regular basis, you may be charged an "over-limit" or excessive transaction fee. This charge will either be a percentage of transactions over a limit or a flat amount per transaction that is over the limit set by the provider and can cost you thousands of dollars.
Cancellation rates that range from hundreds to thousands of dollars often can prevent a merchant from changing providers when they wish to do so. It is very important to read the find print to determine what the cost of cancelling your contract will be. If you do not see information about cancellation rates, ask the representative about the costs before you sign a contract or commit to a provider.
A Monthly Minimum charge is added to your statement if you do not reach a minimum limit of transactions on a monthly basis. Make sure that you know what the limit is before signing your contract. If you are a small business owner and do not have a lot of transactions each month, you can either negotiate a lower limit. Some providers offer an option that will allow you to pay a higher statement charge with no monthly minimum required.
If you exceed the expected volume, a High Monthly Volume surcharge may be embedded in the fine print. This is usually a percentage that is added to your discount rates. Before signing a contract make sure that you have all of the details regarding this fee, it's structure and how it will affect your bottom line.
There are many services included in your Monthly Statement Fee. Therefore, you need to know the details of the charges that are included in this fee so that you can spot Multiple Monthly Fees which some dis-reputable providers bury in the fine print. Common Multiple charges that you have already paid for are customer service, debit access, help desk., etc. Before agreeing to the contract, find out if multiple monthly fees will be charged and, if so, what they include.
It will be important to spend time understanding merchant account fees and learning what you should look for in a contract before you sign it. Spending time reading the fine print of a contract will often save you time, money, and frustration.
A common hidden fee is the signing bonus. On the surface, this is an excellent deal. The provider will often profess to have the lowest rates and greatest service available. However, this teaser fee will be raised a few months after signing and will normally be followed by regular raises in rates until you are paying more than you would have paid a reputable provider.
Lower rates may only apply to specific cards. In many cases, the transactions you conduct for the majority of your business will not fall into the category required to meet the lower rate. In addition, other rates will be higher than normal so you will be paying a premium for your transactions in other categories. "At will" changes in rates is often buried in the fine print of a contract. This gives the provider the ability to change rates at any time with no cap on the amount they can increase a fee.
If you exceed a specific number of transactions on a regular basis, you may be charged an "over-limit" or excessive transaction fee. This charge will either be a percentage of transactions over a limit or a flat amount per transaction that is over the limit set by the provider and can cost you thousands of dollars.
Cancellation rates that range from hundreds to thousands of dollars often can prevent a merchant from changing providers when they wish to do so. It is very important to read the find print to determine what the cost of cancelling your contract will be. If you do not see information about cancellation rates, ask the representative about the costs before you sign a contract or commit to a provider.
A Monthly Minimum charge is added to your statement if you do not reach a minimum limit of transactions on a monthly basis. Make sure that you know what the limit is before signing your contract. If you are a small business owner and do not have a lot of transactions each month, you can either negotiate a lower limit. Some providers offer an option that will allow you to pay a higher statement charge with no monthly minimum required.
If you exceed the expected volume, a High Monthly Volume surcharge may be embedded in the fine print. This is usually a percentage that is added to your discount rates. Before signing a contract make sure that you have all of the details regarding this fee, it's structure and how it will affect your bottom line.
There are many services included in your Monthly Statement Fee. Therefore, you need to know the details of the charges that are included in this fee so that you can spot Multiple Monthly Fees which some dis-reputable providers bury in the fine print. Common Multiple charges that you have already paid for are customer service, debit access, help desk., etc. Before agreeing to the contract, find out if multiple monthly fees will be charged and, if so, what they include.
It will be important to spend time understanding merchant account fees and learning what you should look for in a contract before you sign it. Spending time reading the fine print of a contract will often save you time, money, and frustration.
About the Author:
You need to know more on merchant account fees and credit card fees so that you could have a good understanding of what exactly really are.
No comments:
Post a Comment