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November 6th, 2015

Credit Card Rate Hopping? Don’t Trip!

Like the old saying goes, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. 
You’re not alone if you’re looking for the best deals for managing your business, but as your Point Of Sale provider, we consider it our duty to help you progress in the right direction. We’ve been really concerned about the high volumes of credit card rate hopping going around lately, and we wanted to take time to explain why this is not a wise thing to be doing…

The Dangers of Rate Hopping
Rate hopping is a trap that a handful of merchants find themselves in when they fall for enticements from payment processing salesmen. The merchant level salesman approaches a merchant, promising lower rates. The merchant then cancels their current provider in hopes of big savings. Please, don’t move forward without calling us. We’ve been around the block thousands of times, and know all the tricks these salespersons are hiding up their sleeve.

First and foremost, let us point out that MCR works directly with Bank of America, Chase Paymentech, Mercury, Heartland and plenty more. We in no way control the rates these processing companies distribute, but this is important for you to know as our customers because we have encrypted pin pads with signature capture in stock incase something goes down at your store. If you move to different banks, we can’t help you as quick as we would like to, seeing that we would need to order the proper equipment and program it which can take weeks.

So, if you’re interested in knowing how it works with processing companies, here’s some insight. When you see fees on your statements, these are based on two factors. One, the interchange rate, which is a government regulated fee from Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. These are fluctuating rates that change every few months, although they are always the same for all merchants- no matter if you have one small deli or a massive chain of supermarkets across the nation.
The second factor, is the fee factor that your bank will charge on top of the interchange rate. It will most likely be a charge of 5-8 pennies per transaction, which all depends on what you agreed with your bank. A penny or two per month will make a change of about 40 dollars at the end of your monthly statement. This is vital for you to know so that when a person comes and says they will save you 1000 dollars on your monthly statement, understand this is simply impossible.

These salespersons are seductive with their words. Though they will fail to mention the things mentioned above, trust us. Unlike them, we don’t need a certain number of residuals each month! This is why we advise you do your research and reach out for a second opinion.

So, don’t get tricked by a payment processing salesman anytime soon. Before a potentially fake price tag makes your eyes open wider, know the tricks.

 

IF you are approached by a salesman, here are some helpful questions you may want to ask. You know, so they don’t take you for a fool!

 

“Can I have it in writing?”

Whether it’s your promised rates, services, additional fees, or contract terms, make a verbal quote or explanation looks much different on paper when you receive your first statement.

Ask specifically for the differences in Qualified , Mid-qualified, and Non-qualified rates as well as per-transaction or authorization fees.

 

“What are the additional costs?”

Payment Processor Fees:

Application or start-up fees

Technical Support

Gateway fees

Gift card processing

Online reporting

Added Dealer Fees (check with your dealer)

Additional software

Additional middleware

Technical support

 

“What kind of support do you provide?”

If I am unable to process transactions on a weekend or a holiday, will there be someone knowledgeable to help me?

Will I be charged for technical support?

If I receive a transaction error message will you be able to help me fix the problem, or will I have to rely on my dealer?

When I call with a problem, will I talk to a live person, or an automated menu of options?

If my batches are not being closed properly, or consistently, will I be notified and paid promptly?

 

“Do you provide any other free, value-added services?”

Real-time transaction reporting

Online daily deposit details

Authorization outage protection

Payment card Industry Data Security Standard Compliance

Customizable merchant portal

 

“Do you provide any reliability features to ensure I can always process?”

Do you automatically authorize and back transactions in the event of an authorization network outage?

Do you have redundant servers in different networks to help prevent authorization network outages?

Do you have backup solutions so that I can continue to process if my internet connection fails?