Ok, I need to start accepting credit cards for my business now, as in RIGHT NOW, today. I did some research months ago and realized, I didn't need to start accepting credit cards till I had a paying customer 
Now I have one. So my question to all you small business owners, what service do you use for Visa and M/C purchases? I think right now I'm going to go with a per transaction fee since I don't expect to have many transactions for a while. Heck, it could be months before I get another transaction. So, what's your experience? Any suggestions or warnings?
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Nov. 17, 2009 8:15 a.m. DrBoost HalfDork
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Nov. 17, 2009 8:23 a.m. cwh SuperDork
For us, we are quite happy with First Data. We use Virtual Terminal, so no equipment charges. Transaction charges are decent. Most of my sales are international, by phone or e-mail, which made some of the companies nervous, but we have never had a problem. Apply on line, good luck. By the way, do your homework. Charges vary greatly from one company to another.
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Nov. 17, 2009 8:30 a.m. Kendall_Jones Reader
I looked into the service referred by Costco. Since I'm an executive member, they waive a lot of the piddly re-occurring fees.
Also, I see that paypal now has a virtual terminal as well.
Kendall
Regardless, I dont think its a quick process. You need to apply, wait for an answer, wait for equipment, etc before they let you charge away :)
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Nov. 17, 2009 8:36 a.m. sachilles Reader
I manage the credit cards where I work. We are a resort with 70+ sales points/credit card terminals.
My suggestions for a small business.
an option with flat fees per transaction is good for places that will be having larger charges per transaction. It's not so good for a convenience store, where you might have hundreds of transactions under $15.
Buy your own equipment, even if used. Don't rent/lease, it's not worth it.
Run your cards over a telephone line and not the internet. It may be slower, but it is much safer. Those that run cards over the net must work very hard to ensure meet the internet safety guidelines put out by the credit card companies. That isn't always cost effective for a small company. Failure to comply can mean huge fines that you don't want to mess with.
Don't bother with American express. Anyone who has an Amex card, has a Visa/MC in their wallet too. Discover is worth taking, and they are very good to merchants in terms of service(where amex is not). I might even have some old equipment I can send you, that we don't use any more.
Settle your machine daily. Make sure to physically swipe the card whenever possible. These practices will keep your rates lower. Store anything that has a non-truncated card number under lock and key, with limited access.
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Nov. 17, 2009 8:39 a.m. cwh SuperDork
Agree on AmEx. It has taken as much as a week to get our money, 2 days with the others.
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Nov. 17, 2009 10:27 a.m. cwh SuperDork
When we went with First Data, it took about a week to get going. We cannot swipe cards because of the nature of the business, keep all records very carefully, and shred anything else. Hey, I'm a security guy!
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Nov. 17, 2009 12:26 p.m. DrBoost HalfDork
Sachilles, if you have any that you are offering, I'd be very appreciative.
I just went and checked Cosco. I like it. No monthly fee, no application fee and 1.99% per transaction. I can't beat that with a stick. -
Nov. 17, 2009 1:21 p.m. sachilles Reader
check to see that they can use a Verifone 330 terminal and a verifone p250 printer. Providing they can, email me your address and stuff and I can get something out to you. IF they can't use that machine, a new machine is in the neighborhood of $300, so don't lease one unless they require it. Regardless of what machine you end with, mount it to the wall. They don't like it when you spill coke, coffee or anything else on them. The machine is replaceable, but fixing the mess of transactions that were stuck in the machine is a major pain in the arse.
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Nov. 17, 2009 2:01 p.m. poopshovel UltraDork
We use one that's compatible with our software. Rates aren't the greatest, but they're not pulling the "you need to buy this $1,000 machine because yours is outdated" bull E36 M3 either.
My advice: Go local. Our downtown business association worked out a sweet deal with a local community bank for killer rates, service, etc. IMO, that's the only way to fly.
PS: We used to not accept AMEX, but after reading up quite a bit in industry magazines, we decided to start. Yes, you get nailed. But think about it, if you have a local competitor who accepts AMEX, and you don't, and you know how people LOVE their skymiles, who do you think your skymile addicted customers are going to shop with? Worth thinking about.
If necessary, work the addtional cost into your pricing, or offer a cash discount.
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Nov. 23, 2009 11:48 a.m. Kendall_Jones Reader
Just an update from the paypal virtual terminal I set up.
In a word, fugetaboutit.
They approved me but stated they needed to hold 30% (!) of my transactions for 90 days to cover chargebacks, etc.
WTF I say. Well, I can probably budget some card use & just plan on missing some money for 3 months (would be OK for dyno jobs & some service work).
But no. Its all paypal transactions. They start pulling 30% off my ebay sales / retail sales for general paypal payments. A couple of ebay sales & they got $200+ hostage until february. I cancel the Virtual terminal, but that doesnt stop the reserve being held (another $100 goes hostage). Another call to paypal gets the reserve turned off (and another couple grand comes in just shortly after that). Whew. Live & learn.
And, paypal wont release the reserve amount until the 90 days passes. Grr.
I do a lot of Quaife / Koyo / Race parts sales & my margins are no where near 30%, so I'm glad an order did not come in (I'd have no way to cover it).
Anyway, I dont know if its SOP for paypal's VT service (or my new business credit rating), but dang that was a couple sucky days.
Kendall
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Nov. 23, 2009 12:00 p.m. DrBoost HalfDork
Yeah, I'm not going paypal VT either. The fees are astounding!
