It is essential to be able accept payments in order to run a business. You can’t accept money from customers. This will make it difficult for you to stay afloat.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to physically take cash from customers or swipe their cards. It is essential that you are able to accept a variety payment method from customers while protecting their payment information.

Merchant services providers can help. Good merchant service providers offer a cost-effective way to accept money from customers and have access to funds within a reasonable timeframe. There are many options available on the market. Read on to find out more about merchant service providers.

What is Merchant Service Providers?

Merchant service providers offer many systems and solutions that help businesses receive payments from their customers. You can accept credit, debit and electronic payments. They can also help with customer payment data storage and safe handling. Many merchant service providers can also assist you in payment tracking, collection of invoices, data and analysis, and other similar areas.

Types Of Merchant Service Providers

There are two types of merchant service providers. There are two main types of merchant service providers. One is a provider that offers fewer features, while the other one allows you to invest more to increase account stability.

• Merchant Account Providers

Merchant account providers are the oldest type of merchant service provider. They provide merchant accounts to businesses that enable them to accept debit and credit cards as payment.

Many merchant account providers will also give you the tools that you need to accept payment.

• PoS systems
• Terminals for credit cards
• Payment gateways

More.

• Payment service providers

Payment service providers – also known as PSPs, third party payment processors and aggregators – allow businesses to accept electronic payments online and in person without the need for a merchant account.

PSPs combine funds from all customers into one account and then distribute funds based upon which customer earned what.

This allows you to set up your business faster and offers better rates. However, this can lead to your money being mixed with other businesses’. This can lead to less account stability. You may lose control of your account and have it frozen.

Benefits of Merchant Services

• Increase your sales and earn more revenue

It is simple. The more payment options you accept, the more sales will you make. Customers will be more likely to purchase from you.

You’ll make more sales, but you’ll also have higher revenue. In other words, your average order value will increase. Numerous studies have shown that credit cards are more popular than cash for paying their bills.

It’s obvious that the reasoning behind this is simple: it’s more difficult to watch dollar bills disappear than to swipe a debit or credit card (and spend money that you don’t own), which is even harder than spending money you don’t “have” with a credit card.

• Increase Customer Satisfaction

Customers become frustrated when their card isn’t working. They might not have the card they need. They might have the card, but prefer to use another card to earn cashback or miles.

You’ll get more customer satisfaction if your business accepts as many payments as you can.

• Better Financial Management

You can track the money flowing into and out your business with electronic payment services. This simplifies accounting and financial management, especially when it can be integrated with your company’s accounting software.

What to Consider when Shopping for Merchant Services

• What is the best way to accept payments?

Is your e-commerce shop selling only online? Are you an e-commerce store that sells only online? If you sell in-person, you may require more equipment to swipe and key in cards.

• Types of Payment

Which types of payments are you willing to accept? Will you accept only debit cards or credit cards? What types of credit cards do you accept? You might not find all the credit card networks that you require from some merchant service providers.

• Hardware and software

– Credit cards terminals: This is a classic credit card terminal. You can swipe, tap, or chip-insert your credit card to make payment.

– Virtual terminals This allows you to accept credit cards online without having to physically present the card (by entering the card number).

– Contactless payments: uses RFID to pay using an electronic device and without contact. Things such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and Google Pay.

Mobile payments: Payments from your mobile device. You can use Venmo and the PayPal app on your phone, for example.

E-commerce Features: You can accept online payments. Features include shopping carts and customization of online stores.

– PoS Systems: Where customers make a purchase in-person at your store.

– Payment Gateways: Software that allows you to securely process online payments.

• Artificial Intelligence

AI is changing many industries. AI is being used in the merchant services industry to combat fraud. It can, for example, learn transaction details and use that information to detect fraudulent transactions in the future.

It can also be used to automatically retry failed transactions, such as when a card is declined. This saves both the merchant and the consumer time and makes them feel a bit less embarrassed.

• Voice Commerce

Just a decade ago, sci-fi was discussing the possibility of an electronic voice assistant that you could use to search the internet, check the weather, and shop with. Siri, Cortana and Alexa were all created. Over 40 million Americans own the devices. This doesn’t include voice search.

This opens up a whole new world of commerce opportunities. Experts predict that voice commerce will generate around $40 billion in revenues by 2022.

• Apps for P2P

You had to have cash with you before P2P apps.

Apps like PayPal and Venmo allow you to send and receive money easily from your smartphone or computer. These apps are used most frequently by people to send money to each other, but businesses and other organizations increasingly use them to pay. Many charitable organizations offer donors the option to make donations via a P2P application.

Conclusion

In this modern age, almost every business can benefit from a merchant service provider. You can serve more customers, make more money, and keep your finances in check more easily.

These solutions are offered by many companies, but they appear to be very similar. Before you buy, make sure to review each company’s pricing structure. We recommend that you also check out the other providers we have mentioned.

Balanced Processing Partners can help you learn more about payment processing options for your business. Many of the top processing companies are part of our partnerships. (800 354-6256. We are also available via email [email protected].