Credit Card Merchant Services

A credit card merchant service allows a business to offer consumers immediate bank transactions that are reliable and encrypted to prevent any security breach. "The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour" (Proverbs 21:25). Business owners shouldn't be lazy, but work to determine what their customers need and what is most useful. These services tend to be very convenient by allowing cashless transactions. The merchant, perhaps using an account provider, maintains an account at a financial institution and is willing to pay extra and wait 2-3 days for payment to reach his business account. Credit card merchant services are one of the conveniences a business can offer customers who are less likely to carry cash and more likely to spend liberally with a card. More and more, these services include Internet transactions through a secure payment gateway as well. All of this for about a $100 processing fee or an agreement to purchase proprietary software or equipment or pay higher transaction fees, just so that a customer can have an added convenience and a monthly record of expenditures on their account statement. This way, each "charge" transaction seem easy and instantaneous, but credit card merchant service is actually very involved.

Shoppers can go to the check out counter or web shopping cart with "plastic" instead of cash because of credit card merchant services. At a business, the merchant provides a device for shoppers to enter all relevant account information (number, expiration date, amount of purchase). On the Internet, a specialized form connects to the website host's secure server, and information from both transactions flows to the merchant's processing bank. Consumers may be unaware that the credit card merchant service charges a fee for each transaction, paid by the business who passes the cost on to customers in higher prices, just to make sure the card is valid and that funds are available to pay the bill. If all is well, the service provides an authorization code back to the processor, sends permission through encryption, and the transaction order is fulfilled. That is when the customer gets a receipt.

To offer customers this convenience, most business owners are familiar with credit card merchant services allowing them to process the payment from a counter terminal, an internet virtual terminal, or by phone. It only takes 24 hours to a few weeks to set up an account; the longer time is needed for international accounts. Every month, the business is billed a processing fee unless sales are over a certain a few thousand dollars. Businesses will pay more for all transactions that are over the Internet, phone, or through the mail because it is less secure than a face-to-face transaction where ID can be seen. Behind the scenes, credit card merchant services provide every business owner with the capability of expanding sales, but the reverse is true as well. A business without a credit card merchant service is almost outdated.

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