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Switch Your Merchant Account To Save Thousands

Author: Brian Armstrong

Business owners often overlook their merchant accounts because it only represents a small part of their overall financial picture. The reality is that merchants are overpaying and often don\'t do anything about it because they believe it\'s too much of a hassle to switch. Merchants that process transactions on a regular basis can save a significant amount of money by switching and it is significantly less work that most merchants might think.

When pricing accounts, both new accounts as well as pricing to switch over, most merchants look at nothing more than the qualified discount rate and base their decision on this number only. Instead of basing your decision to switch on just the qualified discount rate alone, you should instead base it on your effective rate which is the ratio of overall fees to the gross volume that you process. If you base it on the effective rate, you can usually always find a lower rate by modifying some components of pricing. If you\'re overpaying by $100 per month on the non-qualified rate, you can keep all other rates the same and reduce just that fee alone to get an extra $1200 in your pocket every year.

Getting your per transaction low will affect merchants who process a lot of transactions more than those that process only a few transactions per month. In addition to the regular per transaction fee, there is usually an AVS fee which is also per transaction any time the address verification system is accessed which happens on internet or card-not-present transactions. This can add to the overall per transaction amount. If you process cards on a physical terminal where the transaction is swiped, you won\'t have an AVS fee.

For you merchants who are processing smaller ticket items, the per transaction fee usually represents a larger percentage of the overall transaction amount. Keeping this per transaction low is even more important that your discount rate if you have a low average per transaction.

Business owners that have a higher ticket item should be more concerned with the discount rates they\'re paying far more than the per transaction fees as that represents a larger percentage of the overall fees. If you divide the total amount of fees by the gross volume that you process each month, you\'ll have your \"effective\" rate.

Switching your merchant to a new provider is easy. Generally it only takes a few minutes to complete an online application and a few minutes of verifying your prices and fees to know that you\'re saving money. Although the time span for switching to a new account isn\'t quick, the actual time you personally spend is typically less than 30 minutes.

Some small business owners are hesitant to switch to a new account simply because they have an early termination fee hanging over their head from their current processor. You can look for merchant service providers that can help you by offering a reimbursement or voucher that will pay you back for any termination fee that you incur.

If your equipment is not PCI compliant, this may be a great time to switch to a new account. For most merchants, your equipment is most likely already PCI compliant. Many merchant service providers now offer free equipment for new merchants including those switching over from another provider. Reprogramming your existing equipment is also an option and most merchant service providers will give you the reprogramming for free as well.

If you are currently processing credit cards, you\'re probably overpaying. Contact Brian through his website dedicated to credit card merchant accounts and see for yourself how much money you can actually save. MerchantHotline.com has been around since 2001 offering exceptional pricing and services to business owners throughout the US and Canada.

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