As a business owner needing a quality solution to accept credit cards, you are constantly pursued by credit card processing agents telling you to “Go Direct” so you can eliminate all your payment processing headaches. This “pitch” is used by thousands of credit card processing agents across the country even if they don’t work for one of the few actual direct payment processors.
As a consulting firm that works in partnership with direct processors and independent sales organizations, we understand why this pitch is bogus!
Credit card processing is nothing like buying furniture or refrigerators. The credit card processing rates are set by the card issuing banks and the card brands (i.e. Visa, MasterCard, etc.) and are non-negotiable. In fact, these rates equate to as much as 90% of your overall bill in most cases as I mention in my recent article “Where Credit Card Processing Fees Go”.
I’ve come across merchants processing with direct processors that were getting great rates and service, and merchants that were being overcharged and mistreated by their direct processing relationship, so going direct is not the silver bullet.
The reality is, the experience you will have with your merchant service provider along with what you pay is dependent upon how they configure your fee structure, the technology they provide, and their approach to customer service. These vary from company to company and it’s up to you to have an interview process to determine which provider is the best fit for your business.
How We Help
Northwest Advisory Group is a payment consulting firm that helps businesses eliminate the stress related to managing payment processing. We accomplish that by understanding the needs of our clients and recommending payment solutions that help them reduce costs, save time, and increase revenue.
If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help you save time and money, let’s start a conversation.
