Since we are living in the age of credit and debit cards, businesses owners must be extremely careful. Everything is paid for online or using bank accounts. There are almost no cash payments anymore.
Now, when it comes to doing business online, you need to enable your customers to pay using their credit cards. Otherwise, you will experience a decrease in revenue. But credit-card processing can be quite dangerous for your business and for your customers as well. Everything needs to be done appropriately. Here are some mistakes in choosing a credit-card processor that can lead to problems.
Lax Security in Handling of Credit-Card Payments
Mishandling anything in your business, in general, can lead to significant problems. But if you mishandle payments, you have a serious problem. You have to be extremely careful. Money can easily go missing in credit-card transactions if security is lax, and if you do not ensure that payments are secure, your business will be in trouble.
Not only do you risk losing money and divulging private information—which can lead to your downfall—you also put your customers in danger. The Internet is a dangerous place, and if you do not pay enough attention to secure payment processing, you will fail.
Failing to Read Terms and Conditions
Do not agree to anything without reading first! Another mistake almost 90 percent of business owners make is not reading terms and conditions on credit-card-processing deals. This is a huge issue because if you do not know what you’re agreeing to, you can end up losing everything.
Read every single item of the terms and condition because they can limit your options severely and shackle your ability to do business. Don’t be afraid to negotiate, and never sign anything without completely acknowledging and understanding it.
Growing Faster than You Can Process Payments
You need to grow your business, but do it carefully. If you do everything as quickly as you can, you will likely neglect something that can end up being a huge problem in the future. That is the case with credit-card payments.
When you receive an unusually large number of payments in a short amount of time, credit-card processors can freeze your funds, which can become a major problem for your business. Again, make sure you are clear on the terms of your deal.
Choosing the Wrong Credit-Card Processor
Choosing the right credit-card processor is hard especially because many processors will initially reject your application. When you start a business, shop around for processors. Don’t just choose the first one that accepts your application.
If you’re not careful, you could end up signing with a crooked credit-card processor that will steal from you and your customers. And once you’ve signed and the deal is done, there is no turning back. Choose wisely.
Choosing an Option That’s More Expensive in the Long Run
Given the potential pitfalls of credit-card processing, you should consider purchasing a credit-card machine on your own for your business. The cost is around $200-$300.
That might seem like a big investment, particularly for a startup, but if you choose to pay $30-$40 monthly fees for a credit-card machine lease, you will end up spending ten times more than what you would have paid if you had bought the machine in the first place.
Conclusion
Do your due diligence when choosing a credit-card processor. Otherwise, you risk putting your entire business in jeopardy. Choose a processing company that makes its customers’ needs a top priority and doesn’t play tricks with contracts.
Kate Ashton is a writer for SharkProcessing.com. Shark Payment Solutions is a company that makes its customers’ needs and ways of satisfying them a top priority at all times. Shark is one of the best high-risk credit card processors there is for high-risk businesses and other businesses as well.
