Credit cards are all the rage in the USA and have been for decades, and six out of ten Americans have at least one credit card. The number of credit card users has been growing each year exponentially. People use them as the primary mode of payment. Similarly, debit cards are widely used online payment substitutes, and the number of new users is rising worldwide. Today, debit card usage accounts for 25% of all purchase volume which was 13% in 2005.

Moreover, there were 45 billion dollars in credit card transactions in the year 2019. It means more volume of the transaction will increase demand for credit transaction processors. Payment processing companies act as a bridge between the merchant and the customers making the payments. This industry may be competitive, but it’s true that it can be very profitable. Do you want to become a merchant service agent, or wondering how to start a payment processing company? If yes, then read on to learn how to become a credit card processor.

How to become a credit card processor in 4 simple steps?

You might think it’s simple to become a credit card processor, but it is not as simple as it sounds. In fact, it is more than project projection, payment terminal, and POS options to get things started. Follow these steps if you are on a mission to becoming a merchant service provider.

Conduct Market Research

Market research will not only help you better understand your target market but also uncover insights about your competitors. So don’t forget to invest some time to conduct market research to analyze your competitors and potential clients. Determine the viability of new selling merchant services and the niche of the local retailers. Don’t forget to monitor how your competitors are doing business, their services, and the average fee their customers are paying for credit card processing.

Come up with a great deal for your future clients. If you offer to deal with a lower amount than your competitors, you will likely get more profit. All you need to go to your local market and create a survey to gather comprehensive information from your targeted audience about the service they use the most. Ask them about their current merchant service provider and check how much they are satisfied with them. And most importantly, don’t forget to collect the contact information of your potential clients, like their phone numbers and email address.

Plan Out How You Will Operate Your Business

The second step is to create a profitable business plan. It will give you an idea of how your credit card processing company will work. Plan out what kind of services you will offer and their pricing. Moreover, your business plan should also cover how large your sales team will be. In other words, it is a guideline that will help to make business-related decisions. Also include other details like how much capital you need to start a payment processing company, how you will obtain this capital, and how you will market your new business.

There are two main options for those who are becoming a credit card processor, i.e., start your own company or franchise (work under another company or brand) a credit card processing company. When you start your company independently, it offers various benefits. First of all, starting an independent business may cost less, and you earn more profit because there are no chances of getting your hand-tied in any contract or bad deal. In addition, it comes with downsides too. When you start a new company, no one recognizes you in the market, and you have to do a lot of hard work to beat your competitors around. Not only that, you should have good terms with banks to finance your company.

On the other hand, if you choose the second option, i.e., franchise an existing credit card processing company, forget about designing a winning business model, finding credit card terminals, machines, and other equipment, and build a relationship with finance resources like banks. However, if you choose this option, you will require big bucks to get started. Moreover, the parent company will also cut through some percentage of your profits.

Partner With The Bank

You need to partner with a bank to handle the interbank routing and get financing for operational costs. Initially, you need at least $50,000 capital to start a credit card processing company with a physical office location. If a contingency plan fails and unexpected expenses arise, consider a secondary source.

Execute Your Business Plan

Now, it’s time to execute your business plan and launch your company. Having a killer marketing strategy helps you grow your business exponentially. Your ultimate goal should be to stay ahead of your competitors. To reach out to more clients, business networking can help you rack up new contacts. Provide the best services as promised to your customers. Referrals from merchants play a crucial role in the company’s growth.

How To Sell Merchant Services

Want to know how to sell merchant services? Just keep in mind that there is no secret formula to selling it; it starts with you. First off, you should know how this transaction processing procedure works. You should be an expert as a credit card payment processor that helps you get more profit than MSPs (Merchant Service Providers). Over time, when you see more trade growth, people will recognize your business assets. Prepare your business assets like yellow and white pages, business cards, website, business cards, and local directory for your company and market them to grow your business.

Tips On Selling Merchant Services

One of the best tips on selling merchant services is that give your clients the reason to choose you. Don’t offer the same thing that other hundreds of merchant service providers are offering. Let them know what benefits they will get because only special discounts are not enough. A high percentage of profit is probably is more attractive to sell your merchant services. Don’t focus on discount price offer only. Show your numbers and merchant testimonials as your company’s proof of growth. Moreover, don’t hesitate to build a good relationship with them which helps you increase sales.

Want to become a merchant services agent but don’t know which merchant services ISO agent program is right for you? Well, why don’t we solve this problem for you? This guide is specifically created to help people who are stepping their toe into the vast sea of merchant processing. By the end of it, you will have a pretty clear idea of how to find a good processor.

10 Things You Need to Consider in a Merchant Services Agent Program

We will tell you 10 factors that you need to consider when looking for a viable, credible merchant services agent program. This way, you will ensure that there are no problems later on in your career as a credit card processing agent. With that said, let’s get started:

1. Fast Funding:

One of the most important things to look for in a merchant services ISO agent program is their funding period. Clients should not have to face delays in terms of funds transfer after a transaction is made. One of the most attractive and compelling features of a good merchant services ISO program is that the merchants get their funds the same day.

This is what attracts most of the merchants as they do not want their earnings to be kept by a 3rd party for more than a day. You will also be able to sell this kind of program better because of the speedy service.

2. Several Discounts:

When you are deciding to become a merchant services agent, go for the processor that offers a cash discount program. Simply put, it is a payment processing tactic where the fee of a particular credit card transaction is offset to the customers. This means that the merchant will not have to pay any transaction fee, the customers are using the facility instead of paying in cash, so it should be them who bear the cost.

The best cash discount program allows merchants to do just that! The algorithm of POS software is already trained to charge the percentage of fees levied on each transaction from the customer. Plus, some of the top merchants also provide free signage that educates customers about the fee on a credit card transaction, so there are no surprises at the end.

3. Dealing in High-Risk Industry:

There are many that become a credit card processor, but they have a very low-risk appetite. This means they will only deal in safer industries and not offer services to risky businesses like medical marijuana stores, travel agencies, and pharmacies etc. Now you might not work with these businesses when starting out, but soon, when your business grows, you will have to get clients from high-risk industries.

So if the credit card processor doesn’t deal with these industries, then you will be limited to a few fields which will put a cap on your growth potential. So instead of finding a merchant dealing with high-risk industries later on, you need to work with one from the start.

4. Assistance in Marketing:

As a credit card processing agent, you will need several marketing resources at your disposal to close sales. One of them is a team assisting you with lead capturing and turning the cold ones into warm leads. A terrific processor will have excellent merchant support that will help you convert more merchants with minimal energy, time, and resource exhaustion.

Plus, some of the excellent credit card processors also have their own landing pages designed to show to your potential customers. These landing pages can take several hundred dollars to make, but the processor will offer you for free, making your conversion process easier.

5. Flexible Plans:

One of the most necessary parts of working with a merchant services ISO program is to get paid properly and on time. You do not want to be underpaid, so make sure to work with a processor that offers a fair share of the income to you. Also, they must have lucrative bonuses if you go out of your way to close a specific number of sales in X amount of time.

You need to properly analyze the contract you will sign with them and check their payment terms, make sure to work with a company that pays on time.

6. Merchant and Income Analytics:

The best part of working with the top credit card processors in the industry is that they leverage technology to make things easier for their agents. A good processor will provide you with your own dashboard that will display various performance metrics like the number of sales you closed, your earnings, number of clients, and more.

Some even go the extra mile and provide data on merchants as well. You might be able to see the number of transactions they make and even get information on individual transactions.

7. Equipment and Software:

Many become a registered ISO for merchant service providers, but they do not work on their equipment and its advancement. The credit card processor must provide you with the necessary technology that you can offer to your clients and seal the deal. A good processor should offer these equipment and facilities:

• Point of Sale terminals to suit the needs of merchants
• Smart online payment options
• Facility of mobile payments
• Support loyalty programs and gift cards
• Fast processing with minimal errors As for the software, they must have up to date, user-friendly software in their equipment, allowing merchants to complete the transaction process smoothly.

8. Excellent Support:

Besides the marketing assistance that we discussed above, the merchant services provider should offer fast, responsive, and friendly customer services. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where your customers are facing any issues that need to be solved, and you cannot get in touch with the processor’s customer support to fix them.

In this case, even if the problem is not caused by you, you will be the one facing the consequences if you cannot get a customer support agent to solve the problem. The merchant might stop using the processor, and that will result in your financial loss.

So before you decide on working with a merchant, you need to ensure that they have a dedicated customer support team that can quickly answer your questions and solve any problems as soon as possible.

9. Multiple Boarding Options:

Look for a program that provides different boarding options from big payment processing platforms like EPX, First Data and Global Payments. Being able to access these programs means complete peace of mind for both you and the merchants.

Because there will be fewer chances of facing any integration or technological problems when connecting the POS or billing software of the merchant with the platforms your program uses. This will ensure your whole sales process goes smoothly, and you don’t lose a ready-to-convert client at the last moment.

10. Must Be Credible:

Lastly, you need to do your complete due diligence in finding everything about the company you can. They should not have a shady track record, damaged reputation, or bad reviews on the internet.

You need to work with a company that has the face of its CEO attached to it, has a brick and mortar headquarter, and is licensed to operate.

Plus, keep your eyes peeled for any too good to be true bonuses or discounts; these things come with bad surprises later on.

Is There Any Program With These Qualities?

Glad you asked, I was wondering that I have written 10 points for you to look in a company so it might be challenging to find one that meets this criterion. Well, let me make things simple for you by introducting North American Bancard. They are excellent at what they do, and their core focus is to benefit their agents and merchants. Have a look at a few of their key features:

• They have Global Payments, EPX and First Data powered merchant accounts
• Their terminals work with both credit and debit cards. Plus, they support both EMV and NFC based methods of payment
• They also support mobile payments via PayAnywhere technology
• Their PayAnywhere feature also works with storefront point of sale system
• Automated cash discounting
• They have web-based terminals that provide agents with all the details of their performance and the specifics of their merchants
• Very attractive signup and profitability bonuses

Parting Words:

If you have successfully made it to the end, then it means you already know about the key things to look for to find the cream of the crop credit card processing company. We have also suggested the leading program with all the qualities discussed in this guide. So it is fair to say that you have everything you need to get started on your journey to working as a merchant services representative. You just need to take the first step and make a career doing what you really want to do.

Are you excited to become a credit card processing agent? Do you want to start a credit card processing company? If your answer is YES, then you have come to the right place.

In this article, I am going to teach you ways to start a successful credit card processing company. I am also going to take you through the fine details of planning, setting up, and starting a credit card processing company.

You are going to learn about what it takes to become a successful credit card processing agent, how to conduct market and niche research, how to create a great business plan, how to get funding for your venture, and also tips to run a successful credit card processing company.

It is important to note that when you become a merchant service provider you will be helping corporate and businesses to process payment for their customers.

Your credit card processing services will involve offering the platform and equipment to facilitate the sending, approval, and processing of payments and transactions between customer’s bank accounts and your clients' bank accounts.

What It Takes To Become a Credit Card Processing Agent:

The credit card processing industry is very dynamic, and the success of becoming a merchant services agent is both easy and hard.

There are a few things that you need to know; some of these include having a clear understanding of how selling credit card processing works. You will also need to have deep knowledge of how credit cards work and what they do.

Another overly important thing that you will need to understand is your market and, most importantly, your niche market. This way, you will be able to connect with your customers on a personal level. In addition, you will also be able to create a solid relationship with banks for financial transactions and payment processing.

Market Feasibility and Niche Research

It is critical to note that any successful venture always starts with thorough research. When you want to become a credit card processing agent, you will need to do thorough market research.

Understand the type of services or products you will be offering and where your clients are and their needs.

Make sure that you look at the services offered by your competitors, their rates, and also how satisfied their customers are with the services they get.

The few steps you can take to become a merchant services reseller are to first create a survey on several businesses in your area, determine the most common services they use, and evaluate the satisfaction level of customers with their current payment providers.

Another important step that you need to take is to gather client information, such as phone numbers or email addresses. These details will help you when you start sending out pitches.

Crafting a Comprehensive Business Plan

For you to become a credit card processing agent and be successful in it, you will need to come up with a detailed business plan.

It is okay if you are not a seasoned writer, but you can hire one to do the work for you. Better still, there are several business plan templates available online that you can use.

There are several details that need to be included in your business plan; some of these details include:

• How you intend to run your venture
• The executive summary about your business
• How you intend to raise startup capital
• Products and services you will be offering
• Marketing and sales analysis
• SWOT analysis
• And more

Ideally, the business plan for a credit card processing company can serve as proof to investors and stakeholders that you are serious about with your venture as the document shows all the strategies.

A great business plan can help you win funding from various investors and banks.

How to Finance Your Credit Card Processing Business

Most business requires a startup capital; the same case applies to credit card processing companies.

To become a credit card processing agent, you need to consider where you are going to get funding to start your venture. You will also need to cater for all the operational costs until you start realizing some profits.

According to research, on average, a minimum of $51,000 is needed to start a payment processing company.

There are options that you can use to get financing for your credit card processing company, some of these options include;

• Getting a loan from banks
• Approaching investors
• Getting funding from business partners
• Using your savings or selling assets to raise funds
• Sourcing some funds from friends and family members.

Launching Your Merchant Services Reseller Company

Once all the above are set up, you can go ahead and launch your credit card processing company. There are other finer details that you will need to consider before you do this. These include finding the appropriate location for your business, understanding the requirements which you must have beforehand, and understanding the manpower needed to run the business.

To become a payment service provider, you should fully implement your business plan. The best way is to strictly follow the plan without cutting corners.

Tip: Due to the competitive nature of the credit card processing business, it is critical to ensure that your business stands out.

Put more efforts to stand out among your competitions. The best way to do this is to have a business network. You can reach out to organizations and corporations to widen your reach and customer base. 

Marketing Plan for Your Credit Card Processing Company

• Just like any other business, a marketing plan is a must. You can do all the above work, but if you don’t come up with an effective marketing plan, you might fail.
• Take your marketing strategies seriously. The following are some effective marketing ideas that you can use.
• Use social media platforms to spread the word about your business
• Reach out to stakeholders, clients, and managers of big corporations
• Make sure that your business is listed in local directories
• Use TVs, magazines, newspapers, and radio to advertise your business
• Start bidding for available contracts

To further increase your reach to potential clients, you can create business cards, flyers, pamphlets, or business website.

Tips To Help You Run a Successful Credit Card Processing Business

In order to succeed in starting a processing processing company, understand that you will not only be providing requirements and services to help process payment for customers BUT also, you will be selling yourself. As a credit card processor, you will need to clearly show potential clients why they need your services. Show them the benefits they will get from your services. Never seize to reach out to potential customers. In addition, ensure that you do a follow up on those pitches. To simplify the process of becoming a credit card processing agent, North American Bancard provides all the tools you need for a successful credit card processing business.

All around the world, there are thousands of businesses that use vital services that are referred to as merchant services. These are services such as payment processing, which is what allows businesses to accept and process payments so that they can make a profit on their product. Without these services, businesses would be unable to function in the modern world. You might think that the fact that these services are an absolute necessity to these businesses make them an easy target for selling, but that is now always the case. There are definitely some positives as well as some negatives when selling merchant services.

This guide will show you some of each and hopefully give you some insight as to whether a career selling merchant services is right for you.

Pros

Undoubtedly, there are some very positive aspects of selling merchant services for a living. If you have had a sales job that is similar in the past, you already have known some of these benefits. Here are some of the best things about selling merchant services.

There is always a market

One of the best things about working in the merchant services industry is that there is never a lack of demand for these services. There are always new businesses sprouting up as people chase their passion for owning their own business. And existing businesses are always evaluating their options and ensuring that they are getting the best deal on the market. For that reason, you won’t ever have to worry about the industry as a whole drying up. People will always need to spend digital money and businesses will always need to find a way to accept it.

Set your schedule

For many that are in a commission-based sales job, one of the greatest benefits of it is being able to get to the point where you are working when you want to work instead of punching a time clock when you get to work. When you are a partner in a merchant services ISO agent program, you will be able to set your appointments on a schedule that works well for you.

Build passive income

Finding and signing clients to lucrative merchant processing contracts is hard work, nobody denies that. However, all of the hard work that you put into this process could end up paying out tenfold throughout the years. One of the greatest things about being a merchant services salesperson is that your accounts can earn you passive and residual income long after you have closed them to a contract. This could help you build passive income for years to come and eventually phase out the bulk of the labor that is involved in this career.

High commission rates

When you compare merchant services to other industries out there, you will find that it has a very competitive and comparatively high commission rate compared to those other industries. The high price of the contracts and the fact that they continue to pay out for years to come is what makes these sales so valuable and why some of the best salespeople in the world turn to merchant services when they want to increase their earning potential.

Cons

Just as there are many pros to selling merchant services, there are also some aspects that could prove difficult. You should watch out for these aspects and consider whether they are something that you are able to overcome and overlook.

Highly competitive industry

There is always a lot of demand for merchant services, but this fact also means that there is a lot of competition. One of the hardest aspects of selling merchant services is that you will always have competition breathing down your neck, waiting to provide your client with a better rate. This is really where your ability to create and nurture relationships will come in handy with client retention. This industry is not for those that don’t like competition and healthy capitalist tendencies.

Dependent on success to make money

When you are a merchant services representative in any industry, you know that your ability to make money is heavily dependent on the success that you have when selling your product or service. It’s no different in selling credit card processing accounts. If you want to have a good income, then you will need to become skilled at selling these products. If you don’t feel confident that you can do that, then it might not be the right choice for you.

If you want to enter into the massive merchant services sales industry, then we would like you to stop right there. Before taking the plunge, there are a few things you should know. You need to have a clear idea of this industry and whether a credit card processing sales job is even your cup of tea or not.

We will help you know some simple yet important facts about selling credit card processing in this guide and will also provide you with useful tips to jumpstart your career as a merchant services agent. So with that said, let’s get started:

Why is it important to know?

Before we move towards knowing some important facts about the merchant services sales programs, the question that might come to your mind is, why bother knowing these things? Well, to be honest, there are a lot of factors involved when it comes to getting merchant services sales jobs, it’s not as easy as approaching the merchant, pitching the service and closing the deal.

Things can be both easy and difficult, which is why you need to set your expectations straight. So instead of jumping into a river without gauging its depth, it is better that you know how deep it runs. Therefore, we will tell you both the good and the bad of the merchant services sales industry.

These advantages and drawbacks will help you understand what to expect from it and whether it is the right field of work for you or not. So follow along and learn some of the most important things about selling credit card processing.

Benefits of Selling Merchant Services:

There are plenty of benefits in the merchant services careers, which is why many opt for this route. If you are persistent and work very hard, you will enjoy a high income and many benefits that come with it. Here are a few advantages of working in the credit card processing sales industry:

Excellent Earning Potential:

The basic need for everyone is the money, the sole motivating factor that makes you want to work for hours without looking at the clock. Well, the good thing is that this job is based on commissions. So you will be paid for the amount of work you put in and not like corporate jobs where you give 12 hours daily for a fixed pay.

However, if you ask an accomplished merchant services agent, he will tell you that the money doesn’t come easy and is certainly not handed to you on a silver platter. To make a killing in the industry, you need to work very hard, build a network, and be persistent.

There are also several bonuses offered by credit card processors for achieving X amount of sales that add to your overall earnings. So once your business takes off, you can then enjoy a vacation on the beaches of Bali while sipping your fresh piña colada.

Flexible Schedule:

The best thing about working in the merchant services sales industry is that you are your own boss. There is no one looking at you with a microscope waiting for you to make a mistake. You can work on your own terms and in your timings as long as you are getting sales because sales pay the bills in this game.

You can approach any business you want, wherever you want and whenever you want to make your pitch. There will be no one calling you and asking you why you haven’t reached the office yet; your dining table is your office.

Tons of Surprises:

If you are someone who cannot deal with a monotonous routine and the same kind of office-based work, then this is the job for you. You will start your day not knowing what’s in store for you because you get to meet lots of new people in this line of work.

Different merchants will need different tactics and pitches for the deal to close. So you will have to adapt to the situation, work any problems that may arise, and learn something new every day. If you are someone who loves this kind of work, then you will definitely have higher job satisfaction.

Drawbacks of Selling Merchant Accounts:

Remember, nothing, and I repeat nothing is always rainbows and sunshine. Not even rainbows and sunshine are always there on the sky. So you cannot expect the merchant services sales job to be a walk in the park. There will be some drawbacks, just like there are with all types of jobs. If you are someone who is ready to face challenges and come up with new ways to achieve their goals, then you might not be affected by these downsides very much. That being said, let’s see what they are:

Repeated Rejections:

Yes, this will happen. Every sales job comes with complimentary rejections, which an agent has to accept. Selling merchant services is no different. You will likely face two types of merchants when it comes to rejections. The first ones are those who already have a credit card processing provider, and they are satisfied with it.

The second ones will be those who just don’t want this facility or those who don’t have time to talk to you. You can persuade these people to an extent, and some might convert. I know getting rejected is tough, but you will have to take it like a man and move one to another merchant, there are plenty of them out there.

Soaring Competition:

Yes, there are thousands of merchant services agents out there just like you. But don’t let the high competitive environment bring you down. If you have the key ingredients of becoming a successful credit card processing agent then nothing will stop you from getting ahead of the competition.

Plus, you have to be a bit creative in selecting the location to target, maybe a new mall, or a complex? You will have to figure things out as you go and not leave any stones unturned in getting ahead of the competition.

Things You Can Do To Have a Strong Start as Merchant Services Agent:

Now that you know the good and bad sides of the merchant services sales industry, it is time we give you a few pointers on kick-starting your career.

• Establish Goals: Being a sales agent means you need to manage yourself because there is no one at your back, making plans for you. You need to set targets like closing X amount of deals in Y number of days. And then work with all your strength and capabilities towards achieving the targets. Once you do, reward yourself with something you like.
• Strong Networking: Being a new agent means no one really knows you. So you need to get yourself out there and have more exposure. Visit potential merchants, have a chat with them, help them out with anything related to credit card processing for free, and slowly and gradually build trust. Once they know you are knowledgeable and helpful, they will either get your service or refer their fellow merchants to you.
• Understand What You Offer: Speaking of knowledge, you should first increase it to be able to help and educate merchants. Credit card processing is a vast sea, and you need to cover its every aspect. Learn about the services, equipment, and value you are offering so you can better communicate with the potential merchants and pitch them more effectively.
• Follow Up: No matter how the dealing with a potential merchant went, always follow up. After contacting a merchant for the first time, don’t let them forget who you are or what you offer. This doesn’t mean you start visiting their home, but rather, say Hi every now and then. If, after some time, you feel your efforts are going somewhere, keep pursuing otherwise move on to a different merchant.
• Offer Excellent Support: One of the main things that you will sell is support and not the service itself. When things are a bit technical, like credit card processing, people purchase the person selling them and not just the product/service. This means that they will buy trusting your word, and you will have to be there for them whenever you are required. This will not only retain your current merchants but also build your credibility in the industry.

Parting Words:

Many jump into the credit card processing sales industry hoping to build successful merchant services ISO; however, only a handful of them manage to do so. Do you know why? Because the ones that fail expect a lot at the initial level. And the ones that win just keep their heads down until they can live with their heads high. There is a difference in IMPOSSIBLE and IMPOSSIBLE. You just need to be persistent, work hard, and have patience; you will make a successful career a possibility one day.