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Rates & Fees
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If you are a first-time or small business owner, then you may have heard of flat-rate credit card processing. Every business needs a provider for credit card processing, as it is one of the most important aspects of any business--the ability to accept payments. However, choosing a provider and a fee structure can be a challenge that takes time, energy, and research. If you’re going to succeed, then you need to be familiar with every type of processing service and why they might be suitable for you. One of the most popular services purchased by small businesses when it comes to credit card pressing is flat-rate credit card processing.
Flat-rate credit card processing has many benefits, but it's not the right situation for every business. This brief analysis of flat-rate credit card processing will give you some insight that helps you decide whether flat-rate credit card processing is the right option for you, or if it's a bad choice for your specific business.
Credit card processing isn’t always the easiest concept or industry to understand
As a business owner, you are already aware of some of the struggles that you can experience when trying to determine a credit card processing provider. It is one of the most difficult things to do as a business owner, especially if you are trying to estimate the cost of accepting credit cards using a merchant services provider. Determining these costs can be difficult, which is why some business owners are drawn to a flat-rate processing model where the pricing is easier to understand.
However, these decisions depend on so many factors that it becomes a time-consuming task to determine which pricing model is best for you. To make it easier, this article will serve as a knowledge base and guide to helping you understand the factors that go into this decision and what concepts you need to understand.
If you are a first-time or small business owner, then you may have heard of flat-rate credit card processing. Every business needs a provider for credit card processing, as it is one of the most important aspects of any business--the ability to accept payments. However, choosing a provider and a fee structure can be a challenge that takes time, energy, and research. If you’re going to succeed, then you need to be familiar with every type of processing service and why they might be suitable for you. One of the most popular services purchased by small businesses when it comes to credit card pressing is flat-rate credit card processing.
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EDGE Dual Pricing: Cash Discount Program
Are you tired of losing a percentage of your sales to the credit card companies? That’s the cost of doing business, right? Where do you draw the line, though? When does it become too expensive to allow customers to pay with credit cards? You can’t just turn credit card paying customers away – that’s bad for business, so what should you do?
Try the Edge program. It helps ease the financial stress on merchants while rewarding cash buyers with a discount. It’s a win-win for everyone. With Edge pricing structure, every party involved in the transaction benefits. Both the customer and the merchant, there is a lot to love about our Edge program. This merchant cash discount program presents a new way to appeal to customers, incentivize cash payments, and lower the operating costs for merchants. You may have heard of merchant cash discounts before, but this new wave of modern merchant cash discounts provides a brand new perspective and flow to the process that many consider to be a major incentive for paying with cash and supporting their local businesses.
When you use the dual pricing cash discount program, you must make it known that you offer cash buyers a discount on the total cost of the items and customers paying with a credit card pay the full, listed price. This isn’t a surcharge – you aren’t penalizing credit card paying customers. Instead, you’re offering cash discounting or rewarding cash-paying customers.
Here’s an example.
You have a product listed for $20.
John comes in and buys the product for $20, paying with a credit card. John pays $20. Jan comes in and buys the product for $20, paying cash. Jan pays $19.20 because she gets a 4% discount for paying cash.
Are you tired of losing a percentage of your sales to the credit card companies? That’s the cost of doing business, right? Where do you draw the line, though? When does it become too expensive to allow customers to pay with credit cards? You can’t just turn credit card paying customers away – that’s bad for business, so what should you do?
Try the Edge program. It helps ease the financial stress on merchants while rewarding cash buyers with a discount. It’s a win-win for everyone. With Edge pricing structure, every party involved in the transaction benefits. Both the customer and the merchant, there is a lot to love about our Edge program. This merchant cash discount program presents a new way to appeal to customers, incentivize cash payments, and lower the operating costs for merchants.
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For many merchants, credit card processing fees can be a source of confusion and frustration. The lack of transparency in traditional pricing models often leaves business owners in the dark about the true cost associated with credit card processing. Fee transparency is essential for merchants as it empowers them to make informed decisions about their payment processing partners. By better understanding the credit card fees they are paying, they can:
- Accurately Predict Expenses – By knowing the exact fees associated with credit card transactions, merchants can better forecast their financials and manage budgets.
- Compare Processors Effectively – When fees are clearly presented, it's easier for merchants to evaluate different payment processors and select the best fit for their business.
- Negotiate Better Deals – Armed with a comprehensive understanding of fees, merchants can negotiate more effectively with payment processors to secure lower rates.
Interchange-plus pricing is an option that can provide merchants with this much needed clarity to help them make smart business decisions. In this article, we’ll explore what interchange-plus pricing is, how it works, its advantages and disadvantages, and why it's essential to choose a credit card processor that prioritizes transparency.
How Does Interchange-Plus Pricing Work?
Interchange-plus pricing (also referred to as cost-plus or pass-through pricing) is a more transparent and cost-effective model for merchants who process credit card transactions. This pricing structure separates the fees into two distinct components – the interchange fee and the markup fee.
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Today’s modern business owners require robust credit and debit card processing to manage everything from in-person retail sales to e-commerce solutions with scalable customer demand. Most businesses are already aware they need a powerful payment gateway to manage and accept these transactions but may be unfamiliar that many of the best payment processors on the market offer a variety of pricing models. This is to ensure clients receive the best possible fees, interchange plus pricing, flat rate credit card processing, and more.
While the goal of any reasonable payment processor is to also have a lucrative business, there is a balance that can be struck so owners and clients grow in a fair and balanced way. One of the better pricing models that is available to ensure this support is through a 3-tiered rate structure.
At North American Bancard, we always do our best to keep our clients informed about any decision they need to make concerning service providers. That is why we thought it a good idea to go into more detail about how tiered rate pricing can benefit your business model. By the end of this service page, you should have an excellent understanding of how this structure works, the potential benefits it provides to your business operations, and the possible pitfalls if not managed correctly. So let’s dive in, and don’t forget, if you have any questions, send us a note, and our team will respond as soon as possible.
What is Tiered Pricing Structure for Card Processing?
While most businesses are used to interchange plus pricing and flat rate credit card processing, tired rate structures offer a lucrative alternative. This is a pricing model utilized by payment processes that charge merchants based on certain categories or criteria. That could be the type of card used, method of payment, or risk level of the transaction.
Each tier is given a rate or fee, which is charged to the merchant based on the transaction category. In most cases, these structures have three tiers:
- Qualified – lowest rate and often includes in-person swipes of a card.
- Mid-Qualified – tends to cover transactions that do not meet qualified criteria, like cards being keyed instead of swiped.
- Non-Qualified – highest rate and applies to higher risk transactions like corporate cards or reward cards.
There is some variance in the industry between what criteria are used for each tier, and that can cause some confusion for merchants and clients. That is why you see some providers sticking to flat-rate credit card processing, but at North American Bancard, we like to provide more robust solutions that meet the induvial needs of all our clients.
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