Top Tips for Accepting Card Payments in Your Small Business
If you are somebody who first started a business online then there is every chance that you would choose payment methods such as PayPal to be able to accept payments from your customers. You might not start out with an installed credit card payment system, especially if you know there are easier options out there that your customers might prefer.
Or perhaps in the past you started using a payment system and you got an SEC violation error for credit cards and it’s put you off using another payment system online. The thing is, installing a credit card payment system doesn’t have to be tough, and it doesn’t have to be a last resort. With some excellent financial advice you can adapt the payment system that you choose to your business and you’ll be able to make it more unique. So here are some of the steps that you need to take to install the right credit card payment system for your small business.
- Figure out your method. Before you get your credit card payment system installed you must work out what types of credit card payments you need to accept. Some market research with your customers can help you here, but you really have to determine who your buyer is first. You should think about their customer data, their purchase history, the average price of a sale that you make and the most popular products are. When you measure these things you’ll be able to determine the buying habits of your customers and that can then help you to make the right payment option choices.
- Choose the payment processing system. Once you figure out your customer, you can then select a credit card payment processing system that makes sense for both your customer and your business. You should think about what type of cards you are willing to accept and which cards you want to accept because some systems don’t accept some credit cards. You should also consider your repayment fees for the types of transactions that you process. Options like PayPal for example, means finding a provider that seamlessly integrates payments onto your website.
- Think about the payment processing systems that work for your business. Would you prefer a merchant account so that you can accept payments for credit cards? Would you prefer a payment service provider that will allow you to accept credit cards without the merchant bank account attached to? You have to be mindful about the limit of how much money you can accept at once as well, because if you’re selling high end items you want people to be able to pay for them. If your business is going to grow, you should switch from a merchant account to a payment service provider. Always check with your bank first.
- Setup your hardware and your software. Once you figured this out and you know what the payment processing system you’d like is, you are very much in a position to set it up. You should check how long you have the right to use the software and you should install your chosen option. If you have a physical store you need to make sure that you have a card reader with the right EMV chip.
