5 Tips for Accepting Credit Card Payments on Your Business Blog

Accepting credit card payments can be a big, intimidating step for the small businesses owners. Prepare yourself by learning the language of the card business and exploring what various processors have to offer. Then evaluate any fees that are involved with accepting card payments, and make sure your vendor of choice is following appropriate security practices.

 
Here are the tips for accepting Credit Card Payments on your business blog.

 
1. Know the lingo

Accepting credit cards means having to learn a whole new set of vocabulary to understand how your money is being moved and by whom. But for most resource-strapped very small businesses, the focus is more on getting their system set up than on being concerned with such details and industry jargon. Nonetheless, to save yourself any future headaches should a problem arise, it’s important to at least have some idea of what goes on behind the scenes.

 
2. Find the right credit card processor

Just because you’re a very small business doesn’t mean your credit card processing choices are limited. It all depends on your type of business, how and where you intend to conduct it and how much streamlining you’ll need in order to make running it a lot easier.

 
For instance, if you are a mobile business, spend a lot of time attending trade shows or otherwise want the flexibility of being able to accept credit card payments anywhere, a mobile credit card processor is the best choice for you. And if you have an e-commerce store, consider a shared commerce point-of-sale (POS) system that integrates credit card transactions with your accounting and customer relationship management (CRM) software to automatically consolidate offline and online sales data.

 
3. Revenue requirements

Despite the many credit card processing options available, one drawback to being a very small business is that it can be a challenge to meet vendor requirements — if your business doesn’t generate enough revenue, credit card processing companies may reject your application. Revenue requirements vary widely, but some credit card processors expect at least $10,000 a month in revenue.

 
If you don’t meet strict revenue requirements, have no fear. With a little bit of digging, you’ll find several credit card processors that cater to very small businesses.

 
For different types of credit card processing services you use, READ: Prepaid Credit Cards in Nigeria for Online Payments

 
4. Data security

Very small businesses are held to the same security standards as big businesses. Regardless of your size and which credit card processing service you choose, you are responsible for making sure your vendor has the proper security standards and compliance in place. These standards include the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard, the three-digit Card Verification Value (CVV2), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol and End-to-End Encryption (E2EE).

 
5. Credit card processing fees

Figuring out the costs of accepting credit cards can seem a lot like rocket science. There are a slew of fees involved, ranging from percentages to actual dollar amounts that vary based on the type of transaction or processor. These fees are especially important for very small businesses that are concerned that credit card processing costs might cut heavily into their bottom line (for instance, mom-and-pop shops that require a minimum purchase amount to use a credit card).

 
Originally published on Business News Daily.