• Our cost of doing business is less than the banks, and we are not greedy!
• Our rates do not increase 60 to 90 days after you sign up.
• Each April Visa / MasterCard evaluate the industry and may make changes. We do a straight pass through to the merchant, we don’t add to the base.
• Our merchants know their costs of doing business month after month.

Why do banks charge an application fee?

• The banks charge a fee to cover costs.
• Avoid any program that attempts to charge high application fees.
• The third party processor is paying a commission on the collected fees.

Will the bank refund the application fee if I am declined?

• Most of the time the answer is No.
• We have virtually eliminated this problem by scoring each merchant to the bank’s requirements before we send in the application.

Can I believe my processing statements?

• There are hidden charges on many statements. These charges are not explained, they just take your money.
• The best way to determine your actual effective rate is to take the total amount the bank charged you to process your transactions and divide that number by the amount of dollars processed. Example: You processed $5000.00 and the bank charged you $125.00 for the service. $125.00 / $5000 = .025 . Your effective rate is 2.5%.

Are all of the processing banks the same?

• The answer is NO.
• The best overall protection for the merchant, stay with the National Banks.
• Don’t get involved with a bank that no one has heard of. If you ask someone who they process with, and they tell you, “I process with the Bank of What’s Happening Now in Northern California”, I would not be impressed.
• Many small processing banks may not provide your funds in a timely manner.

Are the sales organizations that sell merchant services the same?

• The answer is NO.
• There are many unethical individuals promoting merchant services.
• The merchant must be on guard. There are several basic things you as merchant can do to protect yourself:
• Avoid signing a long-term lease for equipment or computer software.
• Can you purchase hardware or computer software at a reasonable price?
• Does the bank guarantee the rates for 2 or 3 years?
• Do you really need all of the equipment that the organization is trying to sell you?
• Don't pay application fees that exceed $150.00.
• Don't pay for any download fees.
• Don't sign with a bank that charges a minimum processing fee.
• Will the processing bank repair and/or replace your equipment if it becomes defective, at no cost to you the merchant?

What is the difference between Retail and Non-Retail sales?

• Visa defines a Retail sale as a sale where the credit card is present and swiped through a card reader at the time of sale, the merchant provides and the patron signs a sales slip, and the patron receives the purchased goods at the time of sale.
• Retail sales transactions become Non-Retail sales transactions when any one of the above listed items is removed from the sale process. This would include not swiping the card, not getting signature and not providing goods at the time of sale.

Why do banks charge a higher discount rate for Non-Retail transactions as compared to Retail transactions?

• The majority of the fraud and misuse is found in Non-Retail sales activity. The processor experiences higher risk processing Non-Retail sales over Retail sales. The patron has six (6) months from the date of sale to challenge that sale.
• The banks and Visa / MasterCard charge surcharges for that added exposure.

Is there a number I can call for assistance on weekends?

• Yes, we offer 800 toll free numbers with live operators 24 hours a day 7 days a week.