Looking to Accept Credit Cards? PayHub's Go-To Tips
Trying to move from cash to cash and credit?! Good idea! The Census Bureau concludes that over the past few years, 72% of consumers had at least one credit card. Accepting both cash and credit gives your customers the opportunity to spend more money.
New to the credit card game? We have some helpful hints for you to consider when looking for a payment processor.
Service Fees: How will the processing company charge you for service? Weekly / monthly? Or by transaction or a combination? Be sure to understand service fees, are there hidden fees? Compare quotes between a few different companies to see which is the best fit for your needs.
Swipe vs. key: Most often when a credit card number is entered manually for payment, this transaction is more expensive than if it were swiped. Be sure to talk about this with your credit card processor, understand what are the most efficient ways of processing credit cards so you don’t end up spending more on each transaction.
PCI Fees: What is PCI? Or learn more HERE. When searching for a payment processor, be sure to understand how they deal with PCI compliance – is the compliance fee charged annually or is that a price built into your monthly fee?
Bonus Recommendation!
Accept Gift Cards: Accepting gift cards has three major benefits: introducing new customers – loyal customers love to give recommendations: people who love your shop will gift their friends and family a gift card to your store, increasing sales – once someone has a gift card to your shop it will give them the opportunity to browse your entire inventory, most likely they will end up spending more then the amount allotted on the card, and improved brand awareness – word of mouth is the best kind of referral – let the gift cards spread the word about your shop.
“In a 2016 survey, payment processor TSYS asked over 1,000 consumers which payment form they prefer. Forty percent chose credit cards, while 35 percent selected debit cards, and only 11 percent specified a preference for using cash. Consumers’ preference for credit cards increased by 5 percent over the same survey's results from 2015, while the results for debit cards fell by 6 percent.” Source
Overall our suggestion when looking to accept credit cards would be to ask questions. Interview payment processing companies to see how they structure their charges and customer service. Need more information – ask us!
