I am considering changing my credit card processor. I got a call from a company telling me they’ll give me a free c.c.processor if I use Quickbooks and if I give them my c.c. business. Their rates sem competitive. Does anyone know what companies offer some of the best rates for credit card processing.
AND, IS IT BEETER TO GO THROUGH A BANK OR JUST A PROCESSOR?
ARE BANK RATES HIGHER OR LOWER THAN JUST REGULAR C.C. PROCESSING COMPANIES?
Banks typically get the BEST rates out there compared to other credit card processors. Before going to other credit card processors, check with your bank first if they can give you a merchant account as:
- banks fees are almost always lower
- banks do not charge extra fees (e.g. monthly statement fees, etc)
Costco’s merchant account rates are also good.
When looking for credit card processing companies, always ask for a quotation comparing your current rates and what they can provide to see where you can save (and if you can save). Don’t just take their word for it — give them your merchant account statement and ask them to show where you can save.
I disagree with the first answer. If you do your homework Banks give the worst rates for credit card merchant accounts. The primary reason for this is that many (most) banks do NOT provide the processing themselves. Instead they subcontract out to LARGE cc processors. So you are paying the cc processor their fees and a commission to the banks. The rates between bank cc accounts and going straight to a payment processor such as Paymentech (Chase) or any number of reputable payment processors is significant!
FINALLY do yourself a favor…DO NOT get locked into a lease on a credit card processing machine – Terminal. If Quickbooks is suitable for your business then you can use any of the many web based solutions!
I go through WaMu and TransFirst. My rates are great (2.12% and no per transaction costs and no monthly fees AND no early termination fees!) Of course, I had to dicker for days with them to get them to agree to these terms but they finally caved when I was able to show them in writing that I could get a fairly similar deal with FirstData!
If you are wise, you will not go through a processor like Chase or Citi! Their rates are competitive but they are very inflexible in their terms. And, they will drop you very quickly if you have what they deem as an unacceptable number of chargebacks, and their number is very low.
I would give you the phone number to my TransFirst rep but I think that would violate community guidelines.
Best of luck to you.