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Merchant Account Choice
![*]() Never take your decision
of selecting a merchant account in a hurry. Do some research
and make an informed choice when you find a merchant account
because you want to stick to one, and do not wish to hop from
one provider to another.
If you move too fast you will surely miss on a real cheap
or cost-effective deal. In some cases it can take up to a
week to approve your application once it's been submitted.
So factor in all these time lags! Then you also need to factor
in the time it takes for the merchant account provider to
ship you a terminal (or multiple terminals). You have to set
up your terminal(s) correctly and make sure they work.
Integrity of the merchant account provider is a key factor.
You simply just cannot assume that a provider is legitimate
and trustworthy. You cannot take a service company on its
face value or by what they have posted about themselves on
their website. They will always send the right messages or
make the right noises because they are looking for customers.
Some signs that raise doubts about the efficiency or reliability
of a merchant account provider you should watch out for are:
- They can't afford a real domain name and website, and
they use one of those free web hosting services for their
website and/or a free domain name.
- When you call up, more often than not you get an answering
machine reply.
- Their website doesn't show which bank(s) they represent.
It is unlawful for a merchant account provider not to
show what banks they represent on their website. Visa
and MasterCard cracks down hard on those who don't.
- Representative seems to give you the run around every
time you ask them a question about rates or their agreement
Before signing up with a merchant account service company,
try out their customer service number. Give it an anonymous
ring with a different name and ask them a few questions. Look
for their response and see how the people on other side behave.
If they genuinely seem interested in helping you, you can
be sure that you are about to make a right choice. Their answers
should be detailed and to the point.
Other criteria that should be met for superior customer service:
- Round-the-clock availability possibly even on holidays
since your business operates 365 days a year.)
- Hold time 5 minutes or less
- Friendly, courteous representatives who are knowledgeable
- Toll-free number
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