Accepting Credit Cards Charlotte NC

Three Steps to Accepting Credit Cards in its Simplest Form

If you are just starting your own shop then you may be looking at how you can accept credit cards. Being able to accept card payments is important for your business however there is a lot of leg work before you are able to do so. Without going into too much detail the following are the three essential steps to being able to accept card payments. So here goes

Step 1) Set up a Merchant Account

Before you can do anything you need a merchant account. There are 9 banks in the UK that offer merchant accounts. These banks are known as acquiring banks and they will request a lot of information before from you in order to scope the type of business you are operating in so that they can determine the payment you will have to pay for each transaction. Some of the information they may require includes:

• your business history and performance

• business accounts

• your forecast turnover

• expected average transaction values and volumes on credit and debit cards

• transaction frequencies

• the type of goods you sell

• the proportion of transactions you expect to receive face to face, by phone, mail order, or online

• your suppliers' details

• how you deliver your goods or services

It can take anything from one week to four weeks to open a merchant account. For start-up business it can take even longer as the banks may require even more information, however rest assured that it is well worth doing all this in the long run

Step 2) Set up your card processing equipment

Once the merchant account has been accepted you are then free to get your card processing equipment. Normally your acquiring bank will provide you with one on a rental basis. All you need to consider is whether you want a small PDQ machine or a fully integrated till system.

Step 3) Connect Your Terminal

Once you have your credit card terminal you then have to connect it up. This is probably the most simply of the three steps as all you have to do it connect it to a telephone line. This can be an existing phone line however it is recommended that you get a dedicated line for it in order to avoid interruptions. Once it is connected you are up and running!

Voila that is the three steps to accepting credit card payments in its most simple form. There are plenty of resources on the web that can help you alternatively it is always worth checking with your existing back first as they can sometimes provide the best deals.

Dan Ashcroft has worked in the merchant services sector for the past 15 years. For more information visit http://www.seymourdirect.co.uk

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