Resources & Reviews for Small Business Owners

Last Updated on November 11, 2024

Rank Name Overall Score Info
MerchantProcessors.com
Review
HighRiskMerchants.net
Review
Clarity USA
Review
PSBILL
Review
EZ Merchant
Review

Find Cheaper Merchant Accounts at the Lowest Prices. Save Money Lower Percentages.

For new businesses the process seems overwhelming. For businesses that have been processing for years, the system is confusing and frustrating. With all the challenges that small business owners deal with in successfully operating their business, how you accept credit cards and who you accept credit cards with, should not have to be one of them.

Unfortunately due to the complexity of the monthly costs, rates, fees, and assessments that accompany every transaction, businesses find themselves dealing with an industry where margins can be padded, fees hidden, and worst often lengthy contracts and cancellation costs that actually penalize the small business that tries not to be taken advantage of. Find merchant account credit card processing with Month to Month and no Early Termination Fees

Worse yet is that these merchant service providers have years of marketing experience and have figured out the key words and phrases that can distract earnest business owners from asking the right questions and getting the full story.

We also have reviewed and can recommend the following High Risk Merchant Account Providers:

As mentioned above, the merchant service providers are very experienced at marketing to small business owners. So they try and grab your attention by advertising the “lowest rates” available. Many even offer available rates on their websites’, and you’ve likely seen banners offering “Rates as Low as X.YZ%”. This approach from a small businesses owners perspective is very effective, compare rates, find the lowest, sign up. While an effective marketing tool, it is exactly the type of trap that leads to businesses far overpaying on their processing costs.

The reason for this is that the processor’s advertised rate only applies to a single card and transaction type. Visa or Mastercard, Business or Personal, High Risk or Rewards, each card type is unique and has its own rates; which rate is determined by the transaction type, was the card swiped or keyed in, does the business keep receipts, are the transactions handled online? Each of these impacts the type of rate the processor can offer.

This is a long explanation for why focusing on rates is a trap that many business owners fall into, when what they really need to look at is overall cost. This is not easy, but a trained and qualified sales representative should be able to understand your business, the type of transactions and typical card types the business will see. They can then craft a merchant account that fits the business and has the lowest overall cost.

  • At All Costs Avoid Specified Length/Term Contracts

One of the most frustrating parts of the merchant account industry is the use of contracts. Many processors have standard 3 year contracts with hefty cancellation costs. These contracts have no place in the industry, yet have somehow become the norm. Worse yet is that some processors are actually devious enough to have no “cancellation” fee, but do have an “early termination” fee, or perhaps a clause that entitles them to a monthly minimum payment each month through the remainder of the contract. Avoid contracts at all cost.

  • Customer Support and Service

Often this is one of the most overlooked items when comparing merchant service providers. Many small business owners assume that if they have a problem the processor will “just take care of it”. Unfortunately these are exactly the types of assumptions that have made this industry so reviled, as those same merchants find out very quickly that not all credit card processors are created equal. Many processors are small operations, maybe even a single sales rep working out of his basement. Customer Service is outsourced to the cheapest bid, with the hope that issues will not arise, and even if they do when the merchant is signed into a 3 year contract, what is the penalty to having a poor customer service experience.

  • Level of Trust

You are entrusting one of the most critical aspects of your business to a third party. It is a relationship that you need to trust in, and to do so you need to trust that you are working with a processor that realizes their success is dependent on your success. The higher your profits the more you can invest in your business, which in turn will lead to more sales and processing in the future. While difficult to quantify in a phone call, one of the best measuring sticks you can use is the level of knowledge the individual you are speaking with has about your business and credit card processing. As noted there are so many factors that go into setting an account up correctly, any call that does not involve the processor learning more about your business, the type of cards you will see, and the ways you will processing credit cards is not one to put much trust in.

We hope that this guide on what to look for, and look out for, can help you find the merchant processor that with best fit your specific needs. Each business is unique and finding the best merchant account for your business is not a cookie cutter process, by asking the right questions you can put yourself in a great position for success.

We hope this website can provide a valuable resource to individuals looking for additional information on how to secure the lowest possible costs for their credit card processing needs. While we have a number of reviews available we also very much recommend that individuals (whether they are new or experienced) read some of our articles as we are confident they will better prepare you to negotiate the best deal possible.