Blog & Company News

Jan 31, 2012

5 Merchant-Processing Services for Small-Business Owners

[caption id="attachment_393" align="alignright" width="431" caption="More effective than a "free kittens" sign"][/caption] 1. Credit Cards The use of credit cards is a great way to increase your customer base. Credit cards are easily one of the most common forms of payment methods today. Not accepting credit cards may be detrimental to your business and sales. All you need to start accepting credit cards is a point-of-sale terminal. You can learn more about these terminals and accepting credit card payments here. 2. PIN/Signature Debit Card Acceptance Accepting PIN or debit cards will help to increase your sales. Like credit cards, debit cards are very popular among consumers. Debit cards allow sales proceeds to be deposited directly into your account, and transactions are reported with your credit card transactions on your monthly statements. Debit cards offer a quick, easy-to-use payment solution for your customers. 3. Ecommerce Ecommerce, short for electronic commerce, refers to buying and selling products or services on the internet. Adding ecommerce to your website will allow you to increase you sales, as your customers will have more ways to purchase your products. Ecommerce allows you to accept payments online, add a shopping cart to your website, and have funds deposited directly into your bank account. 4. Gift/Loyalty Cards Gift cards are huge in the current market. Gift cards and loyalty cards have a dual function: They increase the amount of money your business takes in, and they act as a marketing tool that promotes your business. Gift cards can increase recognition of your business, are easy to use, and drive users to your company. Loyalty cards allow you to personally design a rewards program for frequent customers. Common loyalty programs assign points per dollar spent or tally customer transactions, which can later be redeemed for coupons, discounts, or prizes. 5. Mobile Processing The ability to process payments through a mobile device will put you one step ahead of your competitors. Mobile processing allows you to use your phone to swipe credit cards and process payments over your wireless data service. The ability to process payments anytime, anywhere is a great resource. This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.