What Every Small Business Needs to Know about Accepting Credit Card Payments

In today’s plastic driven world, there’s a good chance you understand the importance of your business accepting credit cards. In fact, most people prefer the convenience of credit and debit cards over cash. As a small business owner, there are somethings you need to understand before you start accepting this form of payment. Whether it’s the different methods you can use or how to keep customer transactions secure, accepting credit cards is more than simply swiping a card.

How Can Credit Cards Be Accepted?

There are a number of different ways small businesses can accept credit cards. Most businesses used a wired point of sale system in which the employee or customer swipes their card. The system is hooked up to the cash register and processed through a merchant account. Similar to the wired system is the wireless system that allows the business to use the system anywhere within the business location. Mobile POS systems are becoming increasingly popular as they allow business owners to accept payments from anywhere. It doesn’t matter if you have a food truck that’s in a different location each day or make sales going door to door, you can accept payments. Lastly, is the online card processing form which allows customers to enter their information when making an online purchase.

What Are the Rates and Fees?

The exact rate and fees you pay will depend on the type of system you use as well as the company that offers the system. For example, those that use mobile POS systems may only be charged a percentage of the transaction, such as 2.75%. On the other hand, a wired POS system may require a flat fee in addition to a percentage of the sale. This is why it pays for small businesses to fully research their options before choosing a POS credit card processing system.

How Can Businesses Offer Security?

Security is of utmost importance. Being careless with customer financial information could result in a lawsuit. The first thing you need to do is make sure that the network you use for the transactions is secure. You also need to limit the number of employees that have access to card information. Lastly, test your system regularly to make sure there aren’t any weaknesses.
Accepting credit cards is essential for competing in today’s market. It doesn’t matter if you sell ice cream from a truck or own a large bookstore, you need to accept credit and debit cards in order to be successful. The good news is there are many options, including companies like moblized.com, with varying rates and fees so that almost any small business can implement a method for accepting credit cards.