Getting Payment Processing and Merchant Services That Meet Your Needs

Reliable payment processing service is a cornerstone of a successful business in this day and age.But with the seemingly endless array of merchant services products available,how does a business owner know which would be of most use to them?

Here's a rundown on the four most common payment processing services and why your business needs them:

Payment Processing Service #1 - Credit Card Processing - Because credit cards have become astonishingly prevalent, credit card processing has become the premier form of payment processing. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, U.S. consumers own 609.8 million credit cards! That comes out to roughly 3.5 credit cards for every cardholder! That's an incredibly large potential customer base your business is missing out on by lacking the ability to accept credit cards. In addition, surveys show that customers who pay with a credit card spend more, leading to increased revenue for your business. So what types of businesses need credit card processing? From retail to the service industry, most businesses need the ability to accept credit cards. Businesses that don't need to accept credit cards are definitely the exception, not the rule.

Payment Processing Service #2 - Debit Card Processing - As consumers become more aware of the security issues associated with carrying large quantities of cash, debit cards are quickly becoming their preferred method of payment, making debit card processing another extremely common form of payment processing. Not having the ability to process debit cards causes your business to lose out on potential revenue. And as debit cards become more and more popular, your business will be missing out on more and more sales. As with credit cards, most businesses need to accept debit cards.

Payment Processing Service #3 - Internet Payment Processing - Over 70 percent of consumers now shop online, which makes having the ability to process online payments crucial. Whether you have an online business or your physical business just has a website, you need internet payment processing services. Internet payment processing services allow you to accept payments online securely, but can also do so much more than that. Services range from website hosting to creating a secure payment gateway to designing shopping carts and much more. Experts expect internet shopping to keep increasing in popularity in the next few years. By having the ability to process payments online, you can easily increase your sales.

Payment Processing Service #4 - Gift Card Processing and Loyalty Programs - If your business is looking to increase loyalty and repeat sales among existing customers, then you should consider accepting gift cards and/or creating a loyalty program. Gift cards offer a great way for satisfied customers to spread the word about your business. Also, potential customers will be carrying a little card with your logo on it around in their wallet for days - from an advertising standpoint, that's great exposure. As for loyalty programs, customers that feel loyal to a brand spend more money and make more repeat sales. The general rule of thumb is that a business's top 20 percent of customers make up 80 percent of sales. Loyal customers are also considerably more likely to spread positive word of mouth about your business which can help draw in new customers.

The majority of merchants will need one, two, three or even all four of these payment processing services for their business. A merchant services provider will be able to help you create a plan that maximizes these payment processing services to increase your sales and revenue.

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