What Wikipedia Can’t Tell You about Credit Card Merchant Services
Are you guilty of using Wikipedia as your go-to site for learning about a new topic? Say, you get asked what is Merchant Services, would you prefer to go to Wikipedia’s site and look for the answer? If your answer is yes, then maybe you should read on.
A Merchant service is pretty uncommon, especially for an ordinary consumer who probably haven’t heard this term yet. In truth, not many know about merchant services, and if by any chance you have heard of this term, it is also possible that there are still some things that Wikipedia hasn’t taught you.
Here are some quick facts about merchant services that Wikipedia probably missed to list:
Defining Merchant Services
Wikipedia describes merchant services as “a broad category of financial services intended for use by businesses.” To simplify, merchant services are used in credit card processing, which includes both the technology and the processing terminal to accommodate cashless payment. What most people don’t understand is that merchant service is a complex process that goes well beyond swiping a card or inserting it on a POS machine.
The merchant service provider or MSP handles the communications that traverse between the customer’s bank, the issuer and the business’ bank. This involves handling card information and transaction details that are determined after a sale has been made. Their job is to ensure that payments are made efficient and safe for all the parties involved.
What Merchant Services Offer
There are a number of things a merchant service provider can offer you, from the basics like hardware (POS machines) and a secure network terminal for credit card processing. The first, most basic service is the Online Payment Gateway that involves securing card transactions by encrypting card information and running it online. For e-commerce businesses, this is important to ensure that transaction checkout is efficient.
There is also the matter of Point of Sale (POS) Systems. A merchant service can go beyond the usual credit card processing to offer a more comprehensive business management solution. This includes sales reports, inventory tracking, employee management, and even the recent addition of contactless payment procedures such as Google Pay.
An MSP can also offer loyalty programs and gift cards technology that your business can use to entice more customers to avail of your products and services.
Merchant Services Fees
If you are asking about the fees you may acquire while using this service, the best answer would be that not all companies are the same, and therefore fees differ from one processor to another. However, there are common fees that are expected from hiring such services: application fee, penalty fees, statement fees, monthly service fees, transaction fees (for the issuer), and PCI compliance fee which is paid yearly.
GB Payments, a UK-based merchant service provider, offers the best qualities a credit card processing company should have. If you are looking to talk about their rates and services, head over to home page here. Let us make the process a whole lot easier for you!