Hi brian22,
Researching your question has turned out to be more difficult than I
was expecting when I first took it on yesterday! At first I expected
to be able to find a nice comparison chart of various merchant
services and their fees but I haven't had much luck there. Following
is the only real comparison chart that I found (none are particularly
low priced).
MERCHANT ACCOUNT COMPARISON CHART
Source: U.S Department of Commerce - Minority Business Development Agency
http://www.consumer-guides.info/business/merchant_accounts/merchant_account_comparison.html
To give you some idea of how many merchant service providers there
are, look at this list:
Retail Business Directory
http://www.retailbusiness.com/
Next comes the matter of which credit cards can be processed (most
only take Visa and MasterCard and a few tack on Discovery and Amex
with extra applications) and the fees. Just because the rates seem
low, it doesn't necessarily mean they will be the lowest for you.
Luckily, I found a fee calculator which, after punching in the numbers
you provided, gives a more accurate overall percentage of fees
applicable for you, and that is what I used to compare companies.
Simple Merchant Account Fee Calculator
http://www.merchantaccountblog.com/tools/simple-merchant-account-fee-calculator/
So, trying to keep it as simple as possible, here are ten merchant
service providers which seem to be worth your consideration, listed
according to the overall percentage using the calculator. It will be
up to you to read the quotes you get from them and add in any other
fees (such as chargebacks) that you may find. I've stayed away from
gimmicky websites promising the moon (free terminals), unprofessional
looking websites, and sites that don't quote any rates. Ofcourse if
you like a website that I haven't included here, you can use the
calculator yourself to see how it measures up.
------------
1) AMS (overall 1.73%)
Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover®, bank ATM, debit
cards, corporate cards, and even checks.
http://www.merchant-accounts.com/retail-merchant-account.html
CALCULATOR
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $346.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 1.73%
Set-up fee: $0
NEW T7Plus $216
or
CALCULATOR
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $416.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 2.08%
Set-up fee: $0
free terminal
--------------
2) Avid Payment Solution (overall 1.86%)
* Visa * MasterCard * American Express * Diners Club * Discover * JCB
http://www.suscc.com/pdf/files/avid.pdf
CALCULATOR
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $373.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 1.86%
Set-up fee: $?
______
3) Nationwide Merchant Center (overall 1.94%)
Visa, MasterCard, Amex (at least)
http://www.nationwidemerchantcenter.com/rates.htm
CALCULATOR
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $388.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 1.94%
Set-up fee: $0
-----------
4) 1MerchantAccount (overall 1.99%)
Accept MasterCard, Visa, Debit, Check Card, Discover, AMEX, Diners and JCB
http://1merchantaccount.com/
CALCULATOR
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $398.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 1.99%
Set-up fee: $
----------
5) United Bank Card (overall 2.10%)
Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, debit cards, Gift
Cards, Loyalty Cards and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)
transactions.
http://ubcps.com/enter_retail.php
CALCULATOR
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $419.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 2.10%
Set-up fee: $0
----------
6) Bank of America (overall 2.12%)
Processing of VISA®, MasterCard®, Discover®, American Express®,
Diner's Club®, Carte Blanche®, JCB®, private label, electronic check,
gift cards, prepaid cards, Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), and
PIN-based debit, ATM, and Fleet transactions
http://www.bankofamerica.com/small_business/merchant_card_processing/index.cfm?template=retail_basic
CALCULATOR
Credit Card
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $423.95
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 2.12%
Debit
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $603.95
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 3.02%
+ set up fee $95.00
http://www.merchantaccountblog.com/tools/simple-merchant-account-fee-calculator/
Banking Centers near Los Angeles, Ca
100 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012
--
333 S. Hope Ste 100
Los Angeles, CA 90071
--
550 S Hill St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
--
850 N Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012
--
600 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90017
http://bankofamerica.via.infonow.net/locator/atmbranch/ResultsDisplayAction.do
----------
7) Paynet Systems (overall 2.14%)
Visa, MasterCard. American Express and Discover require separate approval.
http://www.paynetsystems.com/html/retail.html
CALCULATOR
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $428.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 2.14%
Set-uo fee: $?
How do I sign up for American Express and Discover Card?
American Express (no set up fees)
"We will send you an application form for American Express unless
otherwise requested. American Express requires separate approval. Upon
approval, we will internally activate the account. All you do is sign
the forms. The rates will vary depending on business type and average
sale amount."
The following is the rate range you can expect. (Rates and fees for
American Express are subject to change).
Retail -
Average sale $150 or less = 3.25%
Average sale $150-249 = 3.10%
Average sale $250+ = 2.95%
Discover Card (no set up fees)
"We will forward your request directly to Discover. A Discover
representative will contact you and discuss their program. Once a
merchant number has been issued by Discover, we will add it to your
file."
http://www.paynetsystems.com/html/faq_s.html
----------
8) GotMerchant (overall 2.24%)
http://www.gotmerchant.com/payment_services/retail/guide/4r.shtml
CALCULATOR
Credit Card
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $448.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 2.24%
Verifone 3730LE $349
Debit
Flat .65 per transaction + $65 mo.
----------
9) Charge.com - Web-based - (overall 2.4%)
A Web-based terminal for easy processing of credit card orders manually.
http://www.charge.com/?geor9069
CALCULATOR
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $480.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 2.40%
Set-up fee: $0
-----------
11) ECHO, Inc. - POS terminal - (overall 3.36%)
http://www.echo-inc.com/accept_credit_cards.html
CALCULATOR
Your Monthly Processing Cost: $673.00
Your Total Monthly Revenue: $20,000
Overall Effective Percentage: 3.36%
Set-up fee: $99
----------
Additional Links of Interest:
Eagle Merchant Services
Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Diners Club, American Express
Lowest Cost Guaranteed. Period.
http://www.eaglemerchantservices.com/retail-merchant-accounts.cfm
Choosing a merchant account
http://www.allmerchants.com/Articles.Merchant-Account-Service.Choosing-a-merchant-account.id.31938.htm
The Merchant Account Blog
Merchant Accounts, Ecommerce, Processing Equipment
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:NHjEwtelk1QJ:www.merchantaccountblog.com/archives/category/credit-card-equipment/page/2/+retail+merchant+accounts+p.o.s.+bbb&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=16&client=firefox-a
Get it in Writing!
The following fees should be disclosed in writing at your request. If
a processor claims not to have one of the following fees?simply ask
for it in writing.
* Monthly Minimums
* Cancellation Fees
* Batch Fees
* Statement or Monthly Service Fees
* Business Card Surcharges
* AVS Charges (Address Verification for mail/phone order or Internet businesses)
* Non-Qualified Fees (key-in surcharges and Non AVS)
* Charge-Back Fees
* Voice Authorization Fees
"Once you have a basic understanding of ALL associated fees, you will
have the knowledge necessary to obtain the best deal possible.
Unfortunately, business owners often research only the difference in
percentage rates. This is meaningless if the savings disappear in
higher fees hidden elsewhere. Did you know Visa/MasterCard have close
to 50 different fee categories? The majority of them may not affect
you, however, they are important and do vary depending on business
type."
http://www.paynetsystems.com/html/get_it_in_writing.html
I was glad to work on this for you. If you have any questions, please
post a clarification request and wait for me to respond before
closing/rating my answer.
Thank you,
hummer
Some of the Google search terms used: retail merchant accounts
services pos comparisons comparison chart credit debit cards p.o.s. |
