The Two Annoying Parts of Payment Acceptance with a Merchant Service Account and how to Overcome Them

07/03/2014 15:08

Using a merchant service account to accept payments for your small business can seem like a daunting and confusing task, but it doesn’t have to be!  Once you are up and running with a merchant service account provider that you like, you will be able to enjoy the ease of card payment acceptance.  However, two parts of merchant service accounts that give some small business owners trouble are non-payments and ecommerce.  Learn how to overcome these potentially obstacles and you will be on your way to payment acceptance bliss!    

Most small businesses can benefit from allowing their customers to set up subscriptions or recurring payments.  However, businesses can lose out when the payment does not go through.  One potential cause for this problem is when the customer’s card expires or is cancelled and they do not update you.  Customers should make sure they have a system in place to make sure that service is stopped until payments is made.  If the payment is declined and work continues, you are basically giving your services away for free.  Also, trying to retroactively get payment from a customer can be difficult and time consuming.  This is definitely an annoying part of a merchant service account that you should try to avoid by being prepared. 

E-commerce technologies allow merchants to accept payment at anytime, and anywhere.  While this is convenient for customers and businesses alike, it can also be confusing because not all credit card processing services work with merchant service accounts.  This process can include getting a merchant service account with a bank, setting up a payment gateway and then find payment software.  This can mean multiple set up fees and accounts.  What a headache!

To avoid this, you can find a merchant service account that does all of these services for you.  There are many all-inclusive options that are great for small businesses and much more convenient.