It is very common to see an incorrect Merchant Category Code (aka MCC) being listed on a business's merchant account. There is a link on Visa's website where you can actually search your business and see if you are listed correctly. Why does this matter? Well, if you have an incorrect MCC, you could be paying much more in fees to Visa/MC/Discover/Amex for one. Secondly, you could be missing out on certain card types that you can accept. For example, you might be a laser hair

I wanted to take the time to write a thoughtful blog on the subject of working with an Agent for your credit card processing. I want to preface my writing today by saying that there are many wonderful employees who work in my industry and I consider a lot of them my dear friends. The objective of this article is to explain how agents do business in the credit card processing world so that those who are searching for a provider, can be educated about who is out there and what

Although I don't come across this issue often, it does come up every now and again. If you are a business owner and you are reluctant to show a merchant services provider your statement, I completely understand. This industry is riddled with unethical companies and less than truthful reps who would say almost anything to sign you up. However, I will say that it matters WHO you show your statement to. In a previous blog post entitled "4 Things You Should Expect From Your Merch

In my career doing credit card processing, nothing upsets a business owner more than when you "hold" their credit card deposits. What I learned very quickly is that a good offense is better than a good defense. If you setup a merchant account correctly up front, it mitigates many of the reasons (but not all) as to why your credit card deposits might be held. Here are just three reasons why credit card processors might hold your credit card deposits: 1. An Inexperienced Mercha

I am finding more and more businesses are using proprietary software. What is proprietary software you might ask? Well, it's a software that is specifically created for a certain type of vertical. For example, you might have a gym software that allows a gym owner to take payments for memberships OR you might have a dental software that runs your practice for appointment scheduling and payments. Many software companies realized that if they have a niche market, why not make th

While there are dozens of things I could list in regard to this topic, I have narrowed it down to 4 things that you should expect from the representative that will be facilitating your merchant account for your business: 1. EXPERIENCED – Although everyone has to start somewhere, the sad reality is that most people who sell merchant services know just enough to be dangerous. These are the people that at best, they basically know the minimum to get by, but once your business ru