5 Things to Consider When Switching Merchant Accounts

Read This Before You Switch You Merchant Account

As a business, having the right merchant service account is imperative in making sure that all your payment transactions are done as seamlessly and efficiently as possible.

But when it comes to choosing the right provider, you will never really know for sure if one works for you or not until you give it a try.

In the instance that your current provider’s system isn’t fit for your business, you might want to consider switching merchant accounts. Before you do that, here are five things that you need to consider first:

#1

Re-read your contract.

Before you cut ties with your current merchant account provider, make sure to review your current contract to see if there are any terms that you need to follow when switching to another provider.

For instance, some companies will charge an early termination fee if you don’t complete the entire contract duration, so you need to prepare for that. You can also ask your future provider if they will pay for an early termination fee so you can easily switch with them.

#2

Think about the price.

If cost is your primary reason for wanting to switch to another merchant account, you need to compare current costs against future costs before making your decision.

You can do this by undergoing a credit card processing statement review. This will allow you to see what added features you will get with your future provider and if you will be getting more value for your money with it. For instance, 80% of existing merchants are still processing payments using Level 1 service.

But a newer integrated solution will allow you to add the extra requirements for big credit card providers like Visa and Mastercard to get to Level 3 payment processing, which means added security for your business.

#3

Convenient installation process.

Your new provider should make the transition easy and seamless for you and your customers. As much as possible, you shouldn’t have any downtime that could affect your sales significantly.

#4

Ask about technical support and reporting.

If you are to switch to a new merchant account, make sure that your new provider can provide you with good customer service, technical support, management and reporting services as part of your contract.

Having 24/7 technical support is very important because you cannot afford to get any downtimes on your payment processing system that could lead to cart abandonment and lost sales.

Make sure that your provider’s customer support is PCI compliant so issues are resolved in a timely and efficient manner. It’s also very important to find a provider that could give you regular reports so you can see how efficient your system would be.

#5

Consider international processing.

Finally, if you are to switch to a new merchant account, you have to go with a provider that will leave you some room for growth. This means being able to process international payments if you are to expand your market overseas.