Premier Payment Solutions

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Its a fun group of people that help you expand your network. Come hang out with us 12/21 at 8am. We meet at Great Lakes Christian College on the west side of Lansing.

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Have you heard about Visa and Mastercard raising their fees again?

Visa, Mastercard plan to hike credit-card fees - WSJ Global payments processors Visa and Mastercard are planning to increase fees that many merchants pay when they accept customers' credit cards, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Come check us out today at the Lansing Center for the MOA Seminar!

If you take Credit cards at your business, please look at your statement and see if you're being charged a risk assessment fee....

Risk Assessment fees are appearing on merchant credit card processing statements more regularly these days. In fact, charging a risk assessment fee has become a routine practice of many large credit card processing companies. Depending on your business, these fees may not be warranted, and by paying them, you are simply adding profit to your credit card processor. In this article, we’ll discuss what these fees are and whether your business should have to pay them.

Take a look at your most recent credit card processing statement. You may be surprised to find a Risk Assessment fee has been added. The amount of the fee is typically based on the amount of the credit card volume you are pumping through your business. I’ve seen fees range from .05 percent all the way up to 5 percent of the total credit card volume. As you can imagine, these fees can add up to a significant amount each year.

Premier Payment Solutions can help you eliminate this charge.

Have you thought about charging your customers a surcharge for using credit or debit cards? Premier Payment Solutions can work with you to find the right fit for your business.

How to Accept Credit Card Payments: A Beginner’s Guide

You know your business needs to accept credit cards. So how can your business accept them?
Most consumers expect that every business will accept credit and debit cards – a standard you are all too familiar with if you must repeatedly explain to customers that your business accepts cash only. Luckily, accepting credit and debit cards is as easy as partnering with a credit card processing company.
This guide will walk you through the ins and outs of the credit card processing industry and highlight the factors you need to consider when choosing a processor.
How do you accept credit card payments for your small business?
Accepting credit and debit cards begins with selecting a processor, followed by considering which piece of payment technology you’ll utilize to accept payments.
1. Determine the type of processor you need.
Choosing the type of credit card processor you want to work with comes down to what you value from this type of company. PayPal and Square, for example, show that they are great for businesses that are just starting out and process a low transaction volume, thanks to their lack of fees. Because their credit card processing rates are higher than those of other options, though, they’re not always a cost-effective choice for high-volume businesses.
When choosing a processor, consider what you value, such as rates, service, and technology.
• Competitive rates: Don’t always look for the lowest rate possible. Some advertised rates are deceptively low, as they only apply to a certain type of transaction. Many companies also charge various monthly and annual fees that you need to consider when comparing costs.
• Knowledgeable and available customer service: If your payment technology stops working during peak business hours, what are you going to do? What is the backup plan for processing cards? How will it get fixed, and how can your processor’s customer service be reached? You can’t afford to have any downtime, so you need a processor that can support you and be there when you need them.
• Fast, secure and reliable payment equipment: There is a plethora of payment equipment on the market, but not every processor offers every kind. A processor can help you decide which equipment is best for your business.
FYI
Different types of businesses tend to use different types of equipment. As an example, typically, restaurants favor top point-of-sale systems and retail businesses favor payment terminals.
2. Consider how you will accept credit cards.
When you begin accepting credit cards, it’s generally because your customers prefer using them or because doing so makes accounting easier. So, it’s important to consider how your customers use their cards. If the vast majority come into your physical location and swipe their cards, perhaps that’s the only method you need to accept. However, you might also want to accept credit cards online, over the phone, on a mobile device or across multiple channels. Determining the methods of payments you will accept can help you understand what type of credit card processing equipment you need.
The COVID-19 pandemic made it essential for merchants to have a card reader with near-field communication (NFC) technology that can accept contactless payments such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and contactless credit cards. Consumers don’t want to touch payment technology; they want the convenience of tapping their card or phone on a payment terminal, then being on their way. NFC payments also make checkout faster, are easy to implement, and can help deepen consumer engagement.
3. Examine pricing models and fee structures.
Pricing models and fee structures vary greatly by processor, so this is one of the more arduous parts of the buying journey. There are multiple pricing models available that determine the rates you will pay on certain transaction types. Most processors charge 2% to 4% of the transaction value, plus a small transaction fee based on your monthly processing volume, average ticket size, industry and processing history. In addition, processors often charge several fees.
4. Compare quotes.
Using the criteria above, narrow your list of candidates down to three. Then, contact each of these three credit card processors to request a quote. A processor’s rates are negotiable sometimes, so don’t be afraid to haggle – especially if you’ve already received estimates from other companies.
After comparing quotes, request a contract from one or two companies that offer the most competitive rates. However, keep in mind that the lowest rate is not always best. Consider what else each company offers to add value to your service.
Do not complete an application until you are ready to sign up with a company. If you read the fine print, you’ll discover that the application is part of the contract, and by signing it, you’ve agreed to accept the company’s services.
5. Review contracts.
As always, review these contracts very carefully – some companies try to hide fees. If something does not look right to you, ask about it. Consider whether the contract includes automatic renewal clauses, early termination fees and other binding clauses. Once you are satisfied that the contract is fair, sign with the company you believe is the best fit for your business.
Once you’ve completed these steps and decided which credit card processor you’d like to partner with, you are ready to apply. Generally, applications can be submitted online and take two days for the processor to review.
Once your application is approved, the processor will set up your account and walk you through the process of selecting any hardware you might need. Once the hardware arrives, the processor will help you set it up and test it.

Looking for the right credit card processor for your business?

Premier Payment Solutions Is here to help you and your business.

How Credit Card Processing Works:

The credit card transaction process is much more involved than simply swiping a card to complete a transaction. It's actually a complex process that requires numerous parties and steps. Familiarizing yourself with this process can help you make sense of the many built-in complexities. In this article we'll go over how credit card processing works, including the three processing stages:

Authorization
Authentication
Settlement
Who's involved in credit card processing?
Behind the scenes of every credit card swipe or tap are several important entities who ensure that the money transfers to the right place — correctly and securely. These parties include:

Merchant
Cardmember
Merchant's bank
Payment processor
Issuing Bank
Card associations
Merchant
The merchant is any store or vendor that sells goods or services and accepts credit card payments.

Cardmember
The cardholder or cardmember is anyone using a credit or debit card from an issuing bank to pay for goods or services.

Merchant's bank
The merchant's bank allows merchants to accept money from debit or credit payments. It receives authorization requests from the merchant, sends them to the issuing bank and then sends the issuing bank's response back to the merchant.

Payment processor
A payment processor is a company that processes debit and credit transactions and provides the hardware that allows merchants to accept credit card payments. It can be the merchant bank or a third party.

Issuing bank
The bank, credit union or another provider that issued the debit or credit card to the cardmember.

Card associations
Major credit card brands such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express and others, set payment processing policies and serve as the middle man between the issuing and merchant banks.

Steps of the credit card transaction process
Let's break down the steps of the credit card transaction process.

Authorization
In the credit card authorization stage, the merchant needs to get approved by the credit card issuer:

The cardmember presents their card to the merchant at the time of sale, whether it be in-person, online, through an app or over the phone.
The merchant sends a payment authorization request to a payment processor.
The payment processor will send the details of the transaction to the card association, such as Visa or MasterCard, who will approve or decline it.
If the card association clears the payment, they'll send an authorization request to the issuing bank, which approves or declines the request.
The issuing bank sends its decision back to the card association, where it then goes down the line, finally reaching the merchant.
Authentication
In the authentication stage, the issuing bank will check to make sure the transaction is valid.

The card association makes a request for payment authorization from the issuing bank.
The issuing bank validates the cardmember account and funds available.
The issuing bank approves or declines the transaction and sends the decision to the card association and merchant bank.
The issuing bank will place a hold for the amount of purchase on the cardmember's account.
The merchant's point of sale terminal will collect the approved authorizations for processing.
Settlement
In the settlement stage, the merchant will finally receive funds from the transactions.

The merchant sends their batched approved authorizations to the payment processor.
The payment processor sends the authorizations to the card association.
The card association forwards them to the issuing bank.
The issuing bank transfers the funds to the merchant bank and charges an 'interchange fee". This typically happens within 24 to 48 hours of the transaction.
The merchant bank delivers funds to the merchant account.

Clover flex is a wireless handheld device that will allow you to process credit cards with out all the wires and hassle. (also has built in printer) This can be used for servers at a table or. flea market vendors. This system is a very small hand held POS system.

Clover stations are smaller POS systems for your business. This could be used for restaurant's, all the way to auto repair shops. Built in automatic ordering when stock gets low is a great way for inventory to take less time each month.