Accept Credit Cards

Learn How To Accept Credit Cards By Phone
By Shane Penrod

If your business is poised for growth, don’t be held back by a
fear of technology if you don’t know how to accept credit cards
by phone. E-commerce is the way to go if you want to stay ahead
of the competition and grow your customer base. Even if your
company does not own a piece of technical equipment, now is the
time to jump on the bandwagon to take advantage of easy ways to
increase your profits.

To accept credit cards by phone, you will first need to get a
merchant account. This is a special account offered by various
financial lenders and institutions to reliable merchants that
are looking to grow their business. A merchant account provides
linkages between your business and customers’ credit payments
via a bank processing system that ensures timely receipts and
secure transmissions. These can be handled in many different
ways, such as through a credit card processor sitting on a
cashier’s counter, a Website credit processor, a wireless unit,
or as discussed here, a telephone credit processing program.
When you get approved for a merchant account, you will be able
to choose the most appropriate service for your business, and
many companies are opting telephone ordering services that
provide a secure means of paying by credit card during a
toll-free phone call that is often automated.

You will need to get the best deal on a merchant account before
you can accept credit cards by phone. Shop for fees, terms, and
products, since these accounts can be very competitive and some
are laced with seemingly hidden costs, such as an application
fee, gateway fee, and annual membership fee, among others. Once
you find out what you will have to pay for a set-up and how much
it will cost to put in a phone ordering and payment system, you
will be able to negotiate a deal that will optimize your assets
without jeopardizing your investment. You may want to use a
toll-free number or even more than one number. It may be
automated or you might choose to staff the phone line with a
friendly customer service representative. It is important to
make sure the line is secure so customers can feel safe about
ordering and paying by credit card while on the phone with your
company.

To accept credit cards by phone, ask your merchant account
representative about the various options that you can choose
from. Find out how much each one costs both in terms of direct
and indirect expenses. Some may be billed at a certain rate per
transaction, while others are charged an overall low percentage
fee. It might even be a good idea to find out if your customers
will want to order and pay be phone, because if not, your
investment could dry up quickly. Be sure not to purchase more
equipment or support than you need to get started. You can
always add more features later as the business grows.

When you install a digital credit processing system, get ready
to accept credit cards by phone.

About the Author: Shane Penrod is the founder of
Merchant-Account-Quotes.com Specializing in allowing merchants
the ability to shop and compare multiple quotes from national
merchant account providers. For free quotes on merchant account
rates and fees, please go to
http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com

Source: http://www.isnare.com