Understanding interchange fees vs merchant discount rate is critical for eCommerce merchants who want to control payment processing costs. Most businesses focus only on the total percentage they pay. However, that number includes multiple components with very different levels of control. By understanding the difference, merchants can identify where negotiation is possible and where optimization […]
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Interchange Fees vs Merchant Discount Rate Explained
Chargebacks are an unavoidable part of doing business which is why having a solid chargeback defense is of the utmost importance. In some cases, chargebacks are warranted, and there isn’t much a merchant can do about it. But, in many cases, chargebacks are submitted on transactions in which the merchant did everything right and has […]
Payment gateways are an important technology used by every single merchant that accepts credit or debit card transactions, both online and off. But many merchants don’t understand what payment gateways are or how they work, and, as a result, they may be using a payment gateway system that doesn’t properly meet their needs or costs […]
Cash payments have fallen out of favor, making up only 12% of transactions in the U.S. in 2020. The global COVID-19 pandemic has driven that down even further as health-conscious consumers have flocked to contactless payments. With card payments now the standard, even the smallest merchants need to find ways to move away from cash […]
Selling to businesses (or governments) is a different proposition than selling to consumers because the value of the average sale is so much higher — often in the tens of thousands and potentially ranging up into the millions. In the B2B world, security is at an even higher premium than normal, and cost management is […]
Toast is one of the leading point-of-sale systems in the world, consistently earning top rankings, particularly in the restaurant industry. There are a number of reasons why so many restaurant owners lean on Toast POS for their dine-in and online ordering operations, including the company’s specialization and the robust set of add-on products that integrate […]
BAMS Retail Merchant Services Key Points: BAMS offers guaranteed low pricing thanks to our transparent interchange-plus pricing model. BAMS offers unparalleled customer service delivered by your own dedicated support team including even the most complex tasks like PCI compliance. BAMS merchants can get access to their funds in as little as ten hours with BAMS […]
When businesses buy things from each other, how do they do it? While extremely large capital purchases are sometimes made with bank transfers, you might be surprised at just how often even large business expenses are paid for with credit cards. However, accepting B2B credit card payments on major sales is generally not the same […]
Cash flow is arguably the most important metric in determining the financial health of any business. Access to liquid cash ensures that merchants can meet all of their ongoing expenses like payroll and interest payments, and keeps things running when unexpected expenditures inevitably arise. But cash itself is all but outdated, and with the world […]
Clover is one of the world’s leading POS systems, with over $133 billion in card transactions processed annually for thousands of merchants around the globe. One major selling point that draws many of those merchants to the Clover POS is the robust app market that offers over 150 easy-to-install upgrades and enhancements. The app market […]
Toast is one of the premier merchant services providers in the restaurant industry, offering a full suite of products and services designed specifically to help restaurateurs do business and accept payments. But with so many POS systems and payment processors available on the market, determining whether Toast is the right partner can be difficult for […]
Between an ecommerce merchant’s checkout screen and their bank account, there are many moving parts involved in processing a single credit card payment. It’s complex, and each step adds value and helps maintain the ecosystem that enables near-instantaneous payments both online and in-store. But while most merchants know that they need assistance to process credit […]
When customers make card payments, they enter their information online or tap in-store, and a second or two later are on their way. Very little thought goes into what’s happening behind the scenes to make that near-instantaneous process possible, but there are actually a lot of moving parts involved, one of which is the merchant’s […]
A lot goes into running a business, and while many merchants love their work, at the end of the day it’s all about the money. Unfortunately for many merchants, particularly ecommerce merchants, the fruits of their labor are often delayed by the logistics involved in electronic payment processing. Every dollar that doesn’t come in as […]
If there is one lesson the global COVID-19 pandemic taught business owners, it’s the importance of having access to the money needed to get through times of emergency. A strong emergency fund is the first line of defense, but whether the money is to ride out a storm, finance a new capital project, or anything […]
Accepting American Express cards hasn’t always been easy – especially for small business owners. When consumers think “credit card,” Visa and Mastercard are generally the two brands that come to mind first, because those two cards, along with Discover cards, are accepted by effectively every single merchant that offers credit card payments. For decades, American […]
The world is digital, and today’s consumers demand seamless omnichannel experiences including easy online and mobile shopping. Yet despite almost 20% of all retail transactions taking place online, one in three American small businesses still don’t have a website. There are plenty of reasons so many merchants haven’t embraced ecommerce, but one of the biggest […]
Mobile commerce is a subsector of ecommerce and describes all purchases made on a mobile device, like a smartphone or tablet. With smartphones an integral part of daily life and rarely more than an arm’s length away, mobile commerce has become a huge driver of overall online shopping and mobile sales in the U.S. alone […]
The coronavirus pandemic that rocked the world in 2020 saw people flock to the web for everything from entertainment to education to work to shopping, and beyond. But with that surge in web traffic came a surge in cyberattacks and ecommerce fraud. With payment fraud losses already set to reach $6.4 billion in 2021 prior […]
