Processing Credit Cards at Your Retail Store

Most business owners and even merchant account holders are well aware that they should be accepting debit cards through emv compliant terminals. However, many do not understand how to fully take advantage of these financial tools, or, how accepting them will greatly increase their bottom line.

Please review the information below as it pertains to the basics of visa and mastercard pin debit card processing, a free service with a merchant account from Payment Processing.

Merchant Account Holders can accept debit cards in one of two ways:

Off-line Debit Card Transaction

The most common way to accept debit cards with an emv compliant terminal like verifone is an "off-line debit transaction." In this format the merchant account owner accepts a debit card the same way in which they would accept a normal credit card. The debit card is swiped through the E.M.V enabled credit card terminal and the customer signs the receipt. As far as the merchant account owner is concerned there is no difference in the way a credit card or an off-line debit card is processed. The one thing merchant account owners must remember is that the debit card must have a VISA or MasterCard logo on it. Debit Cards that do not bear the Visa or MasterCard logo can not be processed off-line and will not be approved.

Online Debit Card Transaction

A newer and cheaper method for accepting debit cards at the point of sale is an "online debit transaction." In this type of sale the debit card must be swiped through the credit card terminal and a PIN Pad must be installed on the terminal. Instead of signing the receipt for the transaction the customer will be prompted to enter his or her PIN number into the PIN Pad. The terminal will pass the encrypted number to the bank for verification. The merchant account owner will then be paid for the transaction in the same manner and time frame that they would be paid on a credit card sale.

BENEFITS OF ACCEPTING DEBIT CARDS

1. Transactions can not "downgrade."
With debit cards, you will always pay the same flat fee as long as the customer enters their PIN number. You will not have to worry about paying expensive downgrade fees on transactions that did not qualify for the best rate. There's no risk in accepting debit card with your merchant account!

2. Faster check out time.
Most merchant account owners don't realize how much time it takes to hand a receipt and pen back and forth over the counter. Consumers appreciate the speed of online debit transactions and feel more comfortable making smaller purchases when they don't have to worry about holding up the line. Another good reason to accept debit cards with your merchant account!

3. Increased customer loyalty.
Every consumer has their own spending habits and preferences in how they pay for products. More and more consumers are getting used to entering their PIN at the point of sale and prefer to spend their money at places that accept debit cards. These customers expect to be able to pay with their debit cards. Make sure you accept debit cards with your merchant account!

Merchant Bankcard Pays Chargeback for Lionel in Chicago, IL

What Happened? Lionel owns a repair shop in Chicago, IL that rebuilds engines. In the past he had difficult times and was labeled high risk, due to the high ticket and high volume on his merchant account and we developed a customized solution for his company. On 11-19 the customer made a deposit for a job by charge …