Category Archives: Credit Card Processing Info

American Express operates on a closed loop network whereby it issues credit cards directly to cardholders and merchant accounts directly to businesses. A credit card processor that claims to offer lower American Express credit card processing fees than its competition is simply being misleading. American Express sets its own discount rates which are exactly the same for all credit card processors. Continue reading →

You have to read between the lines to understanding how much you’re actually paying to process credit cards through Intuit. Tiered pricing, daily discount and excessive non-qualified surcharges make Intuit statements appear deceivingly simple. Continue reading →

Tiered merchant account pricing is currently the most common form of pricing for credit card processing services. Tiered pricing is opaque, expensive and is the vehicle for many of the hidden fees that plague the credit card processing industry. A more cost-effective, transparent alternative to tiered merchant account pricing is available to businesses that know enough to request it. Continue reading →

It’s not enough to simply read a merchant processing statement; the real goal is to understand what you are reading, where your money is going, and to determine whether your business has competitive credit card processing fees. This article will lay the foundation that will allow you to understand your statements, and it will link to examples of statement analyses that will allow you to follow along as we dissect various statements. Continue reading →

All merchant accounts have contracts and terms; some merchant account contracts do not have early termination fees.
Business people and processing professionals alike often refer to this type of merchant account as not having a contract, or as having a month-to-month agreement. Both of these declarations are incorrect and create confusion regarding the true nature of merchant account agreements. Continue reading →

Sam’s Club uses First Data as a processing partner to push tiered pricing, equipment leases and cancellation fees. Sam’s Club is great for groceries, but not so good for credit card processing. Continue reading →

101 credit card processing tips may seem like a lot, but the more you know, the better equipped you will be to avoid pitfalls. CardFellow also begins to look really good as you learn more about processing, so we are all for education. Continue reading →

Your business can charge customers a credit card fee, but there’s a maze of rules, exceptions and even state laws to navigate to ensure you stay compliant with the terms of your merchant processing agreement. The act of charging customers a fee to pay with their credit card is commonly referred to as checkout fees, convenience fees, or surcharging… Continue reading →

It seems as though Visa, MasterCard and card-issuing banks have a message for Senator Durbin: “don’t meddle with our interchange fees.” Analysts Thomas C. McCrohan and Leonard A. DeProspo of Janney Capital Markets stated in an early report released September … Continue reading →