CardFellow Credit Card Processing Blog

Credit Card Processing

Qualified, Mid Qualified & Non Qualified Credit Card Processing Rates

by Ben Dwyer

The key to lowering your business’s credit card processing expense is not avoiding non-qualified fees. The key is completely eliminating a processor’s qualification altogether. Who Determines Rate Qualification Non-Qualified Interchange Non-Qualified Credit Cards Over-Simplifying Qualification Qualified Rate Mid-Qualified Rate Non-Qualified Rate Eliminating Non-Qualified Fees Who Determines Rate Qualification Qualified, mid-qualified and non-qualified rates are set…

If your business is paying qualified, mid-qualified and non-qualified charges to process credit cards, it’s paying too much. In fact, businesses that find a processor through CardFellow typically lower fees by as much as 40% by eliminating non-qualified rates.

Read the full article

Credit Card Processing

Intuit Merchant Services = Hidden Fees & Fine Print

by Ben Dwyer

Intuit markets its credit card processing services under a few different brands such as Intuit Payment Solutions, Innovative Merchant Solutions, QuickBooks Payments, and GoPayment. Whatever it’s called, Intuit Payment Solutions is an expensive way to process credit cards. In this article, we’ll look at Intuit’s current fee structure and how to determine if you’re overpaying….

Hidden surcharges, fine print and tiered pricing combine to make Intuit Merchant Services one of the most expensive, opaque credit card processing solutions on the market today.

Read the full article

Credit Card Processing

EMV & Smartcards: Ready or Not, Here They Come

by Ben Dwyer

Visa and MasterCard have begun what will likely be a long push to bring EMV to the United States. For financial institutions, this means issuing cardholders new credit cards and updating networks to process EMV data. For businesses, this will mean purchasing new EMV-capable credit card processing equipment.

Read the full article

Credit Card Processing

GoPayment – A Costly Mistake!

by Ben Dwyer

GoPayment is consistent with the high rates, bundled pricing and fine print that plague Intuit credit card processing services in general. There are several alternatives to GoPayment that offer lower rates, more transparent pricing, and easier sign up. (Published) Rates & Fees What You Will Really PayExcessive Surcharging Card Swiper & Compatible Devices Sign Up…

GoPayment is a mobile credit card processing service from Intuit that allows a user to process credit card transactions from an Apple or Android-powered device such as an iPhone or Droid.

Read the full article

Credit Card Processing

Square Review, Rates & Fees

by Ben Dwyer

Square Up’s credit card processing service causes many businesses to mistake simplicity for competitiveness.

Square Up credit card processing isn’t a good fit for every business. Square is best suited for individuals, or for businesses with low or sporadic sales volume or a low average sale amount. And even then, Square’s poor customer service and tendency to hold funds and impose reserves make it a gamble for any person or business.

Read the full article

Credit Card Processing, Security and PCI Compliance

PCI Non Compliance Fee: An Expensive Reminder

by Ben Dwyer

Note that Visa and MasterCard do not impose fees on businesses that are PCI non-compliant – that decision comes solely from your processor, making a PCI non compliance fee a pure profit charge for processors. Processors are not required to charge you a non-compliance fee. Let’s take a closer look at PCI non-compliance fees and…

Processors use PCI non-compliance fees as an expensive monthly reminder to prompt businesses to become PCI compliant.

Read the full article

Security and PCI Compliance

PCI Compliance Fee: Legit or Rip Off?

by Ben Dwyer

PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and it’s essentially a set of guidelines that businesses follow to ensure cardholder data remains secure. PCI is managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, and PCI compliance is required by Visa and MasterCard for any business that accepts credit cards. The PCI compliance mandate…

Is a PCI fee just another junk credit card processing fee, or is it a legitimate charge? Actually, it’s both. Some credit card processors charge a PCI fee and provide no compliance support, others charge a fee for providing compliance scanning and assistance, and some don’t charge a fee at all.

Read the full article

Credit Card Processing, Security and PCI Compliance

PCI Compliance is Required – Soon, Validation Will Be, Too

by Ben Dwyer

Every business that takes credit cards is required to comply with PCI standards, no matter how few credit card transactions it processes. What is PCI? Secure Card Processing Network Protect All Cardholder Information Protect Your Systems Against Malware Put Access Control Measures in Place Monitor and Test Your Networks Create and Maintain an “Information Security”…

PCI compliance is a set of rules for the security of credit card transactions. It’s split into 12 basic requirements grouped into 6 categories to help businesses and payment processors create and maintain a reliable, secure processing system.

Read the full article

Credit Card Processing exposed