You want to select your credit card processing and merchant services provider based on a number of criteria.

We suggest the following five criteria are by far the most important:

• Low rates are important, but they aren’t everything. Be on guard for situations where the rate you’re quoted is only the bait to get you to sign the contract. Ask specifics about what rate applies to the bulk of your transaction types (card-present, card-not-present) as well as whether the rates you’re being quoted apply to reward cards as well as pin debit transactions. Also be absolutely certain that you’re not being quoted an “introductory offer” that will expire after X number of months.
• Be sure you understand what access you will have to customer service people when you need them. Will you have to go through an automated attendant (computer-answered phone line) followed by a lengthy hold time? Is customer service a 24/7/365 operation? Are customer service team members based in the US, 100% of the time?
• Does the merchant processor offer the full range of services you need? If you’re brick and mortar but you also need a virtual terminal, and maybe you have an online store, can your potential processor handle all of those needs? Do you want to be able to accept checks with confidence?
• Be sure that your potential processor won’t require you to take MORE than you need. We know of merchants who are on-line only yet have been required to take possession of a physical terminal – which now lives in their respective closets. If that happens to you, you’ll have to do another annual PCI Self-Assessment Questionnaire (in addition to the one required for your payment gateway) for that closet-living terminal. Do you have time for that? (You don’t.)
• Will the processor walk you through your contract AND your statement, any time you need help, at a time that is convenient for you?
   

Ask these questions at the very least before you sign anything. Then test anything you can test. Ask the salesperson if you can call the customer service department. (If they say “no,” walk away.) Call at least three times before you make a decision – vary the times of day on your three test calls. Ask the customer service rep if he or she will help you understand your statement. Put them through their paces. You’ll have the confidence you need to make a great decision.

Finally, the process of getting a new merchant like you up and running with new credit card payment processing services can differ greatly between providers. Some send you your gear and expect you to get it all running by yourself. Others – EPS included – walk you through every step of getting set up. Be sure you understand the level of help you’ll get from any provider you’re considering.