The Confusing World of Payment Processing
As a merchant in an increasingly digital world, learning the ins and outs of payment processing is probably low on your priority list. However, it’s more important now than ever to meet your customer’s demand for an integrated digital shopping experience. During our time in the industry, we’ve worked with merchants of all sizes. We often encounter one common complaint: the world of integrated payment processing is complicated, confusing, and downright tedious to manage. After listening to our clients, we’ve created a list of common merchant processing pain points and how to address them in hopes of making your job as a merchant a little bit clearer and more accessible. If by the end of this you still feel overwhelmed, reach out to our team. We’ll be your partner and advocate, so you have one less aspect of your business to lose sleep over.
1. The Application Process
Merchant processing applications are tedious and time-consuming. Some are completed online, some in person. Regardless, they’re all confusing and written in “processor language.” Evolve Payment will work with you to complete the application to have a smooth and painless process.
Nowadays, processors require significantly more supporting documentation during the application process to ensure the business is valid and thus prevent additional fraud. The merchant must supply a voided copy of a check, W-9, photocopy of driver’s license, and 3-months of processing statements at a minimum. Additional documentation in the form of 3-months of bank statements, letters of incorporation, and sometimes other financials may be required. Because Evolve Payment follows up with the processors, we will notify you if there are any additional requests for information to make the process fast and fluid.
Merchant processing underwriting is a slow and stressful process. Sometimes processors don’t provide timely notifications updating the merchant on their progress. Other times information is lost in translation or dropped along the way. Evolve Payment will work with you and the processor to keep you informed throughout the process.
2. Choosing a Provider
Whether you’re choosing your processor, gateway, ACH and gift card service providers, or POS system, the sheer number of choices can make even the most financially seasoned merchant’s head spin. Shopping for different providers is tedious and confusing, especially while considering how you and your employees will interact with their customer service departments. By choosing Evolve Payment for your merchant processing needs, you receive a single point of contact that will coordinate and fight for you. If there’s an issue, we can help resolve it quickly by bringing all parties together.
We have partnerships with companies at every stage of payment processing, so we can create a hybrid program that maximizes your savings while minimizing headaches. Have a problem? Call our customer service, and we can do the rest.
3. Integration Limitations
Although not necessarily proprietary, many Point of Sale (POS) systems force merchants to pay using their designated processing platform. Whether it’s native to their system, PayPal, or some other sole partnership, merchants are at the mercy of the processor and gateway associated with their POS system. Gateway locks are a big pain point for merchants because it eliminates the possibility of price comparison and shopping. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Evolve Payment can give you the support you need while you use your first choice POS system. You tell us what you want out of your POS system, and we’ll help you sort out the best way to get it done.
4. High Rates and Other Costs
Payment processing costs add up. If you aren’t checking your rates and asking the right questions to your processor, you could be missing out on thousands of dollars in savings. Although this sounds nice, it can be hard to understand where to start when looking to lower your rates. There are nuances that merchants need to understand, and different considerations apply for B2B vs. B2C, as well as processing volume.
Evolve Payment will run a cost analysis at the beginning of our business partnership to see how much you can save from rate reductions. Including additional transaction information is a surefire way to reduce your rates, as processors will offer cheaper rates for merchants that can supply verification to protect against fraud. We can educate you on the questions to ask and actions to achieve lower rates. We can also set up your equipment to require extensive transaction information to ensure your lower rates are attained.
5. PCI Compliance, Security, and Fraud Prevention
PCI compliance is essential in digital payment processing. Being PCI compliant will save you money each month and possible headaches.
We can assist you in completing the compliance questionnaire by walking through and explaining the questions while giving you the specifics as to why to select your answers. This survey is a training tool to help you handle your processing in the safest way possible. If you are processing via the internet, we can assist you in setting up a scanning schedule to test for vulnerabilities in your system.
One of the biggest and most expensive fraud scams currently is card testing. Scammers will test thousands of cards on a merchant’s processing system to check valid cards. Each test has a fee associated with it, and these fees add up. We can work with you to set up filters within your system to prevent scammers from using your processing systems for card testing.
6. Slow Processing and Equipment Lifecycle
Is your business processing payments on a dial-up terminal? If so, you may be incurring unnecessary long-term costs. Although the upfront costs for a dial-up terminal are cheaper than one that relies on the internet, dial-up is too slow to handle the increasingly complex level of security information required to process transactions. Because of this, a backlog is created, and your payments could be in jeopardy.
With fraud on the rise and technology advancing rapidly, security measures are quickly evolving, and physical terminals are being left behind. Evolve Payment can help you select a system that requires the least amount of updates and maintenance while maximizing its lifespan. By looking at the way you’re processing and your needs, we can set you up with a modern physical terminal. Suppose we determine that a virtual terminal suits your needs. In that case, we’ll get you one that has the necessary capabilities along with regular updates for security. These regular software updates will keep your terminal current while reinforcing its protection against fraud.