About Credit Card Processing

Success in today’s business environment is largely influenced by credit card processing.  If your business isn’t already taking credit cards, then you should seriously consider the benefits of credit card acceptance.   Today’s consumers expect those they do business with to accept credit cards as a form of payment.  Many consumers admit they only visit business’s that accept credit cards.  If you don’t accept credit cards at your business, you may be losing customers to competitors that offer the option to pay by credit cards for the same service.

Merchant account credit card processing - Increase Sales

Accept credit card payment has many benefits for business owners.  Business owners that accept credit cards find that credit card acceptance increases sales by eliminating a restriction on the amount that a consumer can spend to what’s in their pocket.  The average consumer typically carries less than $20 in cash! Business owners also admit to seeing an increase in their average ticket amount after setting up a credit card merchant account.

Merchant account credit card processing - Establish Credibility

In addition to increasing your sales, setting up a merchant account can help a new or existing business establish credibility.  Accepting credit cards at your place of business ensures consumers that you are a reliable place to do business at.  Merchants become connected to financial institutions implementing state-of-the-art credit card merchant processing technology, assuring secure transactions and timely payments.

Credit Cards Purchase Vs. Cash Purchase

The amount of people taking advantage of the convenience of debit and credit cards when making purchases is consistently and rapidly increasing.  According to Visa.com, “…nearly 1 in every 3 consumer purchases in the United States is made with a payment card-including credit, debit, and prepaid products…U.S. Visa Cardholders conduct more than $1 trillion in annual volume.”  Studies have shown that the average credit cards purchase is consistently more than cash purchases.  

Typically, a business owner’s main objection to accepting credit cards is the perception that they are giving away a percentage of each sale for a ‘luxury’ service.  However, most merchants find that the benefits of accepting credit cards far out way the small percentage that they pay.  Business owners simply associate processing fees as a cost of doing business.

Processing fees vary depending on the merchant account provider you sign up with.  Typically, you can expect to pay between 2% and 3% of your total monthly credit card volume in processing fees.  So if you process $1,000 in credit card sales, your total monthly fees will be between $20 and $30.  On average, a merchant will see at least a 20% increase in revenue by accepting credit cards, which far outweighs the 2-3% charged for credit card processing.  

To learn more about setting up a merchant account please refer to our Merchant Education section.  Here you will find information about setting up a merchant account, definition of fees, how a merchant account works and answers to frequently asked questions by business owners such as yourself.  

If you would like to apply for a merchant account with Premier Payment Systems please fill out our fast, easy online application.  You may also call us directly at 1.800.573.6268 and ask to speak with one of our friendly account managers.