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Nobody’s perfect.
And in the world of business, mistakes are made on the way to success that can either hinder or delay the “planned success” of a business and never has this been truer than for an ecommerce business. Merchants are too quick sign contracts or agreements from ecommerce “helpers” such as free merchant accounts.
Free merchant accounts are not the culprit here. And this wasn’t meant to point a finger on who’s to blame.
Before entering into any business – whether retail, MOTO, or Internet – agreements & contracts are always present. Some merchants who see free on the paper don’t account the fine print on the contract. That’s one of the downfall of merchants. After a month or two, they go running back to their providers with contracts in hand, only to admit defeat that they have no escape from the dreaded contract.
So what are the common mistakes merchants make when getting a free merchant account? Educate yourself on some you can easily avoid:
They don’t look out for hidden charges/fees
As long as summer days are long, and nights are short, so will anybody who’s ever been in business has to make money – and free merchant accounts providers are no exception. It’s sooo cliche, but there is seriously no such thing as free lunch. Merchants can avoid committing this mistake by asking for all charges and fees they might incur when they start processing. This includes but isn’t limited to the discount rate, transaction fees, and monthly processing fees.
They don’t poke around the FINE print.
Our rates are FREE! Often, just a mention of the word free and anyone in the FREE world will scurry to see what they can get without giving. Unfortunately in business, this isn’t the case. Some can give you free coupons but you have to buy the whole newspaper, or get a free lunch but pay for dinner – the point being merchants easily see the word free but they don’t poke around the FINE print. If there’s another word starting with F that merchants should be wary of – it should be Fine with the word PRINT to follow.
They don’t ask when they can access funds
Your merchant account provider should free you of restrictions when it comes to having access to your funds/revenue 24/7/365. Start scouting fast for a new one if they impose restrictions.
They don’t make a background check of the company
Everywhere there’s a thief. It’s up to you to make the necessary precautions. Whether it’s a credit card processing provider, a payment gateway, or a shopping cart, always make background checks. The features of Web 2.0 has made the world a smaller place, as well as placed consumer information within reach. Easily you can get free reviews of merchant accounts, payment gateways, the latest news on celebrities, and what-nots within seconds!
They don’t look for freebies
Although there is no such thing as free lunch, there is such a thing as appetizer! Consider the freebies offered by free merchant account providers as appetizers – free setup, application fees, monthly fees, etc, depending on your provider, can be tasty and make you want to get ahead with the whole meal – or service. Of course, as a merchant you should always be on the look out for providers who normally change their freebie offerings from time to time and take the best deal out there.
When you get an offer sheet, it helps to be a bit skeptical. Don’t look at it with doe eyes – innocent and believing every word spouted by the agent. Knowledge is also powerful – with it, you can attack the agent with a barrage of questions. If you feel they haven’t successfully answered your questions, then start shouting… NEXT PLEASE!
It’s your business after all.
Benedict Bailey writes for several web companies mostly in the areas of free merchant account services, ecommerce, and credit card processing. After a serious misfortune on his first ever ecommerce site, Benedict started to educate people through his writing on the merits & perils of being an ecommerce merchant.
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Search for free merchant account in your favorite search engine & most probably, the numbers will come up to more than just a million. In fact, Google alone has 41 million sites for those keywords & half of them are actual free merchant account providers.
If you’re a small start up merchant, you might want to get a free merchant account – however with those numbers looming on your screens, how do you separate the ones that are effective from the ones that are just plain scams?
Free merchant account providers offer a lot of “freebies”, hence the term free. It could either be a free terminal, free set up, or free application fees. Despite the dizzying amount of freebies, one has to stop & see what else they can offer to make merchants’ businesses more productive & cost-effective – how about security tools?
Security measures used by free merchant account providers protects merchants from fraudulent transactions. Billions of dollars are lost every year to these ecommerce criminals, & more often than not, small merchants are the ones feeling the pinch.
How do merchant account providers secure online transactions? Here are the top 3 ways to secure on line transactions:
1. AVS (Address Verification Service)
This pretty nifty security measure is helpful to Internet merchants. For card-not-present transactions, customers are asked for their billing address & this is verified against the address on the file of the card issuer. In case they don’t match, the merchant receives a response code & it’s up to the merchant whether to continue or stop the transaction.
2. CVV2 (Card Security Number Confirmation)
Developed by Mastercard, CVV2 or Card Validation Code 2 is a three digit code you can see printed on the signature panel of MasterCard cards. Merchants can verify in real time whether the customer has an actual card in possession for card-not-present transactions. These codes are never stored by merchants, so customers are assured of their protection as well.
3. 3-D Secure Code
This XML (Extensible Markup Language) protocol was developed by Visa, & later on adopted by MasterCard. Each card has its own password & card-holders can only continue with the transactions if they provide the passwords for their cards. Free merchant account providers display proudly on their sites “Verified by Visa & MasterCard SecureCode”, as a selling point to merchants.
Merchants can also reduce the risk of fraud with a few common-sense tips:
Call the customer to verify the order first before any shipping occurs. Fraudsters order numerous items that they can’t keep track of what they purchased online or even remember the information they provided for the transaction.
Customers will develop a purchasing pattern over time; be on guard for sudden changes.
Take note of merchandise prone to fraud – priority shipments of these items is a tell-tale sign of fraud.
Receipts. Receipts. Receipts. Always keep them safely stored.
By making a conscious effort to secure transactions, & with the help of the security measures used by free merchant account providers, merchants can avoid fraud. When choosing a provider, don’t just rely on what’s free for the taking – make sure what you’re getting is not only economical, but something to enhance productivity & revenue – & in the ecommerce market, security can make or break your business.
Benedict Bailey writes for several web companies mostly in the areas of free merchant account services, ecommerce, and credit card processing. After a serious misfortune on his first ever ecommerce site, Benedict started to educate people through his writing on the merits & perils of being an ecommerce merchant.
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