The Merchant Processing Guru

The Merchant Processing Guru Tip#12: Credit Card Processing with Mobile Solutions continued – Virtual Terminal with a Mobile computer. The virtual terminal gives you the ability to process credit cards anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection and a computer. This is why I have included it as one of the available mobile solutions. A really good terminal will allow you to add a USB “Mag Swipe” so you can swipe cards on a laptop anywhere as long as you have an internet connection.

The virtual terminal has fast become a popular alternative to a traditional terminal in many office environments as it is so easy to use and there are no equipment or software costs. Another reason this has become a popular option recently is because of new PCI compliance requirements, certain software versions have become obsolete as they are not PCI compliant and the cost of upgrading to a newer version is quite high in comparison to getting set up with a virtual terminal. While some virtual terminals have setup fees, some will be free to set up. You will have what is called a gateway fee each month in addition to any other monthly fees of approx. $15.00 – $25.00 per month so keep this in mind when considering this option.

The Merchant Processing Guru Tip#12: Credit Card Processing with Mobile Solutions continued – Dial Pay & iPhone apps. “DialPay” is a term used in the industry for processing cards from your cell phone or even from home or office phone. This is usually an automated system that you call into using an 800# and punch in the card & sale information and get an approval # or a decline on the spot. It is a little time consuming to punch in all the information but for the occasional sale it is a great solution and a very cost effective one. One thing a lot of people don’t realize is that you MUST GET A MANUAL IMPRINT OF THE CARD with this solution. This is to avoid “chargebacks” or at least give you the proof of a legitimate transaction with the customer’s signature and imprint of the card. ANY TIME YOU DO NOT SWIPE THE CUSTOMER CARD YOU SHOULD HAVE WRITTEN PROOF OF THE SALE, a manual imprint in this case gives you that. You do not need to do anything with the slip accept hold on to it for your records and give the customer their copy.

This solution is perfect if you only have a few transactions a month but you want to offer your clients the option to pay by credit card so you do not turn away any sales. Great for service people like Electricians or independent Carpet Cleaners who may have a transaction once or twice a week…

The iPhone credit card processing app. If you own an iPhone then this may be a good solution for you instead of the “Dial Pay” option. Basically this application allows you to access a Secure Gateway “Virtual Terminal” just like the ones you would access anywhere from a computer, in fact you can still access your Virtual Terminal from a computer in the same way you can from your iPhone. So even if your iPhone is not working, as long as you have access to a computer you can continue to accept credit cards…

There are at least 15 iPhone apps. for processing credit cards last time I counted. Choosing the right one can be a little daunting, I have tested a couple and found 2 that I would recommend for most processors out there. Absolutely terrific solution for someone who has, takes or has the potential to take a good number of card payments in and out of the office!

The Merchant Processing Guru Tip#12: Credit Card Processing with Mobile Solutions. If your business is mobile or your have mobile reps out in the field and you want to or already accept credit cards for payment, you may want to read this post and consider your options for “processing on the go”.

Firstly, it is important know that there are many mobile options and choosing the right one for your business is sometimes not all that easy. Here is a list of the major mobile options that you can look at:

• Wireless Terminal
• “Dial pay” with manual imprinter
• iPhone app.
• Virtual Terminal with a Mobile computer

The wireless terminal option: This is the most prestigious of these options but can be costly to purchase. Some processors may give you a wireless terminal for “free” but be careful, nothing is free in this life. This is a costly device no matter how you look at it and a processor will have to recoup his investment somewhere.

The history of wireless processing units has been rocky at best. Wireless service providers have come and gone like the seasons and financing companies are still very wary to lease these machines as a result of being burnt due to service being cut to these devices in the past. Today, most of the service providers that have remained are well established as they have stood the test of time and are here to stay… I still suggest being careful who you use though. Also, you want to be careful which network you choose for your wireless service as well as the wireless terminal itself, there are some out there that just don’t work well and your service will be very splotchy. Try to get a terminal and wireless service from a company that has had good experience with the system and service in most parts of the country or at least in a major metropolitan area. I will have more about wireless terminals in my next post.

The Merchant Processing Guru Tip#11: Online terminal solutions & uses. A good on-line, virtual credit card processing terminal should have many functions and options that serve a great many purposes. I will list all the ways a great on-line virtual terminal should be able to serve you, no matter what business you are in:

1. Process credit card orders seamlessly on the back-end of your web-site. This is the most common use and what the on-line terminal was developed for. A terminal that does this smoothly and seamlessly is a huge asset to your business.

2. You can log-in to your gateway terminal and enter credit card information yourself. This is what the term virtual terminal is referring to when it replaces a piece of equipment and becomes your terminal for processing transactions. This is good for people who don’t want or don’t need a machine and who don’t swipe cards, only key-enter them.

3. Use your virtual terminal wherever you go, at events or trade shows where you want to take orders on the spot. Plug in a little USB mag-swipe reader to your laptop and swipe cards via your computer and your on-line gateway (must have an internet connection). Again a virtual terminal replacing expensive equipment. Especially good for the occasional need to accept face to face credit card transactions away from an office.

4. Set up your terminal for monthly recurring billing. There are many benefits to this one. First of all the convenience to set up recurring billing accounts without expensive software. The ability to set them up from anywhere. Also, the virtual terminal is the most secure place to keep credit card information, behind the security of an online secure gateway. If you are going to store this information anywhere, this is the place!

5. Lastly, for those of you who still get a lot of checks, you can set up check acceptance via the secure gateway which can also be set up as recurring billing in the form of an ACH straight from a client’s bank account. Sound risky? Again, there is no place more secure to keep this information than on a third party secure gateway!

A good on-line virtual terminal should have these features and be easy to use. A user-friendly Gateway with all this flexibility can make a huge difference to any small business and not only save you money but make you money. I will talk more about the benefits of an online secure gateway in my next tip about mobile processing solutions.

Contact me at: theGuru@theMerchantProcessingGuru.com