For Ecommerce Sellers: Choosing Merchant Account Providers Before Holidays

By Guest Blogger, Shelly Wagner, Persolvent

Note from eFulfillment Service: We invite our partners to write for our blog, introducing our audience to new ideas, expertise, tips and advice. Persolvent is a payment technology company with a mission to make life easier through innovation and technology. 

Santa has a list and he’s checking it twice. Is your merchant account provider naughty or nice? 

The holidays are nearly here and as you prepare to launch your online store into hyperdrive, you may want to verify your merchant account provider is still on the nice list. There are a few items that you should be able to check off to ensure that you aren’t just using a merchant account provider (naughty), but that you have a merchant account partner (nice).

Naughty – Over the past two years, your rates have increased.

There are some things that are out of your merchant account provider’s hands, such as when Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express decide to raise rates. Card brands typically review their rates every six months and increases can occur during those reviews. There’s nothing your merchant account provider can do to change that rate increase. 

There are also times when merchant account providers raise their rates or charge internet retailers unnecessary additional fees. Reviewing your monthly statements is the best way to keep ahead of any additional fees, as merchant account providers will need to detail any rate increases prior to the change. Some fees that could be unnecessary include: PCI (Payment Card Industry) Compliant Fee, Non-PCI Compliant Fee, AVS (Address Verification System) Fee, Reporting Fee, Statement Fee (Paper Statement Fee), and Online Access Fee.

How do internet retailers know if their processing rates went up and what their merchant account provider can control or can’t? Ecommerce merchants could review their past statements for changes in rates, as well as check the card brands websites for any rate increase announcements. If an online seller has a good contact at their merchant provider, one could ask them. 

Or you could contact Persolvent for a rate review. Persolvent will make sure that your rates are fully optimized because we don’t just want to be your merchant account provider, we want to be your merchant account partner.

Nice – Live customer support. 

When you call your merchant account provider, do you have to enter the number of the department you are looking for or are you prompted to say what you’re looking for? Although this seems easy enough, it can be difficult for online merchants, especially startups or entrepreneurs to get to the right person immediately. 

How amazing would it be if a person just answered the phone and asked, “How can I help you?” In today’s digital world, it sounds old school, yet so wonderful. During the holiday rush, internet retailers don’t have time to waste talking to a machine or waiting for an email reply; you need help now!

The difference between having a merchant account provider and a merchant account partner is customer support. With a provider, you are just another number, and they will help you as soon as they are able. With a merchant account partner like Persolvent, there are no phone trees, and a live person (yes, a friendly human) answers the phone because they are invested in you and your ecommerce business. Support matters. Having a partner in payment processing, someone you can call and connect with, is important.

Switching from naughty to nice.

There are a lot of things going on right now to prepare for the holiday shopping season. Switching from your naughty merchant account provider to a nice merchant account partner doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are three easy steps ecommerce merchants:

1. Contact your merchant account provider, and a couple competitors including Persolvent for a rate review.

2. Compare the rates and the service you receive, and apply for an account from the best provider. 

3. Link your new account to your ecommerce shopping cart.

The above steps could take a week to complete, but if you’re choosing a merchant account partner, we’ll do most of the work. The only thing online sellers have to do is fill out an application and link your new account to your shopping cart.