In today’s marketplace, consumers expect to pay with their credit cards in most instances. Even small businesses and fast food restaurants are increasingly accepting credit card payments. Over the Internet, it is essential to allow customers to pay with their cards online.

Many providers offer small business credit card processing, but the quality of service that you will get can differ widely depending on the company selected. There are some basic factors to consider when choosing a provider that can help you get the best value for your money.

How to Choose a Small Business Credit Card Processing Provider

Small business credit card processing companies generally offer their services by charging fees for each transaction. The basic fees are:

• Interchange Fee – This fee goes to the bank that issues the card and usually is not negotiable. The bank charges a flat rate for each transaction in addition to a transaction amount percentage .
• Assessment Fee – An assessment is a non-negotiable fee charged by Visa and MasterCard.
• Processor Markup – You pay this fee for your small business merchant account. In most cases, this fee is negotiable and the amount will depend on factors like the transaction amount, transaction type and your company’s risk profile.

The collective name for all these fees is the credit card processing discount rate. You can negotiate discount rates for your small business merchant account by understanding the factors that providers consider when calculating the processor markup. For example, you could take measures to reduce your risk assessment in order to negotiate a lower rate.

While price is certainly an important consideration, it is not the only thing to look for when shopping for small business merchant services. Some other items to consider include:

• Reputation of Merchant Services Provider – Make sure that the company has a proven track record and a reputation for providing high quality merchant services to their clients.
• Merchant Services Agreement – Read all the fine print in your small business merchant services agreement to ensure that you know exactly what you are getting for your money. Check to see on they handle card processing disputes and what types of promises they make in terms of the speed and reliability of their service.
• Processing System – How is easy is the small business merchant account to implement? Is the technology relatively easy to learn and use? What type of support does the provider provide in terms of training and maintenance? Also, check to see whether the system provides alerts and reports.
• Security – What types of security protocols does the merchant account provide to ensure that your customers’ credit information is safe? For example, the customer receipt should only print the last four digits of the credit card number.
• Customer Support – Check to see what type of customer service is available. For example, does the provider offer 24/7 support throughout the year? This can be very important especially if you operate an around-the-clock business.
• Added Services – Some credit card processing providers will also offer debit card processing and mobile credit card processing.

Switching to Credit Card Processing

Once you have selected a credit card processing service, you will need to provider your team with adequate training in effectively using the new system. The merchant account provider should offer assistance during this important transition period.

For example, your staff should know to look out for important details like card expiry dates and they should make sure they obtain signatures with each transaction. The same number on the credit card should appear on the printed receipt. Proper training will help prevent losses due to credit card fraud. Each type of credit card has its own unique security features, so you should provide specific training for all the cards that you accept.

Here are some other tips that can help you in running a smooth credit card processing operation:

• Audit Transactions – By auditing your transactions using your Point-of-Sale (POS) system, you can detect errors before settling your daily account. Compare the POS report with your credit card processing system total in order to verify that everything matches. This practice can also help in deterring employee credit card fraud.
• Close Transactions Daily – By settling your transactions at the end of each business day, you reduce risk and maximize your return on investment on the discount rate.
• Let Customers Know Credit Card Policy – Publicly post and publish your refund policies so that your customers know exactly what to expect.
• Have Alternate Payment System Ready – Power outages and other technical problems can shut down your credit card processing system. Have alternate payment options ready just in case
• Inform Your Provider of Special Events – If you have special events coming up or anything else that can result in sudden fluctuations in your credit card sales, let your provider know so that they do not flag your account. The provider’s security team will normally look at a sudden spike in sales as a possible signal of attempted fraud.
• Use Merchant Account Only For Your Business – Do not use your merchant services account for personal or family transactions, and do not process other merchant’s accounts. If you process other accounts, your provider may drop you or you may be liable for the other merchant’s transactions.

A Highly Recommended Provider

Switch Commerce is an established provider of credit card and debit card processing services for small businesses. The company offers fast, reliable and affordable merchant accounts that allow businesses to accept payments from a broader range of customers.

The fee structure is highly competitive allowing you get the most value for your money. A merchant account comes with 24/7 high quality customer support so that you can get expert assistance at any time and on any day of the year. Please contact us for more information and to get your company on the path to accepting credit and debit card payments.

Getting Set Up For Retail Credit Card Processing

Most retail establishments accept credit cards from customers for merchandise purchases. Some tried to avoid this common practice, but people are using credit cards for more of their buying needs than cash or checks. The convenience afforded by a credit card is just one of the many reasons retail customers want to make purchases with a credit card.

Merchants are smart to take the retail credit card processing agreement very seriously because of the importance of this type of payment. Merchant services providers offer excellent packages for retailers of every size. Since the merchant account handles monetary transactions, there are some specific actions that must be taken to maintain a retail merchant account and remain compliant with the agreement. Even though additional effort is required, the importance of the integrity of the merchant account cannot be overstated because customer trust is essential to repeat sales.

Devise Company Policies

Specific guidelines must be written to place boundaries around the purchases that are acceptable from customers. Phone orders may not be acceptable for the specific type of merchandise in the store. Some retailers refuse to accept phone orders because of the risk of fraudulent transactions. Refund policies must be designed for customer convenience and easy tracking of the funds. If the purchase was made with a credit card, retailers usually state that the refund will appear on the credit card statement. After determining the company policies, a summary should be posted close to the point of sale counter.

Train Employees

Every person who will conduct sales should be well-versed in the policies and procedures that must be followed for every credit card transaction. Repetition is the best training method for ensuring that best practices are followed. Employees must understand the reasons for tight controls on the credit card processing equipment and customer information. Each person should know how to find the merchant Voice Authorization number and when to use it.

Maintain Confidentiality

Customers trust retailers to implement procedures that will protect their credit card and make certain that the card is returned following the completion of the transaction. Information that is printed on the receipt must be obscure to protect the identity of the cardholder. All data stored in the computer is to be used only for business purposes with the permission of the customer.

Isolate Transactions

All credit card transactions must be directly related to business purchases. Extraneous credit card transactions can cause the retail merchant services provider to close the processing account. Careful use of the retail credit card processing account is essential for abiding by the provider agreement. There must be a zero-tolerance policy against processing transactions for other merchants or individuals, including friends and family.

Audit Every Transaction

Banks and retail merchant services providers have advanced methods of preventing fraud. Duplicate and erroneous transactions are caught prior to appearing on a customer’s account. Every transaction on the statement should be compared to the receipt slips that are kept in the cash drawer. Careful auditing practices will prevent lost transactions, which can result in lost revenue.

Perform Daily Reconciliation

Just like cash in the drawer, the retail credit card processing transactions should be verified from the point of sale software each day. The amount of money on the receipts must tie directly to the funds recorded in the software. Discrepancies that remain unresolved can allow unacceptable behavior to continue and increase. If every employee knows that the receipts are tied to sales every day, the entire team can work diligently to keep track of every credit card slip.

Plan For Outages

Even though retail merchant services providers strive to be available every day around the clock, there are numerous incidents that can cause the retail merchant account to be unusable during business hours. Power outages, phone service failure and computer failure can prevent the retail merchant from having the tools necessary to process live credit card transactions. Carbon authorization slips kept in a handy place will allow sales to proceed until the situation is resolved.

Maintain Contact With Merchant Services Provider

Open dialogue with the provider can allow the merchant to optimize their agreement. Growth in sales and credit card transactions opens the door for lower per-transaction payment processing rates. When the retail merchant services provider is familiar with the merchant, a partnership will form that is beneficial to both parties.

Study Merchant Services Provider Agreement

Every statement in the printed agreement is essential for the best possible use of the retail merchant account. If any part of the agreement raises questions, there are professionals ready to provide answers. Open communication will enable the merchant to optimize every available benefit that comes with retail credit and debit card processing.

Require Absolute Compliance

Credit card transactions should be treated with the same care and respect given to checks and cash. Fraud and identity theft are very serious threats to customers. If an incident occurs because of failure to comply with written company policy, the customer will never return and will usually tell other people about the incident. The impact can be very severe, so every employee must follow the stated policies and procedures.

Merchant services providers strive to create retail merchant accounts that are easy to use and provide many benefits to the retailer. Competition in the financial sector drives every provider to create new packages that can provide many services for various types of transactions including point of sale, e-commerce, mail or telephone orders, wireless credit card sales and even ATM machines on the premises. Questions asked during the initial conversations can provide information concerning the many ways that sales of merchandise can be completed.

With the development of more robust technology, it’s a good time to compare mobile credit card processing technology to traditional credit card processing.

Faster, cheaper, lighter: words that spell out OPPORTUNITY to most businesses are exactly what is driving merchants to adopt mobile payment processing. As a merchant looking out for the best deal to accept credit cards, changes in payment processing technology may be pushing mobile credit card processing up on your “hot list”, but are you sure it’s the best option for your business?

In the marketplace, more merchants are hearing how mobile technology can streamline the sale, with many different kinds of merchants eager to jump on board. After all, anywhere a merchant can use a cell phone, mobile credit and debit card processing can complete a sale. Suddenly, the revenue generation possibilities are limitless, whether you have a mobile sales force, are a “solopreneur” or have a brick-and-mortar storefront but desire more flexibility.

Before you jump in feet first with mobile, here are eight questions any merchant should to ask himself before going full-bore to mobile to accept credit cards.

Self Evaluation for Mobile Credit Card Processing

As a merchant, how many of these questions can you say “yes” to?

• Do my customers expect that I accept credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover, plus debit cards?
• If I’m selling on-the-go, do I have a plan to complete sales that prevents losses, fraud and extra charges from “Card Not Present” transactions and bad checks?
• Would it be convenient to be able to turn my tablet PC, laptop or cell phone into a credit card terminal in under ten seconds?
• Would it be inconvenient to reconcile my account if access to transaction data was limited to business days and daytime hours only?
• Would it be beneficial to have free round-the-clock access to a stateside agent who can personally address any kind of transaction question?
• If I work from a storefront, could I use reclaimed counter-space if the bulky terminal-printer combo went away?
• Could having more customers’ email and phone information benefit my business down the road?
• Do I expect my credit card processor and mobile technology to be secure from scammers and data thieves?

What It All Means

If you find yourself answering “yes” and “I think so” to even half of these questions, there’s a great chance that mobile credit card processing will set up your business for greater success. With mobile, your credit and debit card processing capabilities can sit literally in your back pocket. And transactions take only moments to initiate, anytime, anywhere.

Who Mobile Payment Processing Works Best For

When you accept credit cards through your smartphone, you unlock all kinds of revenue opportunities. It’s how home delivery services, home improvement contractors and even makeup artists, stylists and massage therapists are turning handshakes and home visits into cash flow through their Androids or iPhones, securely and swiftly.

Other Mobile Credit Card Processing Advantages

Mobile credit card processing lets merchants create revenue anywhere, anytime–without hassling with the old way that meant invoicing and bookkeeping headaches, along with potential collections and charegeoffs. Plus, this new flexibility comes without the risk of accepting cash and making change, and without taking questionable personal checks. No more calling in your card authorizations either. So long as your smartphone has an active data plan, you can snap the miniscule card swiper directly into the earphone jack and start to accept credit cards once you have an account with Switch Commerce.

Compare Switch Commerce Merchant Accounts To The Competition

Get payment processing technology that’s compatible with at least 450 smartphones and tablet PCs. With your phone’s data plan providing internet access and a Switch Commerce merchant account, accept credit cards moments after installing our mobile card reader!

Switch Commerce mobile credit card processing clients can:

• Get the industry’s most advanced secure swiper, the only equipment you need, right away.
• Process Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover, plus debit cards.
• Setup multiple users with their own credit card swipers under your merchant account.
• Keep more of what you earn with fraud prevention plus lower fees from “Card Present” transactions and no need to accept bad checks.
• Access the Virtual Terminal to review transactions in real-time, or anytime 24-7.
• Turn you tablet PC, laptop or cell phone into a credit card terminal in under ten seconds.
• Send receipts by email or SMS text message, whatever individual customers prefer, meaning you never have to buy, store or correct a misfeed of another roll of receipt paper; it’s one way to “go green” too.
• Functionality to add tips and display sales tax by transaction.
• Use the touchscreen for signatures with your iPhone or Android smartphone
• Void incorrect transactions and hold funds like deposits.
• Save customer information to send your own marketing communications that potentially increase customer loyalty and influence more frequent spending.
• PCI compliance that lowers your risk of fraud as a merchant, keeping information stored on secure servers, not your smartphone or computer.
• Best-in-class security with SSL encryption to keep data thieves and hackers out of customers’ personal information.
• Do business no matter how many signal bars your phone shows, because the Switch Commerce swiper securely stores transactions as necessary until an appropriate signal can forward and complete the transaction.

Mobile credit card processing from Switch Commerce puts convenience and affordability in accepting credit cards, at your fingertips. Also look to Switch Commerce to get started with ATM management and monitoring tools for terminals at remote events, drive-thrus and storefront locations.

What if you could accept credit cards anywhere—no matter the market you visit or payment services offered by a given trade show organizer? Mobile credit card processing is the key to completing sales swiftly and cost-effectively, and if you’re an “event vendor” or traveling exhibitor, chances are you’re a candidate for a merchant account to accept credit cards on the road.

Mobile credit card processing makes retailing at product showcases make sense. When you travel with a web-enabled smartphone and your mobile swiper, any merchant can be armed to accept credit cards on-the-go. It’s a payment processing solution that means trade show merchants can bond with visitors and close sales wherever they roam; it means no more tethering staff to a booth or traditional cash register line out of fear of losing sales. Plus, you get to help customers before they have a chance to walk away from long checkout lines.

More Freedom From Mobile Credit Card Processing

With mobile technology, a whole new world opens up to trade show vendors. Merchants at remote events don’t need to worry about locating electrical outlets, extension cords or surge protectors–everything you need is at your fingertips. And because your merchant account can accommodate mobile credit card processing for multiple users, you can have as many smart swipers on the sales floor as you have staff with smartphones.

• Reducing Your Equipment Footprint – Mobile credit card processing and its tiny swiper offer a smaller footprint, lending table space for products and exhibit items. Plus, any trade show veteran loves reducing the amount of gear to lug for setup and tear-down.

• No Cords, No Electricity Required – One of the other top benefits to mobile credit card processing is that it uses minimal equipment. In fact, the lightweight, ultra-portable swiper is smaller than a credit card and doesn’t require an external power source. To install it, the swiper easily snaps into the headphone jack on a smartphone or a tablet.

• No Concerns Over Cellular Towers – Where traditional retailers can be crippled by power outages that kill their ability to accept credit cards, the mobile swiper is smart enough to never worry about signal strength. You won’t miss out on a sale, because the Switch Commerce mobile swiper has a “store and forward” feature built-in. In the event of a low or inadequate signal, this smart mobile credit card processing terminal automatically knows to complete transactions the moment an appropriate signal is detected. As the merchant, you never need to give any transaction a second thought.

• Going Green with Payment Processing – Another extremely convenient feature of mobile credit card processing is the dearth of paper receipts. Not only is it a relief on trade show vendors to skip hauling receipt paper rolls to events, but it’s also green for customers. Why? Receipts are sent to customers via email or SMS text message.

• Ultimate Data Security – Since the Switch Commerce mobile credit card processing swiper is PCI compliant and SSL encrypted, your customer’s risk and your liability are reduced.

• Better Rates and Faster Funds Accessibility – The days of having to wait until an event was over to begin your payment processing are gone. With mobile credit card processing , you have real-time access to authorization and payment processing. That means funds can be deposited into your checking account with turnaround in as little as 36 hours. Accessing mobile credit card processing also means transactions that are categorized as “Card Present” transactions, meaning lower fees to your merchant account.

Work with Switch Commerce to get the ultimate, take-anywhere solution for credit and debit card processing. Mobile credit card processing with a swiper terminal is safe and simple, using mobile technology that’s small enough to tuck away in a pocket –ready to move on with you to the next big trade show.

Look to Switch Commerce for mobile credit and debit card processing–on-the-go payment processing that lets merchants court clients and close sales while carrying the ultimate payment solution in your back pocket. Switch Commerce also offers world-class ATM processing and ATM management tools.

As 2012 approaches, it’s an important time to examine the ADA compliance regulations handed down in 2010 by the Department of Justice—specifically those regulations on accessibility standards for ATM equipment. Could your terminals be impacted by widespread enforcement to accommodate the disabled?

As an ATM ISO or IAD, neglecting to evaluate and upgrade (or potentially replace) terminals to meet the new standards could have unintended consequences for your c-stores, drive-thrus and other storefronts where ATMs are found.

Where These Regulations Originated

Drafted in the name of standardizing accessibility for users in need of banking services by ATM, the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design, or 2010 Standards, published September 2010, give very specific remedies for upgrading ATMs by March 15, 2012 to be able serve users with all manner of physical disabilities. Today, major banks are taking action to be ADA compliant in time for the deadline, but the widespread concern is that smaller owner-operators are unwilling or unable to face the potential cost implications of clearing floor space (in the case of convenience stores) or demolishing wall studs and sheet rock to reposition walled-in ATMs.

Section 707 (http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStan … Id-1006537) of the 2010 Standards lays out parameters that every active ATM must meet as minimum requirements for accessibility. While the majority of these regulations impact the means of customer interaction with the terminal, there are also physical accessibility regulations to consider.

If you’re an ATM ISO or IAD with at least one active terminal, use this quick checklist to evaluate the ADA compliance of your ATMs, with the goal of working out a plan for your business to meet the new standards before the March 15, 2012 deadline.

Overview of ADA Compliance For All ATMs (Walk-Up and Drive-Thru)

• Voice guidance for the visually impaired
• Braille instructions to start voice guidance
• Privacy options to turn display screens blank
• A display screen written in a sans-serif font, no less than 3/16th of an inch high, and written in a color contrasting the screen color.
• Functions keys that are in contrasting color to the background of the screen.
• Raised surfaces on input devices
• Raised keys on the numeric keypads
• Raised symbols for the Enter (o), Clear (<), Cancel (x), Add Value (+), Decrease Value (-) keys
• Numeric keypads ordered either in ascending numeric value (ex: telephone keypad) or descending numeric value (ex: a standard 10-key keypad)

Overview of ADA Compliance for Walk-Up ATMs

• A reach between 15” and 48” from floor height, making the the topmost reach no higher than 48”
• A display screen situated 40” from floor height, measured from the screen’s central focal point
• Clear floor access to and from the ATM with a 48” x 48” space available in front of the unit

Special ADA Compliance Circumstances

Every ATM ISO and IAD should be aware that the most physically accessible ATM must comply with the new standards, in cases where there are multiple ATMs in one location. And in those cases, the Section 707 Equal Access Standard among ATMs applies. It’s important to realize that this compliance issue also affects multi-function ATMs, noting that if one ATM in a location sells postage stamps, then the ADA-accessible ATM must also sell stamps. In cases where a location has one ATM inside and another located outside, the ATMs are considered separate and both must meet the standards for the March 2012 deadline.

Consequences for Non-Compliance with the ADA

ATM Processing is already held to rigorous standards. And while any ATM ISO and IAD may feel overwhelmed by the new regulations, the prospect of a $55,000 per terminal fine could put an owner-operator on very shaky financial ground with just one non-compliant ATM. What’s more alarming, fines for non-compliance can be doubled if standards are not met after the fee has been levied.

Evaluating Your Terminal Network in 3 Steps

The savvy ATM ISO and IAD are already working toward ADA compliance by following this three-step process:

Inventory your ATMs and document what you find.

• Record the manufacturer name, model #, year of manufacture, software versions and speech capabilities
• Take measurements and record whether or not your ATM meets minimum height requirements.
• Measure floor space in front of your most accessible ATM and consider how to create accessibility to accommodate “accessible reach” standards.
• Note what physical changes you must make to avoid fines.

Contact the ATM manufacturer

• Discuss which speech capabilities may be met with a software upgrade
• Ask what physical feature standards (such as keypads) might be met with after-market kits
• Inquire about cost effectiveness of replacing older ATMs with new, fully compliant models

3. Summarize the Cost of Changes

• Create a budget for the cost of replacing units or installing new software or hardware
• Include cost of installation labor
• Include employee training time on new units and software

Why Compliance Matters

Above and beyond the threat of fines, ADA compliance matters take a great deal of diligence across the industry—acknowledging that no ATMs are grandfathered into compliance, every ATM ISO and IAD is in practically the same boat. Consider ADA compliance an opportunity to look at positioning units to attract more traffic, realizing too that more accessible functionality means potential revenue from a broader spectrum of users.

Switch Commerce is an industry leader in merchant services and payment processing with a reputation for helping merchants, distributors and ATM ISOs and IADs stay on top of terminal uptime. Look to us for web-based ATM monitoring along with other best-in-class credit card processing services.

If you’ve been in the ATM processing business a while, you may be feeling like the ATM ISO world has seen better days. Profits are not nearly like we’ve seen in the “good ole days”, especially in the face of the recession and credit crisis. Many can’t help but note how the cost of doing business has jumped, but we’re a resilient bunch—able to weather the current economic storm and come out on top by taking the initiative on a few key issues.

As it becomes more complicated to keep operational costs low, keep terminals compliant, and simultaneously thwart off high tech and low tech ATM thieves, let’s take a look at a few ATM ISO concerns and three tips for coming out on top in the ATM business today.

Fears That the ATM Market Could Be Saturated

Some distributors worry that there are too many players in the ATM ISO and IAD community and that American businesses are saturated with terminals. This simply isn’t true—opportunistic ISOs and IADs with an eye on “location location location” continue to spot storefronts and cultivate relationships that turn into lucrative ATM placement sites.

Outlook on Cash Withdrawals vs. Debit Transactions

Expenses are also a hot concern for the ATM business community. While it’s undeniable that the costs associated with doing business are growing, many ISOs fear the worst when hearing that the total number of transactions are down. The truth: as consumers become savvier about bank fees in the economic crunch, we are seeing habits trend toward choosing consolidated banking services for things like balance transfers, automatic deposits and bill pay. Consumers have even reduced their number of trips to the ATM each month, presumably to mitigate the debits from transaction fees, in favor of increasing debit card usage. Even with such seemingly dismal news, ATM cash withdrawals are hardly in danger of dropping off with cash payments still a very popular option at retailer counters across the nation.

Three ATM Processing Tips For ATM ISO Success

Even as economic circumstances and regulatory changes continue to draw negative attention to the ATM world, there are a number of ways for the enterprising ATM ISO to stay on top.

1. Address security before you experience the sting of a loss.

As joblessness and credit issues continue to plague middle America, so too has ATM thievery grown. All too common today, thieves are trying everything from skimming (by attaching devices to ATMs) to outright hijacking terminals by jerking them from their moorings and dragging them out with trucks. From sensors that detect jarring motions to cameras and high-pitched alarms, investigate the security trends and equipment that make sense for your terminal locations and invest in a solution—taking individual location factors into consideration when purchasing smart security solutions can save you from incredible loss and hassles later.

2. Cover your bases on compliance.

Getting caught without the appropriate ATM signage has become another hot topic of late. Make every terminal visit count by taking advantage of a smart solution for tracking and storing signage and other compliance information by smartphone. The free mobile app, MobileTMS, is a terminal management tool that gives you the freedom to snap compliance photos and store them online. This tool has other features, including the ability to record notes on compliance topics for individual terminals as you upgrade for ADA, PCI, EPP and beyond. MobileTMS stores everything online, making this an indispensable tool for keeping up with key compliance line items in a way that makes sense for the busy ATM ISO lifestyle.

3. Consider a model that allows you to delegate.

While ATM management has a steep time-cost associated with it, there are tools out there, like the Switch Commerce Terminal Management System (TMS), that add more time back into the ATM ISO’s day—it is THE biggest time-saver in the ATM professional’s arsenal and one that can significantly reduce the labor of ATM management and ATM monitoring. Don’t reach the tipping point between handling all your own ATM management to having a significant terminal portfolio without a plan to reach the next stage of growth.

The TMS can set you up for success by allowing any ATM ISO to work fluidly online (alone or with a team) and continue growing the terminal network–simply consider delegating to distributors under you so that monitoring tasks can be taken off your plate. Using some of the TMS tool’s standard features like user management, automated reports and alerts assigned by terminal or by geography, for example, means you can decide to involve a specific merchant or a specific distributor ISO in your business to respond to problems and keep track of ATM uptime while you go on empire building.

Switch Commerce leads the way in high quality ATM monitoring and management solutions. Providing both ATM processing and credit card processing services, Switch Commerce is the ATM ISO’s and IAD’s best choice in world class, secure payment processing.

With the coming of age of pop-up retailing, technology now allows many merchants to accept credit cards out in the field, lending different levels of freedom and mobility, depending on the type of credit card processing you choose. If you’ve ever wondered how payment processing technology can serve your needs better in generating revenue out in the field, this could be timely information for your business.

Whether you’re curious about wireless payment processing or mobile payment processing, both options offer flexibility in accepting payments—mobility that speaks to the way your own customers want to do business with you. Making the right choice between mobile and wireless options depends largely on the selling scenario that applies to your business. Second, understanding the equipment, services and limitations on each will help narrow the field to the best credit and debit card processing option for you.

Need The Mobility to Accept Credit Cards Anywhere?

Merchants who want to take advantage of mobility in payment processing may wonder how wireless credit and debit card processing is distinguished from mobile credit card processing. Both wireless and mobile are distinctively different from each other, each one offering its own payment processing equipment and usage ranges. While mobile payment processing simply didn’t exist five years ago, the equipment is so lightweight and transportable that it really does support sales opportunities anywhere. By contrast, wireless credit and debit card processing has been around about as long as cordless home phones; the equipment can be bulkier but it offers advantages to certain kinds of businesses.

Depending on how you serve customers, one processing option is frequently the clear winner over the other for many merchants. If you’re ready to lose the cables that tether you to selling in just one spot, read on, and learn more about factors that make deciding between wireless and mobile credit card processing simpler.

The Mobile Credit Card Processing Option

Think of mobile credit card processing as the payment option you take with you—making it possible to do payment processing wherever you shake hands with customers, or even more simply: wherever you use a cellular phone. As its name suggests, mobile credit card processing enables you to accept credit cards through a mobile phone network, at locations inside or outside of brick-and-mortar stores. The terminal (or card swiper) itself is tiny, half the size of a typical business card. The swiper has a tiny jack that snaps into the headphone port on a smartphone. Whether Android or iPhone, if your smartphone has an active data plan, mobile credit card processing is possible—giving merchants a very viable option for its affordability as much as for its quick installation.

Who Should Consider Mobile Payment Processing?

If you’re doing business in far flung places where mobile networks offer a signal strong enough to surf the internet, rest assured that credit and debit card processing can take place. For the best option on the market, look for mobile credit card processing that comes with a swiper featuring “store and forward” capability for completing transactions whether you have a signal or not. The Switch Commerce swiper is smart enough to securely store transactions as necessary until a signal strength is available to “forward” the transaction for full-on processing.

Mobile payment processing is ideal for merchants that accept credit cards at customers’ homes or on job sites. This option is also popular among professionals like hair stylists, makeup artists and massage therapists whose lifestyle and clientele demand flexibility in the locations where services take place. Mobile debit and credit card processing may call for a signature on the phone’s touchscreen, and provides receipts to customers by way of email or SMS text message—meaning that mobile portability leaves no worries over electricity, paper refills or ink pens; they’re not necessary to completing a sale.

Credit Card Processing On Wireless Terminals

There are two distinct groups of wireless payment processing solutions: cordless wireless terminals and traditional wireless terminals. Both of these wireless terminal types use short-range wireless signals, often within a larger building, to communicate with multiple terminal receivers at once.

While the typical wireless terminal can be thought of as portable, it doesn’t quite have the “go anywhere” flexibility that mobile terminals provide. However, the offer of a printed receipt in customers’ hands is one way that wireless terminals differ from mobile. Here are a few other distinctions:

Cordless Wireless Terminals

In some restaurants, cordless terminals have a number of satellite receivers that communicate with the base unit. Typically in a dining establishment, cordless card swipers would be brought to each table so the cardholder receives transaction approval on the spot. The beauty of multiple terminal receivers is the security in allowing the cardholder to personally swipe and have the option to key in a PIN without his card ever leaving his possession.

Traditional Wireless Terminals

The traditional type of credit and debit card processing utilizes equipment that communicates through “land lines”–the same type of technology that cordless home telephones use to transmit voice and fax data. Traditional wireless credit card processing terminals are connected over the air to a base unit plugged into a hardwired phone line. This option allows for some roaming throughout a space, limited somewhat by the radius of wireless connectivity to the terminal (often several hundred feet, depending on obstacles and interference).

Who Should Consider Wireless Payment Processing?

Without cords to trip over, this short-range wireless option is best for merchants requiring payment processing flexibility within a building. While it offers less geographic mobility overall, merchants who need to accept credit cards at different locations on the premises of an office building or convention hall, while still providing customers with a printed receipt, may prefer this solution over mobile credit card processing.

Switch Commerce provides payment processing equipment for both mobile debit card processing and wireless credit and debit card processing. Look to Switch Commerce, as well, for ATM management tools and ATM processing services for managing terminal portfolios.

Everyday consumers have been trained that restaurants accept credit cards. As diners, we have come to expect that ordering anything, from a quick take-out meal to fine dining, comes with the convenience of being able to pay with a credit or debit card. This makes credit card processing a must for food service merchants.

As with any industry, special circumstances come up that require a level of understanding of the business owner and what his clientele demand out of payment processing at yours and similar establishments. If you’re ready to get the ball rolling, there is an easier way to accept credit cards: start a relationship with a merchant services provider that has the know-how to work with restaurants, catering and other food service providers in credit card processing.

Switch Commerce provides credit card processing and debit card processing for clients in the food service business. We’ll help you choose the type of merchant services account that will give you the flexibility and terms you need to not only accept credit cards, but also make credit card processing a breeze for your business.

Restaurant Credit Card Processing: Getting Started

The decision to start to accept credit cards is not nearly as daunting as deciding who the best payment processing company is to meet your needs. Switch Commerce aims to make it easy for food businesses, offering ten tips for better restaurant credit card processing:

1. Know Your Agreement. Every restaurant or catering business owner should be familiar with the deliverables promised in his merchant services agreement. Get the most for your money by understanding what your payment processing company brings to the table, and how they ensure customer satisfaction with things like speed, reliability, responsiveness to credit card processing disputes.

2. Know Your Merchant Services Provider. Talk to your payment processing provider so that they remain familiar with you and your merchant account. Take an extra level of precaution when you plan a special event, change your hours, or are do anything that will cause significant lift in your sales: let your merchant services provider know so that your payment processing account isn’t flagged due to uncommon fluctuations in food and beverage sales.

3. Audit Your Transactions. Balance your batches on your Point-of-Sale (POS) system with a daily totals report (sometimes called “X out” or “Z out”) to calculate a sum of individual transactions. Compare this total to your restaurant credit card processing account total, so that you can verify your balance before daily settlement. This comparison will allow you to catch errors prior to submitting for funding, which could actually save you fees in the long run. Auditing your transactions before settling may also help you avoid employee-initiated fraud, especially on transactions that include gratuity.

4. Settle Daily. Do be sure that you are settling your batches at the end of every business day. When you close your transactions within a 24 hour period, you reduce your risk of loss, and you get the most out of the rates you pay on your daily transactions.

5. Train Your Team. When you accept credit cards, teach your staff to look for signatures, expiry dates, and be sure that the credit card number that appears on printed receipts is the same number printed on the credit card. Consider also requesting a handbook from each of the card brands you accept to learn more and have more in-depth knowledge at your fingertips for preventing fraud in credit and debit card processing.

6. Prepare for Outages. Now and then, POS systems go down and power outages occur. Before it has a chance to happen to you, plan alternative ways of handling payment processing in this situation. Start by making sure your merchant services Voice Authorization number is handy, along with carbon authorization slips, a way to take an imprint for later credit card processing and a record of the customer’s signature.

7. Make Your Payment Policies Known. Be sure you communicate your refund policy clearly, both in person and in writing, even on your website. Publish and post your payment policies so that they are visible to the customer, and so that diners and staff understand how you will address refund requests after credit card processing.

8. Keep All Your Credit Card Processing Professional. Only use your merchant account for business, and never for personal needs, or to process cash-back transactions for family or friends.

9. Make Only Clean Transactions. Be sure that you only process your own transactions. Factoring, or using another merchant’s merchant account, can cause your merchant services provider to revoke your credit card processing privileges and will make you liable for any of the other merchant’s losses or disputed claims.

10. Keep Payment Processing Safe for Clients. When you accept credit cards, be sure your receipts only print the last four digits of a customer’s card number, and be certain you are protecting (or thoroughly destroying) any private information to prevent theft.

Switch Commerce comes highly recommended as a premier provider of credit and debit card processing for food service businesses and beyond. For small businesses in need of ATM processing and ATM terminal management, look to Switch Commerce for services and tools to help you earn more on cash dispensing around the clock.

The life of an ATM ISO and IAD is go-go-go all the time. While you’ve been trekking from terminal to terminal by day and fumbling with scanners, faxes and paperwork, how many times have you wondered if there was a better way? The emergence of mobile ATM management could be exactly the kind of relief from hit-and-miss terminal visits and paperwork dilemmas you’ve been waiting for.

As a free mobile ATM management tool, MobileTMS streamlines the work for you. This tool provides access to real-time transaction details and terminal-specific information for faster setup and troubleshooting. It’s a more productive way to spend your time—getting ATMs online faster and reducing ATM downtime with better ATM monitoring. Also get quick access to manufacturer contacts from an extensive directory, or look up error codes and potential resolutions in a few clicks—this single tool can turn any given day for any ATM ISO into a more productive one, regardless of whether or not Switch Commerce is your ATM company.

Getting Your Hands On This ATM Management Tool

A smartphone tool like the Switch Commerce MobileTMS should be in your arsenal for ATM management—it was built to have every feature a technician could need, right in the palm of his hand. Free to download and use, MobileTMS is available in Apple’s App Store and the Android Marketplace for smartphone users as a free download. Once the app is installed on your smartphone, the free features are unlocked for any ATM ISO to use right away.

Helping the ATM ISO Get More Done

The greatest boon in using MobileTMS on a daily basis may be its ability to help you reclaim time. For starters, this mobile app can give any ATM ISO and IAD insights and status information on all the terminals each mile along your route, up to 8-miles around your current location. You won’t miss a beat in any given neighborhood. And this is just one of the things MobileTMS does to relieve burdens on the road. And you don’t even have to be a customer or logged in to check this service out.

Bringing a new terminal online or moving terminals becomes as easy as easy as opening the app and voicing a command. Features like the terminal locator, terminal picture uploading, real-time alerts, terminal reports and transaction look-ups make it easier and faster to work without splitting your day between your desk and the field.

Imagine too how this application simplifies your ATM monitoring and ATM management at remote events. When you are the ATM ISO providing terminals for a concert, festival, convention, or sporting event, the MobileTMS opens a whole new world of opportunity for maintaining cash levels, security and customer service. Any user gets touchpad and voice command access to real-time transaction data. With a one-touch login, your entire ATM online portfolio is at your fingertips, making your ATM processing more accessible than ever before.

MobileTMS – Other Practical Ways To Use This Mobile App

A New Level of ATM ISO Accessibility

MobileTMS also comes in handy for traveling to terminals in unfamiliar areas or other cities. The app gives an ATM ISO the instant ability to filter out terminals any number of ways. For example, let’s say you have terminals in another state. To look for a terminal in your immediate vicinity, open the app and say, “ATMs near me.” With your list of terminals, the app can pull up directions to the ATM of your choice. Simply ask and your smartphone’s GPS will engage to get you there.

Vault Cash Monitoring On The Go

Even more compelling for bringing immense efficiency to your work out in the field is the notion of seeking out ATMs with low vault cash. Want to find the ATMs with cassettes running below $2,000? Speak into the MobileTMS and say, “ATMs near me with under $2,000.” In seconds, up-to-the-minute information is in the palm of your hand.

ATM Management By Voice Command

For business on the go, it’s especially convenient to be able to keep your eyes on the road—this app is hands-free because it can listen for voice commands. Just speak into your phone, and your request is recognized and delivered on the spot. With a phrase as simple as, “Terminal stats by balance: low to high” the MobileTMS app searches for and sorts your terminal info. Seconds later, your ATM onlineportfolio is delivered in the report order you requested–no buttons to push, no screens to drag. The app is even programmed to recognize partial terminal names (and location names) if you’re unsure of the exact ATM name you’re searching for.

A Few Other Hot Features

Switch Commerce customers also love these built-in Mobile TMS features made for the ATM ISO.

• ACH summary – choose a date and bank account to see where deposits were made and when
• Clone terminals – in less than a minute, generate a brand new terminal ID without paperwork, meaning that any terminal can be up and running before you leave the site.
• Configure terminals – everything you need to get a terminal ready to process. You can even search by a partial terminal name to get going.
• Alerts bar – every terminal page gives an overview with an alert banner at the top to keep you informed
• Edit terminal info – update address and cassette amounts on the run. In case you forget to update a terminal from its prior event, you can even change the surcharge amount through your phone or add notes about a terminal.
• Settlement details – see vault cash accounts and splits
• History of cash loads – see how much and when individual denominations were loaded
• Pending dispute representation – for any pending disputes for a terminal, you can represent the journal back to Switch Commerce while on site, without a fax or a scanner. Use your phone to snap a picture and upload the transaction information by image to the app.

An Extra Perk for Consumers Using Your Terminals

MobileTMS even works for consumers on the go. Cardholders with smartphones can use MobileTMS to look up any terminals near to them. With a few voice commands, cardholders can also engage the GPS capabilities to get directions to your ATM. Should the cardholder encounter an issue, you have MobileTMS instantly accessible to resolve cardholder issues and terminal problems in real-time. That is smart and convenient.

Switch Commerce provides merchant services like ATM processing and ATM portfolio management to help ATM ISOs and IADs keep terminal uptime high. Switch Commerce also offers convenient debit and credit card processing at a fair price with unlimited stateside support around the clock.

In the face of the recession, thieves are employing more innovative schemes to create economic opportunity for themselves. Most ATM thefts involve criminals driving a vehicle into a storefront where the ATM is ripped from its mooring and hauled away. Others involve criminals simply driving up to a freestanding exterior ATM and tearing the terminal from its base. It is a labor intensive crime but the savvy ATM ISO has the opportunity to make a fast getaway more challenging and to stave off the ATM processing losses a theft of this magnitude represents.

Since 2009, San Diego, Atlanta and Dallas have been some of the hardest hit in a wave of ATM crimes. The larger news is that ATM fraud is affecting the nation’s largest cities as well as small town America, and it’s becoming one of the hottest crimes of the current economic slump. Alarmingly, the state of Texas experienced over one hundred ATM terminal thefts in 2010 alone, making it one of the states hardest hit by “smash and grab” ATM thefts.

With the crime wave still growing in many areas of the country, ATM ISOs and the ATM community at large is struggling to avoid being victimized. Most ATM thefts involve criminals driving a vehicle into a storefront where the terminal is ripped from its mooring and hauled away. Others involve criminals simply driving up to a freestanding exterior terminal and tearing the terminal from its base. It is a labor intensive crime, easily deterred by obstructions that make a fast getaway more challenging.

ATM Processing Protection Starts With Placement

Every ISO and IAD knows that a terminal is a valuable investment, and wants to protect that equipment from any damage or theft. One of the easiest ways to protect terminals from theft is with intelligent placement. Evaluate your entire ATM portfolio as well as any new terminal installations for these three key factors for preventing ATM business loss from terminal theft:

• Position ATM equipment behind protective bollards or other traffic barricades
• In storefront locations, position ATM machines behind solid walls
• Choose well lit, high-traffic, public space
• Install obvious security features

Technology For ATM Fraud Prevention

ATM alarms are motion activated. If a terminal with an alarm is moved, tilted, or the casing is forcefully impacted, the alarm will sound for up to 10 hours, or until turned off. Only big movements will set off the alarm, so accidentally tripping the alarm is not ever a real threat.

“Security Mounting” systems also deter criminals. These security mounting systems prevent smash and grab thefts by absorbing the shock of any force against the ATM machine. If you’re an ATM ISO or IAD, it’s important to always keep in mind  thieves are opportunists, looking for a big payoff from a single job. The more difficult it is to smash, the less attractive the ATM is to grab.

The bottom-line for the concerned ISO is that creative criminals will always look for ways to score the most money for the least amount of effort. Because ATMs represent potentially high jackpots, making your terminals look like complicated marks should be a high priority. The savvy ATM ISO or IAD is two steps ahead with intelligent placement and preventative technology, adding to the risk of an thief being caught in the act.

Do Your ATMs Make Less Attractive Targets?

To make snatching an ATM difficult, often an ATM ISO or IAD will use protective bollards for exterior ATM machines or strategic placement of interior storefront ATM equipment—all in the name of making it much less likely that criminals target those properties. Other physical deterrents include good lighting, high traffic, and obvious security cameras are all deterrents. When it comes to criminal threats to your ATM online portfolio, the likelier they are to be spotted in the act, the less likely thieves are to target the terminal.

In spite of employer smarter security measures, the savvy ATM ISO still needs to be aware that bold criminals still exist. With cases like the hospital heist in Philadelphia, physical barriers and visibility perhaps proved even more tempting to these thieves: dressed as repairmen, the crew carried off the ATM heist by simply clipping the wires, freeing the terminal to wheel away on a dolly, right out the front door without a word from anyone. In this bold case, only anti-theft technology would have stopped this crime before it started.

Look to Switch Commerce for industry leading advice to manage ATM and terminal management tools. Switch Commerce also serves merchants’ payment processing needs with well-priced credit and debit card processing.