Sometimes it can be complicated when you manage small business credit card processing due to all the transaction fees.
Credit card companies often charge a percentage-based fee for every single transaction, which can become expensive for smaller purchases.
This is a problem for small businesses as their sales tend to be smaller amounts or in fewer batches than you would see at a large-scale business.
The profit margin could be minimal if this was the only way to accept payments. However, there is an alternative approach to curtail this in order to create a financial gain.
How to Accept Credit Card Payments for Small Businesses
The most traditional route for credit card payments is to obtain a merchant account. However, for a small business, this may not be the most cost-effective approach.
Mobile Credit Card Payments
Utilizing a digital card reader, you can accept a credit or debit card with the use of a tablet or smartphone.
This made it a lot easier for startups and small business merchants to run a company in their spare time while they grow their customer base.
It typically requires a mobile app in addition to a card reader or device. A lot of these apps are very simple and only execute simple one-time payments.
There are EMV readers and magstripe readers that you can either connect to a mobile device directly or through Bluetooth.
Mobile credit card readers allow for ease of use and accessibility when on the go. They are also a lot less expensive.
Point of Sale System
With the use of a credit card terminal, a point of sale system (POS) is one of the most popular forms of credit card payments.
There is a physical credit card machine that accepts the card with the POS software system in place.
They are often straightforward and have employee scheduling and inventory management incorporated into the system.
They offer EMV-compatible technology and can take chipped cards. This helps reduce the amount of fraud revolving around the use of credit cards.
The highest standard of POS systems is the near field communications (NFC) based payment technology.
This means that you can pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay simply by tapping your mobile device to the POS terminal.
Online Credit Card Payments
This approach to financial transactions is more for e-commerce businesses. However, it is the easiest way to manage credit card sales.
This requires a virtual terminal or gateway, however, which is how you will accept your payments after a customer has a cart ready with their purchase.
The computer website functions as the credit card terminal and can use different payment gateway portals.
This is typically a web-based service that connects the website to a credit card processing system where customers enter their information directly into the website.
The websites must be encrypted so that their sensitive data isn’t stolen through the payment gateway portal.
Learn More About Small Business Transactions
All of these options are extremely affordable as compared to the traditional methods of credit card processing.
It allows for flexibility for both businesses and customers and the option to strategize what approach best fits company news.
To find out more detailed information about how to obtain a credit card processing service that works best for your small business, contact a credit card service provider.
