Choosing the right automated credit card processing solution for your business is important. It can distinguish between a frustrating experience and an affordable merchant account supporting your growth.

Many factors go into determining your credit card processor. These include cost, security, integrations, and customer support.

Cost

Credit card processing is a complex process that requires the participation of three distinct entities: your business, the card association, and the credit card issuing bank. Each entity is responsible for a specific step in the payment transaction process.

During the process, your customer’s card information is captured, and your merchant account provider authorizes the purchase and settles in the cardholder’s bank. Understanding how these elements work together is important to ensure your business runs smoothly and your customer experience is positive.

The cost of choosing the right automated credit card processing solution for your business depends on some factors. You’ll want to consider each option’s rates, fees, and equipment costs. You’ll also need to determine whether or not the service offers a free or discounted equipment plan that suits your needs.

There are three main pricing models for credit card processors: tiered, interchange-plus, and flat rate. Each model offers different types of credit card processing and unique services.

Tiered (or bundled) rates divide the interchange rate, assessment fee, and the processor’s markup into different tiers. The tiers vary by processor and may be based on transaction type or risk level.

This pricing model is less transparent than interchange-plus or flat-rate models and is often more expensive for small businesses. It is challenging to compare the costs of different vendors with tiered rates, so it’s best to shop around before deciding on a provider.

Security

When choosing the right automated credit card processing solution, like the affordable Netsuite credit card processing for your business, you must ensure that it takes security measures that will help protect your customers and their information. The best solutions comply with PCI DSS standards and feature a variety of security features that will help minimize the risk of data breaches.

AVS (Address Verification Services) is a fraud prevention tool that checks the numeric portion of the cardholder’s address against information at the card issuer. If the information matches, your payment processor will verify the transaction with the cardholder’s bank and return an AVS response code.

Tokenization is a method of securing e-commerce transactions by replacing the cardholder’s account information with a token that can be used in place of the actual card number. The processor issues the token after the customer finishes checkout, allowing merchants to accept payments securely.

The tokenization process is more secure than using basic or virtual terminals because it eliminates the need to enter payment card data each time a customer purchases. This also helps to reduce mishaps and costs associated with credit card processing.

Automated credit card processing solutions often offer a variety of other security features, including sandboxing, which is a process that allows merchants to temporarily test their payment system’s security without exposing it to real-world customer data. This prevents merchants from accidentally exposing their systems to malware or other vulnerabilities.

A recurring payment model is a great way to increase revenue, improve cash flow, and lower sales outstanding (DSO) days. Many recurring payment processing options allow for online billing, lowering the cost of processing while providing better customer service.

Integrations

Integrations are a vital part of the equation for automating your business. They enable your system to talk with other systems to create a data ecosystem that helps your team work more efficiently and reduce manual data entry. Integrating your workflow can make a huge difference, helping your employees spend more time on the important things and less on mundane tasks that slow down your business.

Developing an integration strategy is critical to ensuring your business stays on track and makes the most of your technology investment. It’s a roadmap that will guide your organization through implementing new solutions and help you choose the right tools to do the job.

As your business grows and adapts, migrating from a legacy software solution to a more powerful system may become necessary. Custom integrations can help connect existing databases and data silos to newer applications, allowing your organization to move forward without starting from scratch.

Integrating your business will allow you to take advantage of the best features available in the market and help you save time and money by reducing the need for manual data entry and creating automated processes. This will save your staff time, increase productivity, and help you deliver more value to your customers.

Customer Service

When choosing the right automated credit card processing solution for your business, choosing one that offers a comprehensive array of features and services is important. This will help ensure your customers get the best experience possible and that you’re not overpaying for features you don’t use.

A good processor will also provide you with a solid customer support experience designed to be both convenient and effective. This includes free equipment and setup, no contract offers, and 24/7 customer service.

Good customer service is essential for any business but especially crucial for payment transactions. This is because there are many potential scenarios where a customer may have an issue with their payment. This can include cards being declined, overcharged, or even demanded for a chargeback.

The best credit card processing companies offer customer service representatives trained to handle queries and issues. This will help reduce the number of times you’re transferred around and give you a better chance of resolving your problem quickly.

It’s also wise to ask about a company’s customer service technology. The most impressive is their ability to answer questions and resolve a problem without you even having to call them.