The moment we obtained our business lic. 9+ years ago we were bombarded with phone calls from credit card processors and they all promise the moon. I hate it. It NEVER stops.
Truth is...I search out the best companies and I have switched processors 5 times in 9 years, always chasing the better deal, and I am never thrilled, as some cost is always hidden, and customer service may be lacking. My criteria?..best possible retension of my sales dollars and best possible customer service. I have found my credit card messiah, and it is InnPayment. I pay them a flat rate of 2.19% on my total sales processed through them. Period. No access charges, no other fees at all, not even a monthly statement fee. I am tickled to tears. My statement is simple - about six lines...basically, you processed $XXXX.xx at 2.19% and paid us $XXX.xx. I love it!
It is all done over the internet, so no extra phone line needed, and no equipment either. You may process American Express through them too, but AE bills you separately and at a much hiher percentage rate.
Be careful not to fall for the "really great rate" the cc processors promise you. It is not reality. The low rate they quote is only applicable to a very small percentage of your transactions, if any at all, and there are ALOT of hidden costs you are not aware of until you get your first bill and freak out. The bottom line is what percentage of your cc sales is kept by the processor, not what rate they "say" you are getting.
The only downside is that I must enter the customer's cc", address, phone - everything, for each transaction using the computer keyboard. I am willing to do this for the simplicity, price and no equipment. I still use my second phone line for a fax, but I am thinking of ditching that for the internet fax as well.
