Credit cards offer many benefits to those who utilize them. Credit card wielding consumers enjoy user perks like reward points, cash back, and (most of all) convenience. But not everyone is reaping the benefits from a market where consumers are ditching cash for card. One of the biggest losers in this spending method shift are small business owners who encounter a plethora of processing and interchange fees. 

While this is an issue small business owners are likely familiar with, Retriever Merchant Solutions wants to share exactly how small businesses can start keeping more of their hard-earned money in this credit card-dependent market!

Review Your Monthly Statement

Small business owners who accept credit cards receive a monthly statement from their credit card processor. The problem is that many business owners are usure of what they’re looking at when the statement comes in. And processors don’t want you to know what you’re looking at. The statements are purposely convoluted because it keeps business owners in the dark about their processing fees and fluctuating rates and costs. 

Well, it’s time to venture back into the light and know exactly what you’re being charged, because the sooner you can identify rising processor fees, the sooner you can develop solutions to combat them and start saving more of your money. If you feel you would benefit from assistance in reviewing your monthly statement, don’t be shy! Request your free statement review with Retriever Merchant Solutions today. 

Offer Discounts for Cash Users

As a small business owner, don’t forget about your customers out there that still fill their wallets with paper instead of plastic. They’re a rare breed, I know, but they do exist, and it’s worth encouraging these customers to spend cash by providing them with discounts on cash-only purchases. After all, they’re saving you money by helping you avoid all the fees forced upon you by credit card processors. 

If you choose to implement this approach for your business, know that there are some compliance standards to abide by, such as developing a correct cash discount percentage and providing required signage to properly inform customers. But not to worry! A Retriever Merchant Solutions representative can assist you with all of this and keep that money in your pocket.

Use Rate Tracker to Track your Rates 

Rate Tracker is a free (yes, actually FREE; not the kind of “free” your credit card processor advertises) software that monitors your bank account and immediately alerts you of significant rate increases by credit card processors. This is valuable technology because small businesses are too often cheated out of their earned money thanks to processor rate increases, those of which can occur without a business owner even knowing. Rate Tracker catches these increases and promptly sends you an email to keep you informed about the updates your credit card processor might be using to nip at your earnings. 

The free service might prove to be the difference maker you need in identifying changes to your monthly credit card processor rates. To learn more, visit the Rate Tracker Website, or get started today by downloading their app on your iPhone or Android. 

As a small business owner, you already have enough on your plate without credit card processing companies and their fluctuating rates, increasing fees, and lack of transparency. And though your relationship with these companies isn’t going away so long as consumers continue to use credit cards, know that you have options and ways to keep cash in your pocket (even if your customers only keep plastic in theirs). 

Merchant Processing for Firearm Dealers and related industries are facing more and more challenges in keeping their doors open, especially since COVID-19 started to push legislators and companies to do radically new things. 

One of the largest merchant processors, First Data, stopped working with companies that sold firearms. They decided it was no longer something they were interested in. The reason being is that when COVID happened, many people decided to purchase firearms in order to feel more secure. This in turn exposed a few issues regarding gun sales that exposed processors to more risk than what they previously believed was there. Instead of tightening up the approval process they just decided it wasn’t something they wanted to accept anymore, which turned into many businesses losing their opportunity to process from one day to the next. 

Worldpay on the other hand decided it still wanted to accept firearms and in order to not expose themselves to more risk, they tightened the approval process requiring more information to reduce the potential for risk that was exposed last year. This new approval process has only been going on for about a year now, so older firearm companies were in for a surprise when forced to fill out mountains of paperwork just for the right to swipe those credit cards.

We work with Worldpay, and they are gladly accepting business from e-commerce firearm businesses and once approved will not be shut down on a whim.

If you're struggling to find a merchant processor for your firearm business, I understand your concern and offer an open-ended invitation: If you choose to work with us in the future we are happy to help. I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you in the future.