To boost sales and retain your customers, you need to offer the customers the payment options of your customer’s choice. In order to do so, you must be able to accept payments through credit/debit cards and other electronic payment methods.
The catch is for accepting payments through credit/debit cards or any form of electronic payment you need the services of merchant service providers. Best merchant services providers facilitate payment processing and help you in growing your business. So let us understand who is a merchant service provider and the services they offer.
To understand merchant services, we first need to understand the basic terms such as who is a merchant, types of merchant, and what a merchant account is?
Who is a Merchant?
A merchant is any person or business that sells goods and services. There are different types of merchants: retail merchants, wholesale merchants, affiliate merchants, and e-commerce merchants.
Also, Read – What is Point of Sale?
What is a Merchant Account?
A merchant account is the payment processing account through which businesses can make or receive payments. It allows companies to accept payments through credit/debit cards or electronically with the help of a payment gateway. Merchant services providers charge a fee to provide these services.
How Does Merchant Service Work?
The merchant services process starts when the customer hands over his credit card to make payments and ends when the funds get deposited into your bank account. The companies that offer merchant services provide the tools and services for credit card processing and accepting any other electronic payment. The companies are required to pay a fee to receive the services of merchant service providers.
Merchant Services Products
Merchant services are financial services that are for the use of businesses. The best merchant services are the tools that enable businesses to accept and process credit/debit or electronic payments through a secure channel. The tools required to process payments are hardware and software.
The various merchant service products are-
- Mobile Payments
Mobile payments is a payment received through a portable electronic device such as a mobile or tablet. Mobile payments are digital payments that are transferred via a mobile.
- Credit Card Terminal
It is also known as an Electronic Data Capture Terminal. It enables businesses to accept credit/debit cards to receive payments. A credit card terminal is a secure and reliable way to transfer funds from the customer’s bank to the merchant account. A merchant can swipe, dip or tap the card to receive payments.
- Contactless Payments
It is a secure payment method that uses RFID technology and near-field communication technology to make payments. Tap to pay technology is very easy to use and allows customers to make payments safely anywhere. Contactless payments can be made through debit/credit cards or mobile. It is safe, encrypted, and hard to hack. The most important advantage of contactless payments for merchants is quicker transactions and shorter queues at checkout points.
- E-commerce
E-commerce refers to buying and selling products online. E-commerce transactions are card, not present transactions, and to accept payments, the merchants need the best merchant services provider to process credit/debit card payments.
- Virtual Terminals
It is a software application for merchants that enables them to accept payments with a payment card without actually requiring the physical presence of the card.
- POS Systems
The POS system refers to the spot where a customer makes the payment for products and services he purchased at your store. It is the hardware and software that a retail business needs to run its business. Every time a purchase is made at your store, a point of sale is completed.
- Payment Gateways
It is a merchant service that allows merchants to accept credit/debit cards from customers and direct payments. It is a technology merchants use to accept online and offline payments.
Payment Processing
The merchant service provider is an intermediary between banks, businesses, and customers. It handles transactions whenever a customer makes a payment with a debit/credit card. The merchant submits the details of the purchase transaction to the payment processor via a payment gateway. With a payment gateway, you can easily accept payments in the form preferred by customers.
Payment Security
Payment security is very crucial for any business that processes credit card transactions, online payments. The payment security your merchant service provides allows you and your customers to conduct business safely. The best merchant services help you to ensure PCI compliance.
Wrap Up:
Best merchant services exist to help businesses in processing credit card payments. The solutions they provide the help you take payments your way.
Originally posted 2021-06-26 18:52:38.
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