If you own a business that is picking up steam and getting more and more customers who are making payments by card, you would have run into merchant fees. Merchants that allow you to collect this money are indeed essential if you want to make as much money as you can, but the fees involved can quickly become too high, eating away at the money you have made, which is why understanding them may be important.
Understanding the account type
The first step to dealing with merchant account fees is to understand what they are properly and why your business needs them so much. Put simply, your business is paying merchant fees for the liberty of being able to receive payments from customers, especially from credit and debit cards – without being able to get these virtual payments, your revenue would be affected, and that’s why relying on another platform and account type that takes its own cut is important. These accounts have a place in the wider world of banking and business, and they definitely provide an essential service in a world where more and more payments are becoming fully digital, but that does not mean your business’s merchant fees should be as high as they are.
Transaction fees
There are many different smaller fees associated with merchant fees as a whole, and that makes sense, since there is a relay of different services that are working together to make sure an online or digital payment is possible. If someone uses their credit card, their bank, or, more likely, Visa or MasterCard will first take a cut, after which the company that is processing the payment as a whole will charge a fee for their services. If you want to target these fees, the best you can hope for is that the bank in charge that issued the debit or credit card has a much lower transaction fee than usual.
Annual fees
If you want to remain stable for as long as possible, the payment processor that you are working with will likely charge an annual fee, and, in return, they will look after your account and make sure nothing happens to it. This type of fee can be charged on a monthly basis, too, if your company is not getting enough payments since the processor in charge wants a minimum sum from you at the end of every month. More fees associated with the processor could be charged months down the line, which is why you should pick a processor that is more reasonable and has more lax requirements for all of their accounts.
Pricing models
As previously mentioned, the fees you are paying to a processor can be changed slightly if you are willing to find a processor that is more lax on your business. However, this can be done by changing the pricing model you are using, too, since the fee for each payment you are getting can be different. If you go with a fixed-price model, you’ll pay the processor the same flat amount for each payment, which is far easier to manage but will cost you more in the long run and, on the other hand, putting all your transactions into tiers will ensure that only a few are charged major fees.
Staying ahead of the curve
Staying ahead of the curve is the name of the game if you’re interested in keeping the money you’ve earned since tons of vendors are interested in taking as much of your money as they can, and it’s up to you to stop them. This includes using your working relationship and the weight of the money you are providing them with to negotiate a lower fee or even switching to cash payments if your business is equipped to handle it.
Conclusion
Businesses are complicated beasts since they have a ton of different moving parts, whether it is finding new customers, marketing, or dealing with your finances. However, one of the biggest issues you will run into as your business grows and gets more and more popular is the fact that merchant fees will take a bite out of everything you are earning, which is why understanding them and reducing them wherever possible can be such a helpful thing to do.
