Which Payment Type Works Best for Me?
- When reviewing and considering which payment collection method to adopt, consider which method best suits the business needs and the needs of the customer.
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Merchant Services offers methods to accept payments online, in-person, and when the credit card is not physically present:
- Point to Point encrypted terminals from Clover
- Centrally managed e-marketplace TouchNet
- Authorize.net
Questions to Ask While Deciding
- Potential revenue Will the potential increase in revenue be enough to justify the workload involved with administering and reconciling a merchant account? If so, then establishing a merchant account for credit card acceptance may be the best option. If not, it might be in the department's best interest to accept only cash and checks.
- Frequency of Sales How many credit card transactions will be performed in a month? What is the cost of the hardware? If the activity/event/conference will be held only one time, or sales of items will be for a limited time, it may be in the department's best interest to consider the various event options.
- Technical Support Depending on the method of credit card acceptance, departments will need varying degrees of technical support from their IT staff. Merchants may also need technical support to complete the required annual PCI compliance attestation.
- Department Staffing Levels Acceptance of credit cards requires administration of the account, monitoring, and reconciling. Departments must consider the availability of staff for these functions.
Becoming a Merchant Timeline
