Making money is supposed to be enjoyable, but actually collecting that money isn't always easy. In fact, the payment processing landscape can be confusing and expensive. There are so many vendors from which to choose. And within each service, there are often way too many options.
How do you make sense of it all?
Below are five of the biggest payment processing hurdles you'll likely encounter -- and how to overcome them.
1. Fraud Protection
However, PCI compliance isn't enough -- even if your payment processor follows the latest guidelines. That's because thieves continue to develop ways to exploit secure payment environments.
- Tokenization
- Point-to-point encryption (P2PE)
- Fraud management filters
2. Payment Integration
However, all of this manual data entry is time-consuming. It's also prone to human error.
3. Omni-Channel Payments
- What if your brick-and-mortar business eventually goes online?
- What if you attend an off-site event like a conference or trade show?
- An online merchant who needs a secure payment gateway.
- A home-based freelancer who wants a virtual terminal.
- A retailer looking for an EMV credit card reader.
- A traveling salesperson who wants mobile payment processing.
4. Processing Fees
There is a lot of variance in processing fees and how they are calculated. Significant factors include type of business, type of card used, methods you use to accept payments, average transaction size, etc. In fact, many charges may be negotiable, and some are even avoidable.
This is why it's crucial that you sit down with your provider and discuss how each fee actually works.
5. Payment Support
If not, it's time to shop for another provider.
It's important to have a processor that never leaves you hanging and is ready to help troubleshoot any problems you might be facing. Having accessible resources and video tutorials is also a plus.
Top 5 Payment Processing Challenges for Small Businesses was originally published on Due Payments Blog by Kristen Gramigna.
