4 Ways to Lower Your Rate when Processing Credit Cards


While there are many things that separate one credit card processor from another, pricing is a huge factor that has an immediate impact on you, the merchant. However, with over 1,200 separate interchange rates, the age-old question of “What rate do you offer?” requires a much more detailed response. Several factors affect the actual cost of accepting payment with a credit card – industry, customer card type, processing method, settlement time, etc. Many variables impact what your customer’s card actually costs you. So, how do you lower your rate when processing credit cards?

How to Lower Your Rate when Processing Credit Cards

Just because there are over 1,000 different rates, and numerous factors that impact the cost of accepting any given credit card, doesn’t mean you are helpless in reducing your costs. There are definitely best practices that can help you reduce costs, and improve your bottom line. Here are 4 ways to lower your rate when processing credit cards.

1. Swipe or Dip

If you have a customer in front of you, swiping or dipping the card will get you a lower rate than manually keying in the same card. Interchange rates are closely related to risk – the more risk a transaction holds, typically the more expensive it is. By keying in a card manually, the card brands (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express) see that as card-not-present. Any time a card is considered to be away from the point of sale, higher risk is implied, thus a higher cost for that transaction. Long story short: if you can see the whites of their eyes, swipe or dip the card. Do everything you can to avoid manually keying in a transaction.

2. Data, Data, Data

If you operate in a card-not-present world (e-commerce or mail/telephone orders), the more customer information you can provide, the lower your rate will be. With every transaction, providing the AVS information, which is the customers’ street address and zip code, will help qualify your transactions at the lowest possible rate. Even greater savings can be achieved with Level III interchange. This is unique to business and purchasing cards. Lowering the rate to this level requires a substantial amount of data to be submitted, usually from a specialized gateway like the one offered by BASYS Processing.

3. Settlement Times

Setting your terminal up for auto-settlement is a quick update to any piece of equipment and can help improve your situation immediately. Many merchants have not been taught that leaving transactions unsettled in a terminal for more than 24 hours actually makes those transactions cost more! Except for very unusual circumstances, your processor should set your equipment to auto settle at the same time every day.

4. Right Tool for the Job

While the credit card terminal is still the standard means to accept a card payment, there are numerous other solutions, frequently unique to an industry. There are systems designed to accept credit cards specifically for e-commerce businesses and systems that are designed just for restaurants. Other systems are designed to operate in a business-to-business (B2B) environment, or for companies whose primary sales are recurring monthly payments. Just because the terminal you’ve been using for the last 5 years technically works, that doesn’t mean it’s the best fit for you right now. We recommend continually working with your credit card processor to learn what options are available to you, and ensure you’re using the solution that can offer you the lowest rate qualifications and other helpful functionalities.

Stay Engaged

While these are some general ways you can lower your rate and control your costs, the most important thing is to stay engaged. Just because you’ve always paid certain fees, doesn’t mean those are fees you should still be paying.













About Our Credit Card Processing Services

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust has Credit Card Processing solutions for all types of businesses, using the latest technology. Our industry-leading payment solutions are convenient, safe, and affordable, and include:

  • Customized solutions for your specific business needs with personalized pricing.
  • Terminal, POS, online and mobile payment processing technology.
  • Quality customer service which is prompt, helpful and knowledgeable.
  • Help with certifying that your business complies with PCI guidelines.

Whether you are looking to start accepting credit cards, upgrade services, or switch providers, we are here to help. Good things happen when we work together. Contact us to get started today!

207-262-8305

merchantservices@barharbor.bank

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The informational articles were created by BASYS Processing and with their permission are being reused by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. More articles can be found at basyspro.com/category/basys-blog/.

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