Dominion Consulting

Preliminary numbers for the first quarter show a decrease of just under 18% in credit card processing volume for my portfolio compared to same quarter results last year. Good news, you say? Actually, the good news is that processing fees decreased closer to 30% from same quarter numbers. So, while processing volume is down, fees are down tremendously. The MAIN REASON fees are down is directly attributable to the increase in the use of debits cards as the main form of payment. Industry-wide, Q1 of 2009 was the first quarter ever when debit card processing volume exceeded credit card processing volume for Visa.

All great news, but where’s my sales pitch? Processing debit cards is only less expensive if you have a debit rate.  I still see a larger percentage of merchants that still pay the same rate to process debit and credit cards. Most processors don’t give their merchants a separate (or low enough) debit rate.  All my merchants take advantage of lower processing rates for debit cards. This is only one of the ways that I can help reduce your overhead. Call me for more ways.

This is one of the most common questions I encounter. The answer of course depends on how you conduct business, more importantly how you charge for your services.

The most accurate answer is “yes”. However, most people asking this question are really asking about a physical machine located at the place of business. With the advent of technology, most businesses can accept credit card transactions with the assistance of virtual terminals such as internet portals or automated voice response systems. (more…)

I spoke with a merchant today who promised me her rates cannot be beat. Her rates would be pretty good, if she actually paid what she thought she was paying.

This business owner thought she was being charged a rate of 1.59% on both her debit and credit transactions. Reviewing her statement, she was actually paying 1.59% + .1000 . In addition to the discount rate, she was also charged per transaction fees rangng from $0.19 to $0.34.

Although she was not paying an annual fee, or any of the junk fees, and she was only paying a $10 per month statement fee, her total discounts and fees added up to 2.7% of her monthly credit card volume. That’s not the highest I have seen, but getting her fees back in line should put her back into the low 2% range where she should be.

Her fees were also higher than they should be because she was only paying one rate for both her credit card and debit card transactions. This would be okay if most of her transactions were credit and not debit based. Unfortunately, 60% of her transactions were from Visa or Mastercard debit cards and this means she pays TOO MUCH.

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There are many banks and merchants who offer free credit card terminals to their clients. But how “free” are these terminals?

The newest terminals on the market offer significant improvements in function as well as security. These terminals connect faster, some even use broadband internet connections or wireless connections, process faster and even print faster. By using an older-technology terminal you sacrifice not only speed and reliability, you may still have to use a dedicated phone line (usually not free) make your customer wait longer and even have to use specific paper, provided for a fee by your processor. Hopefully, the terminal provided to you is brand new, but this is often not the case.

Even if it appears that your terminal is free, you may be subject to a monthly maintenance fee for the life of your contract. And of course, most merchant will just build your equipment fees into the cost of your processing.

For a free 15-minute review of your credit card operating expenses, email or call to schedule an appointment.  For a vast majority of my clients, 15 minutes could save you a considerable amount of money.

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• ACH—Payments directly drafted from your customer/client’s bank account or credit card for reoccurring or one-time payments

• ATMs—Make extra cash from your customers and keep the money in your store — also cash checks all with the money in your ATM




• Check Guarantee — Processes and guarantees checks electronically or verifies validity of account

• Check Recovery (FARS)—Service to help you successfully recover check that are returned NSF or otherwise dishonored

• Credit & Debit Card Processing— Competitive pricing and processing available for all sizes and types of businesses (more…)