Law Firm Merchant Account

Law Firms at times need specialized merchant accounts. This may be do to the fact that they have money in escro or they need to send out a bill. Make sure to find a good Law Firm Merchant Account that can handle your Law Firm needs.

The right point of sale (POS) technology can help your back office operations run much more smoothly so your attorneys and staff aren’t side-tracked to deal with administrative headaches. With law firm payment processing from Prestige, you can:

Easily track your clients’ appointment history, side-by-side with their complete case histories—without having to fumble through paper records

Streamline, or even automate, client appointment reminder calls, via SMS text or email confirmation

Track and manage inventory of your office supplies 

Allow your clients to pay how they want to pay.

Would your clients prefer to pay for your services online, via a mobile app, or in-person using a credit or debit card? When you partner with Prestige for your law firm credit card processing, the choice is theirs—and the list of options is growing all the time. In fact, payments industry experts estimate that by the year 2020, there will be 455.1 million mobile wallet users.

Consider choosing a law firm credit card services partner that enables your office to accept the latest in payments options—including mobile wallets—in order to attract new, young clients, as well as keep your current clients happy. Today consumers expect the very latest in payments processing wherever they go, even when they’re at their attorney’s office.

Built-in payments processing wins the case.

When you choose Prestige for your law firm credit card processing, you won’t have any surprises or additional software to buy. In fact, our payment processing is already built into the most popular POS systems for attorneys. Your new payment solution will be ready to go from day one, meaning there will be less downtime and more revenue coming in for your office.

EMV and the liability shift

Apparently many businesses have been slow to adapt to the latest security standards known as EMV which utilizes the chip in the latest credit cards to thwart fraud. I already posted at length about EMV technology and how it operates with regard to a credit card machine. More importantly the discussion of the liability shift as of October 2015. Those retailers not utilizing the EMV technology are now left holding the bag if fraud is committed. The Wall Street Journal reported the story of a grocer that was hit with a $4000 charge as they had a series of fraudulent charges and had not switched to the EMV credit card reader.

Unfortunately many small business owners have been hesitant to switch due to the high cost of EMV credit card machines. Many processors are charging upwards of $5-800 for an EMV ready credit card terminal as they are taking advantage of the need for new equipment. There are processors such as Prestige Merchant Services who offer a free EMV terminal program to businesses looking for competitive pricing without a contract and don't want to pay for new equipment. Be careful about which processor you deal with as many will attempt lock you into long term contracts and will try to lease you equipment that will cost you 10-20 times what the credit card terminal is worth.

10 Tips on Avoiding Chargebacks

Chargebacks are something all businesses try to avoid at all costs. Have too many chargebacks (as little as 1% of the total amount of your sales) and your merchant account might be terminated. That would mean you no longer could accept credit cards and that would hinder any business.

What is a chargeback?

There are a few possibilities for a chargeback but the most common cases are:

1) Customer is unhappy with the product or service they were given.

2) Customer is disputing the charge because it was never authorized (I never bought this!).

3) Clerical- Customer is double billed or billed incorrectly.

4) Insufficient funds.

There are variations of this theme such as the customer does not recognize the name of the biller (which is why you should always try to keep the name on the bill the same as the business type).

In most cases a customer can have up to 120 days (depending on the type of card) to chargeback a transaction and/or they have an issue with the product purchased.

10 tips to avoid chargebacks:

1) Avoid Clerical Errors

Make sure you are careful about the information you are using when billing the customer

Visa has some great tips here

2) Use Your Company Name on the Bill

If the customer does not recognize the name of the company for the charge they are more likely to charge it back due to fraud or unauthorized use.

3) Get a Contract

Basically make sure you have an agreement signed for the product or service you provide. 

If they signed off on it, it will be hard for them to dispute it.

4) Dispute it

If you think the chargeback is unfair or fraudulent it may be worth fighting (if you have time) and dispute it as each chargeback has a fee associated with it.

5) Protect yourself against fraud

Many companies won't ship out items if they don't match with the billing address or if the security code is wrong. They might then  contact the customer to verify the purchase is legitimate.

6) Don't Wait

If your company is notified about the chargeback it would be best to contact the customer right away and resolve any chargeback disputes.

7) Clarity

Be clear about the service or product you are selling! Don't lie or leave out things about your product or service as that is one way to almost guarantee the customer will chargeback.

8) Policies

Make sure you have clear return/refund policies stated on your website or store. This way there are no misunderstandings and you are less likely to have a dispute.

9) Call Me

Make sure the customer knows how to contact you. If your phone number is readily available on the bill the customer is more likely to call first then charge it back.

10) Set the right expectations

If you provide truthful expectations about your service or product you are less likely to have a dispute. A great example: Delivery dates or stock availability.

Beware of Bait and Switch Rates!

As mentioned previously, when  looking for a competitive deal on a merchant account, beware! It's good to know that I'm not the only one warning people about the pitfalls of "teaser rates". Like anything in life, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is". If you have learned nothing else from reading this blog it should be this: Never sign a contract! The rate should also not be the only determining factor in which merchant service provider you choose. A merchant account is a very important aspect of your business and if something goes wrong, you want to know you are dealing with a company that can service you well and quickly. It is very unusual to get the deal you are sold and that's because the hidden fees will keep you in the dark. Make sure you do your homework and pick the company you are most comfortable with. This will help you in getting a true
deal on credit card processing.

News: Small businesses are getting ripped off

Fox News has an article and video that discusses how small businesses are getting ripped off bycredit card processors:

"I'm almost embarrassed I fell for their scam," said hair salon owner Magic Munson. 

She was approached by a salesman representing a company called Payment System Corporation who promised the halve her costs for processing credit cards and debit cards. It's a strong pitch to small businesses that are struggling in a bad economy.

But after she signed up, the company couldn't help her hook up several card swipers. She began getting bills even though the machines weren't hooked up.  The salesman was nowhere to be found and the friendly faces pictured in a list of customer service representatives were missing in action.

"If you try to call any of these people, they'll put you on hold. It's a fight to talk with a real person. i was on hold for 20 minutes (once) and after 20 minutes, they just hang up the phone.  She also began getting bills for services that she never used and was denied refunds that were promised.

There are  a 2 things one should take from this article that differ from what the article implies:

1) Never sign a contract! If there is no contractual obligation you will never have an issue going elsewhere, which should make the company you are with bend over backwards to keep you business by servicing you and doing it well. It will also make it less likely that they are hiding fees.

2) If the rates you are being quoted seem to be good to be true...they probably are.

Rates like 1.09% for credit cards are simply impossible as that is below the actual cost.

Be careful out there and only deal with the most reputable company.

Although few companies have  a no contract policy a merchant service provider that advertises as such is Prestige Merchant Services.

Interchange Plus Pricing: Not Everything?

Another great article by credit card processing veteran Phil Hinke:

I am a strong advocate of interchange-plus pricing. To date, I have allowed only merchant account providers that offer interchange-plus pricing to bid for my clients' business. However, I am also concerned about how some providers and salespeople appear to be pitching interchange-plus pricing as a panacea for ensuring merchants are being priced fairly. Therefore, I decided to turn last month’s article into a 3-part series on interchange-plus pricing — so merchants can see that while interchange-plus pricing can be important, it does not automatically guarantee fair pricing. 

This article is the second installment of that series.

Interchange Plus: 2 Things to Understand as a Merchant 

First, card processing is a very perplexing and convoluted industry. You can have, say, 30 different customers use their debit or credit cards to buy the same product at the same price on your website, and you theoretically could be charged 30 different processing rates. This is one of the reasons why a clever salesperson can offer what appears to be a good processing rate — and ends up being anything but that.

Second, don’t expect a salesperson to offer you the best possible price. If you are currently overpaying for processing by $20,000 per year and the salesperson thinks he can entice you into changing providers for $5,000 in savings, he may offer you a rate that saves you $5,000. There is nothing wrong with this type of sales approach. Merchants — like credit card salespeople — want to make as high a profit as possible. However, this perplexing and convoluted industry puts merchants at a disadvantage in the negotiations, which is the reason for my articles here each month. 

An Actual Interchange-Plus Example 

I have worked with several merchants recently that were offered interchange-plus contracts. Fortunately, they understand that interchange-plus pricing was not necessarily fair. As a result, each eventually received — after negotiations — far better pricing and terms and conditions than originally offered. Here is an example of one such merchant. 

This merchant was with one of the largest merchant account providers. The merchant was on a tiered pricing schedule — I explained tiered pricing in a previous article — and was grossly overpaying for the service. Its provider offered interchange-plus pricing at 0.31 percent plus $0.05 plus normal fees, all of which would save more than $100,000 over three years. As impressive as this may sound, in fact there were three problems with this offer.

First, the merchant was overpaying by more than $175,000 during that timeframe. The provider thought it could wow this merchant into thinking that the savings it offered would keep this merchant. However, after negotiating, the merchant ended up getting pricing at 0.07 percent (versus .31 percent) plus $0.08 plus normal fees, which saved the merchant the additional $75,000 over three years. Both rates were interchange plus, but only the latter pricing was fair.

Second, the provider included a “liquidated damages” clause for early termination. I encourage my clients to never sign a contract with a liquidated damages clause. Depending on the specific verbiage, it could cost thousands of dollars to terminate the contract early. In fact, I know of an ecommerce merchant who was forced to continue processing with his provider — or pay several hundred thousand dollars to terminate early. It should never cost more than $400 to terminate your contract early. 

Third, the provider was charging its processing percentage on returns. The provider charged the merchant 3 percent to process a $1,000 sale with a specific card type; the merchant paid $30 in processing for the sale. If the customer returned the goods, the provider would charge an additional 3 percent to reverse the credit card charges. Therefore, the provider received $60 and the merchant had a net sale of zero. There is no reason why a merchant should pay a processing percentage for refunds — other than it’s another way a provider can make money without the merchant understanding he or she overpaid. I know of one ecommerce merchant that was paying $6,000 per year in refund-processing fees.

An Important Interchange-Plus Question to Ask

I now see merchant account providers increase their fees or add new fees, while at the same time claiming to be passing through all of the Durbin Amendment debit-card interchange reductions. This does not seem right to me. Yes, they may be passing on the lower debit interchange rate. However, if at the same time they are taking more money out of the merchants' pockets with new or increased fees, are they really passing through all of the Durbin Amendment reductions? Are they really any different than the provider that is not passing through all the Durbin Amendment reductions? 

So, one of the questions I ask the salesperson during the negotiations is simply “Has your company increased any fees or added any new fees over the last year? If yes, explain why.” This is a question of provider integrity that each merchant should ask. I am not saying that the provider isn’t justified in increasing or adding new fees. However, all merchants should ask this question during the pricing negotiations. 

Conclusion 

In summary, remember these seven points when you negotiate an interchange-plus contract. Interchange-plus pricing is not a panacea. The card processing industry is perplexing and convoluted. Do not expect the salesperson to offer you the lowest rate. You need to work to get it. Do not be wowed by a large savings amount, as there may even more savings left on the table. Do not focus on just the rate. Understand, also, the fees, funding, and terms and conditions in the contract. Avoid liquidated damage clauses. Ask the tough questions during negotiations.

The benefits of accepting credit cards.

The B2C has a great article that really outlines some of the many benefits of accepting credit cards for your business. Not all of them have to do with expanding your customer base:

Security – Besides the obvious fear of losing or being robbed of their cash, more and more consumers appreciate the security of using credit cards offered by their bank. This often comes in the form of backing up the consumer in the event of a dispute, lost card, etc. In addition, these protections are often provided for free as long as the event is reported in a timely manner.

Tracking – All of a consumer’s purchases are accounted for and can be totaled at the end of each day, week, month, and year. This also assures the consumer accuracy and regularity when it comes to their bank accounts and speeds up the rectifying process.

Convenience and Protection – When purchasing high dollar items with their credit or debit card, consumers are free to do so without having to write a check or carry large sums of cash. Some cards offer insurance for larger ticket items as part of the agreement. Many of the higher-end cards also offer protection on certain items purchased in the event of theft or acts of God. In addition, the record of the purchase can also be valuable for insurance claims.

Employee Purchases – Many employees make purchases on the behalf of their employers, or when they travel on company business. These people are often issued a company credit card that is to be used for all purchases for the company. These potential customers are therefore limited to merchants and service providers that accept credit cards.

Rewards – People who are enrolled in rewards programs will often go out of their way to pay by credit card. There are special incentives and rewards programs offered by almost every bank or Credit Card Company to their customers today. The points can go towards travel, shopping, even event tickets. While it is true that the merchant generally pays slightly higher rates for accepting these cards, the customers that use this type of card tend to spend more because they are incentivized.

Business to Business – Many sales can be lost to B2B purchasing by individual specialty type buyers and their companies. Businesses that are making purchases of products or services for their own internal use often prefer to pay with a credit card. This usually is for accounting reasons, but by not accepting credit cards you are losing out on the opportunity to serve those specialized and likely repeat customers.

Business Travelers – A smaller, but relevant group of potential customers are the business travelers. These customers almost always avoid carrying cash on them in any large amounts, plus they are more than likely writing much of their trips off of their taxes, so they want receipts as well as clear documentation in the form of a credit card statement.

Every day, credit card companies are finding new ways to entice consumers to use their plastic rather than paying with cash or a check. At first it may seem like the cost of accepting credit cards is too high for your business, but the truth is in most cases you cannot afford not to. Every year the numbers show that more and more consumers are using plastic to pay for their wants and needs, so it is better to get on board the trend before you are left behind.