Are you a small or medium-sized business owner that prefers in-person payment from your customers and is dependent on cash transactions? Are you confused as to whether you should accept card payments or not? Do you fear of being duped by fraudulent card payments?
Well, your preference of cash over plastic money might get the best of you. The markets have seen an enormous rise in card transactions and the preference of customers inclining towards plastic money. This transition from cash to plastic money can be harmful to business if merchants do not facilitate the acceptance of card payments.
Why so? Well, you will end up losing customers, this will cause a decline in your income. Those bank transaction fees that you are not willing to pay, won’t benefit you in any way. Consider this as an investment which will soon be recovered after a while. Even though it is true that banks charge high transaction fees, there are some companies which do not; such as SumUp.
SumUp is a credit card processing company, which provides small and medium-sized business owners with EMV card readers. They charge a low transaction fee, as low as 2.65% per transaction. The company also provides instant payouts, so no more having to wait long periods of time for ‘your own’ money that you have earned. For more details, you can visit their website, https://sumup.com/
SumUp had gained massive success in Europe and South America (especially in Brazil), it has become Europe’s No.1 growing company. The company wishes to manifest its vision of becoming the world’s largest globally accepted card brand. SumUp has recently opened an office in Boulder, Colorado and is branching its way through the markets of the United States of America.
If you as a merchant have decided to accept card payments in your business, well you have made the right choice. Here are a few things you should keep in mind when going with credit card processing companies.
Technology: Make sure that the company which you have signed up with has provided you with the newly available card reader technology present in the market. It is better if you go with card readers that can be used by all types of credit/debit cards.
Though it may seem complex there are basically only 3 types of card readers you should be aware of:
Swipe Card Reader: a Basic terminal that accepts card payments. To pay via this card reader customers are required to swipe their metallic strip equipped card against the slot provided on the terminal. It is only after the swiping of the card will the payment proceed further. Though this is card reader is popularly used, it will soon be phased out of the market due to the risk of security. This type of payment method is easy to replicate by deceivers.
EMV Card Reader: A modern card reader that works on chip-based technology. “Europay MasterCard Visa” is what EMV stands for, it is one of the most globally accepted card payment method. All modern terminals and mobile readers accept payment from EMV card technology. The card which is used to make these payments has an encrypted chip attached on top of it, the chip contains the required banking details which are necessary for processing the payment. EMV card technology is safer than swipe card reader technology.
If you’re a small or medium-sized businessman you can get your own EMV card reader. SumUp can help provide you with one, visit their website to learn more (https://sumup.com/)
NFC Card Reader: This technology is responsible for ‘contact-less’ payments, as NFC works on the principle of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). NFC stands for “Near Field Communication”, in which you are just required to hold your card near the machine and the rest will be done on its own. All NFC equipped cards, Smartphones and devices that are based on RFID can make NFC payments on modern terminals.
It should be noted that EMV and NFC are safe transactions methods. It is mainly in the case of card-not-present scenarios do frauds take place. Like if you were to provide your card details online while purchasing something.
Integration: While choosing a credit card processing company make sure that the credit card reader which is provided by them can be integrated with other computer systems; like as soon as the transaction takes place you should be able to send the bill to the customer.
Payout: Many credit card possessing companies take an awful lot of time to pay you the money they took on your behalf. This only causes inconvenience, so it is advised that merchants choose companies which will pay you instantly.
Another factor that merchants should be aware of before selecting a card reader, is the “EMV liability Shift“. A liability shift was declared on 1st October 2015. This stated that “in the case of an in-store counterfeit payment which is made- either the issuing financial institution or the merchant- the liability will shift to the party which has not implemented chip technology.”
This can best be understood with the help of a few examples,
1st Scenario: A counterfeit payment is made by a customer using a magnetic stripe card on a swiping machine. In such a case the customer is held liable for fraud.
2nd Scenario: A payment is made by a customer using a chip embedded card on a traditional magnetic stripe only terminal, the payment comes out to be fraudulent. In such a case the liability shifts to the merchant. This is because the cardholder spent on chip technology for safer transactions while the merchant did not.
3rd Scenario: A payment is made by a customer using a chip embedded card on a chip-based terminal, the payment comes out to be fraudulent. In such a case the merchant is off the hook, while the liability will shift to the customer.
So it is beneficial if merchants and consumers invest in chip technology, as this will help eliminate the chances of fraud and mistakes. It should be noted that the “EMV Liability Shift” does not apply to card-not-present transactions.
