Why you Shouldn't Buy a Credit Card Terminal for your Business - Shift Credit Card Processing

Why you Shouldn’t Buy a Credit Card Terminal for your Business

You’re a business owner who wants to accept credit cards. While shopping around for your options, you consider price, ease of use, reliability and customer service. But before you tackle those questions, you shouldn’t overlook the most important thing. What is the best method for my business to accept credit cards? Physical terminal, virtual terminal, POS System or cash register with a terminal add-on can all be solutions, but which is best?

A credit card terminal is not the best option for all businesses. If you have a store front and your customers come to you, then yes, a credit card terminal is probably right for you. But what if you are in the service trade and spend most of your time at the customer’s location? What if you have multiple reps? You need a virtual terminal.

A virtual terminal is the perfect method to accept credit cards because of the versatility it offers. With the right system you can store customer information, swipe in the field as well as have the ability for reoccurring billing.  A virtual system also never goes outdated so you don’t have to replace hardware every few years. Here are 4 benefits for utilizing a virtual terminal:

  • Equipment Cost: If you use the right processor, virtual terminals can cost you virtually nothing. The mobile readers used in the field should cost no more than about $20 each.
  • Reliability: Virtual terminals are pretty much maintenance free.  You can’t drop or break a virtual terminal so the life expectancy can be forever.  Most virtual terminals automatically update overnight, protecting you from unnecessary downtime.
  • Swipe cost:  This is one of the top reasons a service business should be using a virtual system.  When you can swipe cards in the field, your overall rates go down dramatically.  For some cards it can be as much as a 1% difference.
  • Customer satisfaction:  You want to make your customers happy.  Most customers are uncomfortable with having their card information written down. With the ability to swipe the card at the door, you offer your customer the peace of mind of a secure transaction.

With all the options on the market and ways to accept credit cards today, make sure that your business chooses the right method for what you do. It can not only make your business run smoothly, but also save you a lot of fees in the long run, leaving more money in your pocket.

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