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How to avoid paying too much in Credit Card Processing Fees

September 8, 2017

I’m sure as a business owner you have enough to do without having to figure out how Credit Card Interchange Fees work. The good new is it’s not that complicated. There are hundreds of different interchange fees, what is important is to understand that interchange is essentially the wholesale rate that banks charge each other in order to process a credit card or debit card transaction. It is the cost of doing business, usually around two percent of the transaction amount.

Although the card companies set interchange rates there are things you can do to help avoid paying too much.

Review Your Charges Annually

At least twice a year (generally every April and October), Visa and MasterCard re-assess their processes, regulations and fees then announce rate changes and new fees. Many times your existing provider will layer on additional rate increases above the Interchange adjustments. Call another provider, fax in your merchant statement and have your account analyzed to “catch” these hidden rate increases.

Use an Interchange Pass Through Program

In order to pay the lowest fees when processing credit cards, a merchant’s goal is to pay as close to interchange as possible. A merchant account that uses an Interchange Pass Through pricing method applies processing fees by adding a small percentage to the actual Interchange Rate for every transaction and all dues and assessments are passed through directly at cost. This ensures that you only pay the true interchange rate in addition to a small mark-up that goes to their merchant service provider. Many times your existing provider will layer on additional rate increases above the Interchange adjustments. Call another provider, fax in your merchant statement and have your account analyzed to “catch” these hidden rate increases.

Avoid Downgrades Whenever Possible

A downgrade occurs when a transaction falls to a higher rate then what your business may qualify for. Whenever possible swipe the card at the point of sale device in order to reduce fraud and qualify for your lowest rate. For those of you that own some sort of on-site service or repair business, invest in either a wireless credit card processing terminal or look at some of the newer solutions such as RoamPay or PayWare mobile which allow you to use your mobile phone as a point of sale device.

Obtain the Correct Billing Information

In order to avoid downgrades for Card Not Present Transactions always obtain the correct billing information for the card being used. Credit Card Companies use an Address Verification Service (AVS) for Domestic Cards to determine if the billing information you enter matches the Card you are keying in. Always collect the Billing Address of the Card including the Postal Code as well as the Card Verification Code. The Card Code is the 3 Digit Number at the end of the Signature Panel on the back of the card for Visa, MasterCard and Discover. For American Express it is the 4 digit number on the front right hand side of the card above the last 5 digits of the card number.

Make Sure your Point of Sale Device is Programmed Properly

If your Point of Sale Device is not prompting you for Billing Address information as well as the Card Code, contact your Merchant Service Provider right away to get your device updated in order to pass that information to the Credit Card Companies. Another way transactions can downgrade is if you do not Settle or Batch your transactions within 24 Hours of obtaining an Authorization. Virtually all point of sale devices have the ability to Auto-Settle or Auto-Close at a specified time on a daily basis. If your device does not have that option enabled, contact your Merchant Service Provider right away to get your program updated.

Train Your Staff

If you are not the person directly responsible for processing credit cards at your company it is important that you properly train your staff to avoid downgrades. Routinely observe your cashiers, monitor transactions and carefully review your month end processing statements.

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Smart Strategies to Eliminate Your Credit Card Debt

September 3, 2017

The excitement of making just the minimum payment on your credit card balance only lasts a while. Millions of Brits, who carry a balance, discover the danger of minimum payments after they feel the sting of the accompanying rotating charge. According the latest statistics, the average UK household owes 6,020 in debt. Such a debt would take 291 months to pay off and cost 8,453.00 in interest if you paid only the minimum payment.

Even if you had a legitimate reason for accumulating high-interest debt, your top priority must be to pay it off. Start with a solid debt reduction plan and stick with it until you’re debt free. Here are five strategies for eliminating credit card debt.

Target one card at a time

If you owe money on multiple cards, it will take a while to wipe out all the debt. It’s hard to see the horizon and stay motivated when you have years of credit card payments ahead of you. Give yourself a boost by paying off one card. Target the card with the lowest balance and put as much money into your payments as you can afford until you’ve cleared the balance.

Alternatively, you can target the card with the highest utilization rate (your balance/card’s limit) and pay it off. Clearing the balance will give your spirits and your credit score an instant boost since credit utilization directly impacts your score.

Negotiate a lower interest rate with your creditors

Although lenders are usually reluctant to negotiate reduced interest rates, it’s still worth a try. If you have a decent credit score and have been responsible with your payments and card use, the lender might consider your request. Reducing your interest by one or two percentage points can lead to hundreds of pounds saved every year. Compare rates and get offers from competing lenders to bring to the negotiation. Your lender might the willing to match the offer.

Take note: Your creditor will need to review your credit report before they make a decision, and they could reduce your card’s credit limit if they don’t like what they see.

Transfer your balance

A growing number of consumers are surfing their credit card balances from one card to another in order to get the best interest rates. While that could potentially lead to hundreds of pounds in savings, there are risks involved if you don’t plan ahead.

Balance transfers are only effective if you commit to repaying the transferred balance within the introductory low rate period. That will give you 12-30 months, depending on the card. After that, the rates will go up, and you’ll be forced, once again, to pay high interest rates.

Important: Balance transfer cards should only be used for paying off debt, not making new purchases. So don’t use the card for shopping, as the low interest rates may not apply to new purchases. Also, most lenders charge a balance transfer fee, so factor that into your costs when you’re comparing cards.

Get a loan

If you’re falling under the burden of high interest rates, consider borrowing money to pay off your cards. Your friends and family may be willing to help. But if not, banks and peer-to-peer lenders offer loans with fixed interest rates that are 20-30 times lower than credit cards. That means you could save hundreds in interest on your debt. If you have excellent credit and a stable salary, you could qualify for loans with competitive interest rates.

Pay the minimum

If you’re cash strapped, you can always pay the minimum, but try to make two minimum payments within the month. Interest is accrued on a daily basis, so earlier payments will reduce your average daily balance and your interest charges. Keep up with the minimum payments twice a month until your debt is paid off.

Spiraling interest rates make it a challenge to pay off debt. Ideally, you should not incur it in the first place, but life is all about learning from your mistakes. The tried-and-true methods listed above should help you to develop your battle plan for tackling your debt. Remember, the most valuable instrument in this battle is your commitment to your financial goals.

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Smart Ways To Use A Credit Card

August 28, 2017

Aren’t you sick and tired of hearing how “bad” credit cards are and that we should all just cut them up and start living on cash again. Although this sounds nice in some ways, the reality is that we live in a consumer society and credit cards have become a major part of life. The problem is when people don’t know how to use credit cards. Credit card debt is no joke and it can suck you in like quick sand. You can blame credit card companies all you want but in the end its your responsibility to be smart with your money and your cards.

Credit cards do have a positive role to play in personal finance. If you are smart with it, it can help you better manage and spend your money and it can give you the financial leverage when you need it most. Here are 3 smart uses for credit.

1. Emergencies

I do not recommend or encourage anyone to live on credit. its a recipe for disaster. Instead, the best way to use your credit cards is to use it as backup. We all have financial disasters that usually hit at the most inconvenient times. If you don’t have life savings to fall back on then it can really hit you hard. Having a card as a backup can really be a lifesaver and at a fee of about $50 a year, it’s well worth the security that it provides in case you need it.

2. Controlling Your Spending

One of the reasons why so many people fall deeper and deeper into debt is because they get caught with their pants down – so to speak. They spend and spend and then fail to make the minimum payments. When interest starts kicking in, its usually already too late and you start sinking. The smart way to use your card however is to pay it off in full every month. Its a great way to control your spending and to now exactly how much you are spending on what. It works really well if you dedicate specific expenses to a specific card – like your groceries. However, the secret is to pay it off in full every month.

3. Large Purchases

One of the reasons why businesses like to use credit cards is because it allows you to conveniently make large purchases – even on the internet. We can all get cards with relatively high credit limits and if you have to make large purchases for say a building project or if you buy a lot of stuff online, then its ideal. Once again, the secret is to clear this debt each and every month. On large purchases, the interest can be just as large so make sure you wipe the slate clean every month.

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Credit Card Debt Relief Now Available

August 24, 2017

You are fortunate that you live in an age where credit card debt relief services can help you substantially to relieve you of your debts and stress. Over the net also you can look for credit card debt relief companies; this is no mammoth task for you I am sure. Here in this article you will learn more about such services and will also get to know how to go about it.

When you are looking for a credit card debt relief service over the net, you will land up finding innumerable links. Do not fall for their meretricious shine just like that; usually the ones which are found at the top of the page are reliable enough. It can be very risky on your part to rely on some undependable company or service for a debt relief service.

The top rated links provide useful information, which are updated about all the new laws and jurisdictions. There are myriads of websites which are unregistered and provide information. What I feel is that the information contained in these links is not worth banking.

It is a very good idea to weigh your options before you go for such a service. Do not jump for the first option that you manage to get hold of. You are actually buying a financial solution, so it is expected of you to behave as meticulously as possible. Usually we judge the options of credit card debt relief options on the basis of paying limits and rates of interests. Compare these factors in different companies and take your decision.

However if you are looking for a solution online then it is best to judge the caliber of the credit card debt relief company. You are going to pay them a handsome amount in exchange of the service they promise to provide you.

Do not go by their assurance, that they have good association with creditors of banks and many more similar stories. You must check their pass records in order to analyze their performance and rely on their rates of success stories. From that you can conclude how efficient they will be in providing you the relief.

You can also compare on the basis of legitimacy. An illegitimate company would be quite reluctant to share their case studies with you but a legitimate company on the other hand would always strive to prove their point.

Pricing is also a prime factor which will actually helps you to take the decision whether you want to avail this service or not. The price that such a company should charge you as their fee should never exceed rather should be quite small compared to your liability amount.

Since these services are available, do not torment yourself to stay in an impoverished condition and worsen your situation.

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Verify Credit Card Details Whit Bin Database

August 19, 2017

BIN Database is online Bank Identification Number checking service. That will help to merchants and e-commerce shops to verify credit card details only by entering first 6 digits of customer credit card.

By using our card bin database, you can easily identify type of card, country of issue for most bins, issuing bank`s details. All of this information can be used in a number of ways to help you make sure that the cardholder has physical possession of the card and isn’t just using a card number obtained illegally. What is the BIN or IIN number? The first 6 digits of a bank card number are known as the Issuer Identification Number (IIN), previously known as Bank Identification Number (BIN). These identify the institution that issued the card to the card holder. Some digits after first 6 are help to identify branch location the card.

Bin database is power. Once you have access to bank identification number beyond a simple string of digits that is the credit card bin number, your risk management components can use that data to better estimate likelihood of fraudulence based on country of issue versus country of intended delivery. Questionable orders, for example where the card is issued by bank in Canada, but is being used to order a product to ship to Moldova, can be flagged for review and additional screening before order fulfillment can proceed.

Pre-filling card type and country information as well as displaying a matching icon dynamically on your forms are exactly the kinds of small touches that your visitors will notice and appreciate. It’s a fact: high customer charge-back ratio can break your business by significantly reducing profits or worse, causing suspension of your merchant account once you exceed pre-defined ratio (usually ~2.5%). With bank identification number you can cancel transactions that are fraudulent or carry high risk of charge-back is the only guaranteed way of keeping that ratio in check from bin database. Today`s typical customer is well accustomed to high-standard of user experiences across the web and we want to help you meet and exceed their expectations.

So as you can see, that this database is very important for the merchants, e-commerce and the consumer. All of this is available at

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