What Are Merchant Services and How Can They Help Your Business Grow

Quality merchant services are crucial to the success of virtually every business, however, far too many owners are in the dark about what they are and how they impact your bottom line. If you find yourself wondering ‘what are merchant services and how do they affect my business?’, it’s in your best interest to do some research. Here is a closer look at the concept of merchant services and how they impact business payment processing.

What are Merchant Services?

Merchant services refer to a large category of financial services that allow businesses to accept payments from customers using any method except cash. If you are a small business owner, you probably don’t have connections to all the major banks and credit card companies that allow you to communicate with them whenever a customer wants to use a credit or debit card. So, you need a merchant services provider to act as a middleman between you and these financial institutions to handle your business payment processing.

But what are merchant services? When a customer pays for goods or services using a card, check gift card, or contactless payment method, your merchant service provider will communicate with the institution holding the funds (such as a bank or credit card company) to verify the customer has the liquid funds or credit to complete the transaction. Once this is confirmed, they will facilitate the transfer of those funds into your own bank account. Merchant services encompass all the various tasks required to complete this transaction and other related solutions that make your business payment processing more manageable.

How Can Merchant Services Benefit Your Business?

Now that you understand what merchant services are, how can they benefit your business?

In today’s world, most businesses need the ability to process as many different payment types as possible, including credit/debit cards, checks, and mobile payments. Many companies must also process checks, ACH payments, and even crypto-currency, which brings additional difficulties. Unless you’re a 100% cash business, you need reliable business payment processing to accept these other payment methods.

What are the Benefits of Merchant Services?

Merchant services can transform your business in many ways. It gives you greater control over your money, so you can see your spending and make better decisions backed by hard data. Fewer and fewer people carry large sums of cash with them, especially when making day-to-day purchases. Therefore merchant services allow you to service these customers, leading to more sales and larger order amounts. Plus, if you are planning on expanding your business to include e-commerce, you won’t be able to accept cash. So you’ll need a quality merchant services provider to help you make sure you can accept secure payments online.

You may also be wondering ‘what are the costs of merchant services?’ Providers typically charge a small fee per transaction and may have additional costs related to any additional services they offer. The exact price will vary depending on the company you choose to handle your business payment processing. However, if you are smart and shop for the best rates, they typically pay for themselves by increasing your sales and expanding your customer base.

Where to Find the Best Merchant Services?

Once you understand what merchant services are, you’ll likely want to find a quality provider. You’ll find a vast selection of payment processors available, each offering unique benefits and pricing structures. But you must find a company that has reasonable rates and experience with business payment processing in your industry. A good payment processor will help you expand your business and increase your revenue, but a bad provider will charge you exorbitant fees without providing much value.

At Group ISO, we have over 20 years of experience offering merchant services to businesses of all different sizes and backgrounds. Whether you’re a small business, online company, or high-risk merchant, we offer an impressive selection of quality services designed to make your payment processing more manageable and easy to understand.

We offer competitive pricing, 24/7 dedicated support in 30 different languages, and an in-house team of underwriters, risk analysts, and sales professionals that are here to help you succeed. Get in touch today to request more info or schedule a free consultation.