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Unless your business is a general store from your grandfather’s generation, you will probably be doing business transactions with credit cards, and to do this, you will need to seek the services of a business credit card processing company. But be forewarned, not all business credit card processing companies are alike! Be sure to know what to look for before you contract with one of their services.

Credit card processors provide the physical and virtual components for your business, including terminals (physical for retail, virtual for e-business), wiring, fraud protection, and online help. Though they usually have upfront fees, business credit card processing companies make most of their money from the discount rate, which is a small percentage fee that is levied on all purchases. Although it varies from provider to provider and with a slightly higher discount rate for e-businesses than brick-and-mortar ones, the discount rate is typically in the amount of 2% of the total sale price. The often also have a small standard fee for all processes, regardless of size (usually in the amount of 25 cents) and come with a small monthly fee as well.

In order to find the best business credit card processing company, the two variables you are going to want to consider most strongly are going to be the discount rate and customer service. The other variables are simply not going to matter too much in your decision. A good place to look for your consideration of these factors is at toptenreviews.com. Here, you can take a look at the offers being presented by different processing companies, and help yourself make a more informed decision. Best of luck with your business endeavors!


This Business article was written by Mark Karavan on 1/6/2010