Archive for the ‘Merchant Services’ Category

August 16, 2010 • 12:37pm in Merchant Services, Uncategorized 0

How to Avoid Downgrades on your Credit Card Processing

By Margie Ragland- Corporate Sales Administration Manager

If you’re like most merchants these days, operate competitively and still turning a profit is a challenge.  Accepting credit card payment is an essential part of doing business and in order to remain competitive in today’s marketplace you must operate as efficiently and profitably as possible: including accepting credit card payment as cost effective as you possibly can.

Below I offer some simple practices to avoid downgrades when processing your credit card payments.  Be sure to take note: you’ll be glad you did!

First, what is a downgrade?  

A downgrade is an increased interchange/discount rate charged by both the credit card associations (VISA, MasterCard, etc.) and your processing company.  These downgrades can occur when you accept certain types of credit cards or because of the way the card transaction was processed. 

In order to run your business, you cannot deny a customer from using certain credit card types, thus you will have un-avoidable downgrades.

There are three tiers of downgrades:

  • Qualified transaction
  • Mid-qualified transaction
  • Non-qualified transaction

 

I will provide a brief explanation of each below:

Qualified Rate: As is the norm with most processing companies, the “Qualified Discount Rate” is the lowest rate you (the merchant) will be charged to process a credit card. 

To receive the “Qualified Rate” the following are required:

  • The credit card is present and swiped through a card terminal (and correct cardholder data is captured through swipe)
  • The cardholder is present
  • The card being used is a standard consumer credit card
  • Cardholder signature is captured

Mid-Qualified Rate: A “Mid Qualified Rate” is a slight downgrade from the “Qualified Rate” and is charged with any of following: 

  • Credit card is manually keyed with AVS (address verification) information entered.  
  • If a rewards card is used (Yes, you as the merchant have to pay for Sally’s Southwest Airlines rewards points!) 
  • The Merchant not batching/settling transactions within 24 hours

Non-Qualified Rate: A “Non-Qualified Rate” is the highest discount rate, which I have personally seen as high as 4.5%.  This rate will be charged when one of the following occurs:

  • Credit card is manually keyed without address verification information being entered
  • Authorization code is manually keyed in to your processing terminal
  • Merchants not batching/settling transactions within 48 hours

 

To avoid downgrades, make sure to do the following:

1. Take as many transaction as you can in person (card present/card swiped) and verify with AVS

2. If you take most of your orders over the internet (MO/TO) be sure to ask your processor if you are set up to receive the best rate possible given that  internet/telephone orders are your primary transaction type.

3. Inform your employees: make sure they understand it is better to swipe a card rather than type in the number and be sure to get AVS information. 

To watch a live demonstration of the process and more great tips, visit our website at www.eBridgeGlobal.com/merchant-services

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June 2, 2010 • 10:01am in Merchant Services 0

BidBridge Rebrands as eBridge to Encompass New Fully Managed Business Solutions

Adds Merchant Card Services, Payroll and Corporate Purchasing Cards to Purchasing Solutions

LOUISVILLE, KY (June 1, 2010) – BidBridge, a proven eAuction services provider for the public and private sectors, today announced it will rebrand as eBridge Business Solutions to more fully encompass the company’s service offerings, which now include merchant card, web-based payroll and corporate purchasing card services, in addition to reverse auction purchasing solutions. The new services will extend eBridge’s suite of fully managed business solutions, adding value for established and growing businesses.

“While we were successful in the purchasing space, we recognized a growing need in the marketplace to support daily functions outside of core business product or service offerings,” said eBridge CEO Jim Headlee. “We decided to apply our expertise in purchasing and budget management to expand our offerings for our clients, culminating in the development of the eBridge brand.”

As the newly formed eBridge, the company’s services create efficiencies and limit internal resource consumption, providing support for:

  • Purchasing Solutions – eBridge’s purchasing solutions deliver true market value in acquiring goods and services, leveraging a web-based eAuction software platform for full buyer visibility. Experience with strategic sourcing and existing vendor contacts give eBridge clients an advantage in procurement.
  • Merchant Card Services – Powered by NPC, taking a consultative approach to merchant card services, eBridge provides a fully managed solution delivering value through statement monitoring and analysis, giving customers a clear picture of the costs associated with accepting credit card payment. 
  • Payroll – eBridge’s web based processing platform helps customers stay focused on their core business by streamlining payroll and human resource reporting.  eBridge recognizes that payroll has evolved in to a commodity based solution, and have structured their payroll service to provide all the features and functionality to effectively pay employees at a very competitive price point.  Whether a business pays one employee or 1000 employees, eBridge can help them maximize their payroll system capabilities with a personalized implementation plan. 
  • Corporate Purchasing Cards – Corporate purchasing cards help reduce costs and create efficiencies in businesses.  Streamlining accounts payable functions, corporate purchasing cards assist clients in removing inefficiencies from the accounts payable process.

 For more information, visit www.eBridgeGlobal.com.

About eBridge

Founded in 2002, Louisville-based eBridge provides fully managed business solutions creating efficiencies and streamlining business operations. Leveraging years of experience in purchasing, sourcing and budget management, eBridge Business Solutions’ full suite of services includes purchasing, merchant cards, web based payroll and corporate purchasing cards.

For more information, visit: www.ebridgeglobal.com.

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