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Merchant Services and Credit Card Processing

Credit Card Authorization Explained

Oct 14, 2023

Credit Card Authorization Explained Credit card authorization is required for every credit and debit card purchase. So if you’re a business that accepts credit cards or a consumer that uses credit cards to make purchases, you’ve been involved in the credit card...

Most Common Interchange Downgrades

Oct 9, 2023

Most Common Interchange Downgrades If your business accepts credit cards, you probably have a basic understanding of interchange fees and rates. Interchange rates are set by the credit card companies. The fees are based on the category of each transaction, which is...

What is Interchange Plus Pricing?

Oct 5, 2023

What is Interchange Plus Pricing? Interchange plus pricing is commonly used by credit card processors to determine the per-transaction rates paid by merchants. But it’s just one of several different contract structures that businesses might be presented with when...

Card Present vs. Card Not Present Transactions

Sep 19, 2023

Card Present vs. Card Not Present Transactions On the surface, the difference between “card-present” transactions and “card-not-present” transactions may seem obvious—the card was either present when the payment was processed or it was not. But the differences...

ACH Return Codes Explained

Sep 18, 2023

ACH Return Codes Explained ACH return codes identify why the bank or ACH operator returned an ACH payment. Every ACH code begins with the letter “R” followed by a two-digit number—such as R07 or R09. With ACH return codes, it’s easier for financial institutions to...

Payment Processing Industry News – September 2023

Sep 17, 2023

Payment Processing Industry News - September 2023 In addition to helping businesses save money on credit card processing, the Merchant Cost Consulting team is always keeping a close eye on everything in the payments world. From rate changes to new fees, technology...

Text to Pay SMS Payments – Ultimate Guide

Sep 16, 2023

Text to Pay SMS Payments - Ultimate Guide Text payments have been gaining traction for quite some time now. But the trend has skyrocketed in the past few years. Businesses across all industries have recognized the importance of touchless payments for credit card...

How to Accept Credit Card Payments Over the Phone

Sep 15, 2023

How to Accept Credit Card Payments Over the Phone I’ve recently encountered many business owners facing the same problem—they don’t know how to accept credit card payments over the phone. Some of these organizations improperly take phone payments, leading to higher...

How Refunds Impact Credit Card Processing Fees

Sep 13, 2023

How Refunds Impact Credit Card Processing Fees (Interchange Refunds) No business wants to issue a refund. This event means that something went wrong with a customer. Unfortunately, refunds are just part of doing business. They’re usually inevitable and nearly...

What is a Merchant ID?

Sep 12, 2023

What is a Merchant ID? Many terms in the credit card processing industry are fairly obvious. Others aren’t so clear. “Merchant ID” tends to fall somewhere in the middle. It’s clearly an identifier, but many businesses aren’t sure what it identifies or why it matters....