Many businesses put themselves at unnecessary risk. Without realizing what it means, business owners tend to rely exclusively on a single provider for their credit card processors. This reliance can potentially lead to hazards that impact your business’s ability to function if you take a gamble on the wrong processor and end up being left hanging. Fortunately, there’s a way to navigate this hurdle: work with multiple payment processors to handle your merchant accounts. Below, we examine the five most important ways that you benefit from using more than one processor.
Ensure You Get Your Funds
Anyone can get behind the first two reasons without needing more convincing than that they’re related to getting you your money faster. First, some payment processors have limits on payouts, which means you can only get so much of your money within a specified timeframe. If you consistently outsell those limits, then you are left in the uncomfortable position of not having access to money that you have rightly earned.
Another limitation is that some payment processors take issue with a merchant using multiple websites or storefronts to sell their products. If you make the attempt, your payment processor could decline your service and prevent you from doing business in the first place. Using a separate merchant account benefits you by allowing multiple websites without increasing the risk of service cancellation.
Protect Your Business from the Unpredictable
Too many businesses leave themselves exposed to unexpected risks. No matter how unreasonable it may seem, your ability to process payments is not guaranteed, even by a contract. If your processor makes a mistake or decides that you have breached your contract terms, you will be unable to process payments while you appeal their decision. One way that this could occur is if you experience multiple chargebacks on your account. Credit card processors would view these chargebacks as significant risks, even if you fulfilled your responsibilities as a merchant. When you have multiple accounts, it is less likely that you’ll receive many chargebacks on an individual account, thereby decreasing the risk that the payment processor will respond negatively.
A second reason related to this one is that your payment processor is unpredictable. It may opt not to renew your contract when you expected it to do so. If your account is designated as “high-risk”, the processor may also build escape clauses into the contract, meaning that it can cancel the contract even in the middle of the term. Naturally, working with an additional company helps you to develop effective payment processing solutions.
Convenience for Your Customers
The last reason is undoubtedly an important one because it centers on your customers. Without them, your business could not function, so you need to ensure that your payment processors provide solutions that help you serve your customers. Some payment processors accept nearly every credit card but provide inferior online merchant support. Alternatively, other payment processors offer excellent support for online transactions but neglect to carry that support over to the full suite of traditional credit card brands.
If you want to ensure that your customers have the most flexible options when purchasing products from you, then you should work with multiple processors. Much like you individually have different credit cards that offer bonuses for various transactions, you can look at your payment processors as having that same kind of distinction. As a bonus, you can link specific payment methods to the processors that charge you the least fees for that transaction type. The money that you save can help you keep your costs low and thus maintain lower prices for your customers.
Take an Important but Often Overlooked Step to Help Your Business Succeed
In the past, it was challenging to work with multiple payment processors. The hassle of working with even a single one was time-consuming enough to prevent merchants from seeking out more complex solutions. As the relevant technologies have improved, however, it’s now easier to find the right payment processors for your needs. This ease includes the process of working with more than one company and organizing your business to use its services effectively.
Premier One is a high-quality payment processor that works with many businesses that other processors consider “high-risk”. We’ll consider your status fairly and work with you to provide equitable, profitable payment processing solutions that help your business succeed. After all, we only make money when you’re making sales, so it’s in our best interests to make it as easy as possible for you to generate the revenue you need. When you work with us as one of your payment processors, it becomes much easier to manage your credit card payments and online store merchant accounts. Speak to one of our team members to learn more about how we can help you succeed.