Sneaky Secrets of Credit Card Processing Companies

Tuesday, December 01 2020

As you might already realize, when it comes to the world of financial transactions, the devil is in the details. You have to stay on top of the fine print, or you may find yourself getting taken for a ride that you didn't sign up for.

Companies always go out of their way to tell you what you want to hear when they are trying to recruit you, so you'll no doubt hear all about their great features, their superior technology, and how low their rates are. However, this doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of other things that they're strategically sweeping under the rug. It's not that they're being dishonest exactly, it's just that they're probably not going to tell you the whole story.

This is especially an issue when you're a smaller enterprise, as you're basically the model victim for tiny, fine print fees since you likely don't have a dedicated legal department. Many processors will attempt to nickel and dime you, and you might quickly realize that the fee schedule that you were shown while you were being sold the merchant account isn't what you're actually being charged.

According to experts at Shaw Merchant Group, there are a few different kinds of hidden fees that a credit card processor can slip into your transactions without your realizing. Sometimes it's so under the radar, that you may go through the life of your account without even realizing that they're there. This is usually perfectly legal, as the fees are likely accounted for in various clauses in your contact—though the processor is probably not too keen on pointing them out until after you've signed up.

Here are some examples:

Withholding a Certain Amount of Money - A lot of the time, especially in high risk accounts, the processor may want to accumulate a certain amount of cash from your transactions as security against charge backs or fraudulent activity. You can basically think of this as a sort of deposit that the credit card company may accumulate without even so much as consulting you about it first.

Withdrawing from Your Checking Account - Sometimes it is convenient to allow a credit card processor to automatically deposit the cash from your credit card sales into your bank account, but this also gives them the power to withdraw money from it too, without necessarily notifying you about it first. This money might be used to cover any fees that you owe them, any penalties, or they may even take money out for the purposes of withholding (as mentioned above). If you like having control over your checking account, obviously this is something of a problem.

Fees for Terminating Your Account Early - For the most part, if you as a merchant have signed a contract with an ISO, you are stuck with them for the life of the contract, unless you want to pay a few hundred dollars to terminate early. This isn't quite so bad, but often it doesn't stop there. You may also have to pay the processor for the fees that they would have collected throughout the rest of the contract, and that obviously can be a hefty sum.

Making You Lease Equipment - A lot of ISO's will push you to lease their equipment, even if it's more expensive in the long run than just simply buying your own. It often will also lock you in with a specific provider, since the length of the lease can last for years and you may not be able to cancel it. This puts you in the position of trying to decide whether you should pay the high price of breaking the lease or simply wait it out until it is over.

Not Offering Interchange Plus - Interchange plus is a less costly way of processing transactions, but many providers will not offer this to you. Make sure that you ask about it beforehand, or you may not be getting your money's worth.

Offering Promises That Are Not in Writing - It's terrible, but sometimes what the sales agent told you while he was trying to get you to close the deal may not agree with what is actually written in the contract. Whether it was an honest mistake or he intentionally misled you, there are often clauses in the contract that specify that the provider will not honor verbal deals of this kind. This is why it's important to read over the contract and not allow yourself to believe anything that an agent tells you if he is not willing to back it up in writing.

Even better, stick to providers and agents that you know you can trust. Shaw Merchant Group, for example, can help you to get in contact with the right people and the right companies that will treat you with dignity and honesty.

Perform your due diligence and research any company that you're planning to do business with as well. It's harder these days than ever for shady companies to not leave evidence of their burned customers, since the world is so connected. Look to see what other merchants have said about the company. Look for reviews or any complaints that other business owners may have made.

Other than that, keep your eyes peeled for certain obvious signs in the contract that you may charged much more than you might have assumed. When you're reading through the paperwork, look for the word “damages” and examine that area particularly closely. Anything that makes you liable for some unspecified amount if you break the contract early is bad news. If you can't ascertain what the price of canceling early will actually be and this sort of language is used, then it's likely to be an astronomical amount. Steer clear of this sort of company.

If you're still confused about who to turn to for your merchant account, or if you're a sales agent who is concerned for your clients' interests and you're looking for an honest processor to partner with, then feel free to get into contact with Shaw Merchant Group.

Download PDF: Sneaky Secrets of Credit Card Processing Companies

Posted by: Scott Shaw AT 07:56 pm | Permalink | Email

ISO Agent Partnership

Become a payment service provider today and take your business to the next level. If you are a sales-oriented individual with vast experience in the world of payment processing or you are a driven and motivated professional looking for a new challenge, the SMG ISO agent program might be a great fit for you. With the highest paying commission structure in the industry, superior products, and sales support, our program will see to it that you are rewarded for your efforts.

For anyone with a sales background or a passion for the payments industry, SMG is the ideal partnership. There are dozens of reasons to become a sales partner with Shaw Merchant Group, but don’t just take our word for it. Here are some of the top reasons that we were given when we asked our ISO agent participants why they chose us and why they continue to work with our highly lucrative program.

Sales Partner Portal

With our industry leading partner portal, you’ll have access to online enrollment, training sessions, marketing materials, and you’ll always be ahead of the game with the latest news and promotions.

Alerts

Stay up-to-date on merchant issues and their resolutions via automated emails and text messages that include a detailed ticket number describing what the merchant’s concern was and how it was resolved.

Registered DBA (White Label)

With our program, you’ll be able to market under your own brand, without paying costly fees! Your brand will be seen on the partner portal, marketing communications, merchant statements, and more.

Free Equipment for Your Merchants

Selling businesses on a new processing plan is much easier when you are able to effortlessly jump over the hurdle of the cost of the equipment. With this program, you can offer your clients free equipment that they will need for their processing provider change. This lowers the barrier to switching and creates a higher conversion rate for you.

Lifetime Passive Income

You will recieve 50–70% of residual income based on the pay structure you select. You will share income on every available revenue stream. With SMG, you get a True Interchange Revenue Split. Unlike other ISO agent programs, there is no basis points off the top for BIN sponsorship or for what they call hidden losses. Our sales partners earn more residual income with our 50/50 partner program than you would with our competition who claim to offer a higher percentage because thier interchange cost (buy rate) is higher.

$20K Performance Bonus

We offer a performance-based fast start bonus that is payable for anyone that onboards more than the standard threshold of clients in the first 4 months. This program is designed to reward those experienced sales members that join our team and quickly learn how to sell this product. The bonus can reach up to $20,000, making it one of the most lucrative and competitive in the industry.

Profitability Based Bonuses

We will look at how much profit is generated on the account after they have been processing for one month and you earn 14 times of the total profit. Example: If we retain $100 in residuals in that month, the bonus would be 14 x $100 or $1,400. You would have already been paid $600, so we would pay you an additional $800 on that account. This bonus is capped at a max of $10,000 per merchant per location. With our dual pricing program it is easier than ever to earn huge bonuses with a 14x profitability bonus. This dual pricing model enables you to maximize your bonus at $10,000 on almost every merchant processing over $90k.

Dual Pricing Program

When you are selling merchant services, one of the best assets of any partner program is more rewards and incentive programs that save your client money. The Edge dual pricing program is one of the hottest new commodities in credit card processing, as it is designed to save the client thousands of dollars in credit card processing cost, instead passing on the fee to the consumer in a way that isn’t damaging to their own conversion rate and revenue. We offer this program to our clients and make it easy to understand and present for our sales partners.

Medical Benefits

With some sales jobs, you don’t even have the option for medical coverage. With the SMG ISO agent program, you’ll have the resources that you need to provide healthcare coverage to you and your family at an affordable rate. We take care of our own, and when you are in our program you will have access to these benefits.

White Label ISO Program

Grow Your Merchant Services ISO with White-Label Payment Solutions

As an independent sales organization (ISO), you can upgrade your business by providing merchant processing services under your own brand. You may dismiss the idea at first, probably thinking that you don’t have the infrastructure or expertise to set up your own payment processing company. However, with white label payment processing, all you really need is a good ISO partner.

How a White Label ISO Program Works

To offer payment processing services under your own brand, your ISO partner will provide you with an online application page that doesn’t identify their company. This “white label” solution is ready for your brand and includes your logo, colors, and contact information, so your merchants only identify the payment solutions with your company. It eliminates any confusion among your merchant customers about who their service provider and primary contact should be. Your brand is the only thing the merchant will see on your website, merchant portal, and marketing materials.

Your payments ISO partner becomes a silent partner, providing technology, payments functionality, and services. This puts you in more control, allowing you to deliver seamless, consistent customer experiences in all interactions – and enhance your brand’s reputation. With this white label payment solution, you won’t need to overcome negative perceptions a prospect may have about the company your working with. This is because you are creating a unique customer experience. Better still, you don't have to fall in line with another company's existing customer experience.

Once you start providing white label payment services, you will also find that you build stronger, longer lasting relationships with your merchants. They'll begin to view you as a payments expert and an expert in the other solutions you provide. You may even find you are able to grow your customer base, as merchants in every vertical or niche can benefit from accepting payments, enabling you to market to more types of businesses.

Remember: white label payment processing enables you to earn huge residual income.

Our White Label Program Will Save You Thousands in Fees

Put your brand on merchant statements and applications — build your brand with your sub-agents and merchants. Full white label payment solution with your logo and branding on applications, statements, online enrollment, merchant and partner portals.

We at Shaw Merchant Group have an awesome white label solution. There is no huge package of documents for you to fill out, no approval process by Visa and Mastercard and the sponsor banks, and best of all no annual dues. Here are some details on the “White Label ISO” program:

Roughly 4–5 weeks to fully set up once we get the signed license document back.
Executed addendum from you saying it’s OK for us to use your brand too.
This program can run on our standard schedule A’s with bonus and free equipment and has no other obligations. from you other than the standard agent agreement.
When we set up the DBA you will have access to EPX/BMO Harris for submitting merchants under your brand.

What do we brand?

Paper Applications
Online Applications (Simplified Enrollment)
Partner.PaymentsHub for your back office.
PaymentsHub for your merchants — It’s generic when your merchant logs in and then show your brand once inside.
Merchant Support Email — TMS (ticket management system) which emails you and your merchant each time we speak with your merchant and shows the proper brand in the notice and as the from address on the email.
Merchant Support Phone — Our call centers answer with a generic “merchant services” then once they have the MID identified, they represent your brand.
Deployment Packages — Generic boxes and welcome docs inside with proper brand.

What we need:

A letter authorizing EPX to register your DBA on your company letterhead.
A high resolution image of your company logo.
A certificate of good standing from the state you are registered in. It may not be called a certificate of 'good standing' in some states.
The ISO Branding request form.