Pricing Secrets
Word To The Wise! - When it comes to merchant service accounts, what you don't know can and will hurt you..
Is there such a thing as an honest pricing company?
The game is stacked against you behind the scenes through the
creative pricing schemes of the processing companies.
If
you accept plastic for goods or services – you are painfully aware of card
processing fees. Although you are probably well aware of this business
expense when you open your statement each month, it is difficult, if not
downright impossible to accrue the best deal if you do not understand
your merchant service provider’s costs and the structure by which the
fees are accrued .
Interchange-Plus Pricing: Making the Smart Choice for your Business
When choosing a merchant service provider, ask yourself these two important questions.
- What are my processor’s costs in doing business; in other words, what makes up the processing company's overhead?
- How are they making money on my processing account?
Truly ethical MSPs will offer their customers “Interchange-Plus”
Pricing; this fully transparent pricing method involves
taking the “real cost” charged on each card type (the Interchange
rate), plus the MSP’s associated additional costs in processing the
transactions, plus a “set profit margin” negotiated between the
merchant and the merchant service provider. (Do
your homework. Many processors claim to provide Interchange Plus
pricing and it’s not really Interchange Plus pricing.)
Why would this pricing scheme be less expensive? Most
processing organizations hide a great deal of margin within the
various pricing schemes that they utilize. There are literally hundreds of
different pricing schemes out there that processors will use to hide
margin within a processing account. In a true Interchange Plus pricing
model the costs of processing are disclosed for the eye to see;
including, Interchange and Association costs. The processor or
MSP then has to work with the discount % (percent over Interchange or
Pass-Thru) a monthly access fee and communication costs to drive
margin.
Don't be misled. Historically speaking, larger companies have been the only ones to
benefit
from Interchange Plus pricing. Don’t be misled by the
assumption of many that the Interchange Pricing model is reserved ONLY
for large companies like national retailers. Small businesses can also
benefit. It’s just a matter of locating a merchant service provider
that will work with you.
Key Differentiators
If you want to get a
new merchant account or switch from your existing provider, one
thing is for sure: there is no shortage of
companies that are
anxious to earn your business. You can find merchant service
providers by looking in the yellow pages, searching online,
talking to your bank, or just waiting for the next sales person
to either call you or walk into your business (which shouldn’t
be long). The key is choosing the RIGHT provider and processing
tools for your business .
Why should I trust Fluxcom to manage my processing needs?
When you have a question regarding the law, you call an attorney and when the engine in your car stops working, you more than likely call a mechanic. The first thing that’s important to understand when it comes to electronic payments processing is that not all merchant service providers are made equal. What might be a good processing company for one business may not be a good fit for another business. Fluxcom is able to provide your business with a non-bias needs analysis by truly listening to you and learning about your business. We will then use our expertise to guide you through the various processing solutions available and we will discuss with you the processing providers by which we feel are the most economical choices for your business and that will fulfill your unique processing requirements.
Service
All processing companies provide technical support. The services that set Fluxcom apart from the other companies that you have worked with in the past are: on-going industry consultation, including; multi-stage growth strategies, interchange fee management & reporting, chargeback (dispute) management /&/ support services and real-time customizable transaction reporting (both automated & exportable).
How does Fluxcom make money?
Fluxcom is paid directly from the multiple processing
organizations by which we have agreements with. Every merchant account
has margin built in the pricing for the sales force (regardless of whom
is doing the processing). This includes the processing company’s HR
expenses, such as the cost to hire, train and maintain a sales team. In
addition there is the cost to provide adequate compensation and benefits
for a rather extensive sales management structure and of course the cost
necessary to motivate the sales agent through paying generous
commissions.
Fluxcom is able to offer ultra competitive pricing to our
customers due to our lack of sales department over-head and our
unique agreements with several of the largest and most competent
processing organizations in the industry. In short, our clients
are able to obtain a relationship directly with the processing
organization of their choice without the costly expense of
paying the processor’s multilevel direct sales force. Fluxcom
finds the most economical and value driven processing company to
meet our client’s needs and then we facilitate and manage the
relationship to ensure the processing company stays honest and
to make sure that our client is receiving the highest level of
service available.