My Personal Merchant Services Blog

I have been in the industry for over 15 years so I have learned in that time a fiar amount about the industry. Currently I am working on a website upgrade that will include a new blog so there have not been many recent updates to this one. The blog itself has useful information on the credit card processing industry that is geared towards merchants but could be useful for a new merchant services representative. Some things that are covered include the programs that we offer, interchange explained, how to calculate an overall effective rate, and our agent programs. If you have any questions about anything do not hesitate to reach out to me at 800.51.TOTAL / 800.518.6825.

Aldelo Full Feature POS

In some cases when you run in to a merchant who has a restaurant or a larger retail operation you will need more features than a tablet based point of sale can offer. I use Aldelo when I run in to this situation. They offer many advantages that lower level systems do not including kitchen displays, fingerprint login, and liquor liquor accountability. If your client needs the extras included with this system it is easy to see how Aldelo can help their business. I have not partnered direct with Aldelo since onsite implementation is required and some technical knowledge. They have representatives all across the country so if you refer your client to them a local Aldelo rep can get them all set. All you need to do is provide them with the VAR sheet and they will implement the processing in to the system.

Aldelo Point of Sale Website: https://www.aldelo.com

Magtek Credit Card Readers

Magtek is in industry leader in magnetic strip readers. They offer products that are compatible with many of the accounts that we offer at Total Merchant Services and other processors. You will find everything from readers for smart phones to USB readers for on computers. Some of the smartphone and tablet readers that are offered can process via Bluetooth and can do EMV cards. They also work in the bio-metric payment industry that has not quite gained a foothold here in the United States but in the future likely will. Not only are they involved in the acquiring side of the business they also work in the issuing side where they offer an instant card kiosk, boasting a 2 minute card ready time.

Magtek Webite: https://www.magtek.com

NCR Silver iPad Based POS

Our Groovv POS is an Android based systems so some merchants are looking for an iOS based solution. NCR Silver is just that. It also has some additional features above our first release Groovv unit as it will allow for multiple registers at one location and back office centralization of a multi MID merchant. The website provides more details on the system that they offer along with resources on the operation for merchants who have a unit. They also work with a wide variety of different processors while offering concierge services for easy and fast implementation. As a field agent they offer a lucrative partnership program that offers bonuses on each account along with an ongoing residual stream once a threshold of total accounts is surpassed.

NCR Silver Website: https://www.ncrsilver.com
Merchant Resources: https://www.ncrsilver.com/small-business-smarts/

Authorize.net

Authorize.net is not the only online gateway out there but it is one of the easiest to set up and use. Their site offers merchants information on the gateway that they offer along with their mobile application. You can also access the gateway to process transactions or review the vast amount of developer information for advanced API integration. Authorize.net is supported by many shopping carts, gateways, and Ebay with a simple API integration using the transaction key and API. Agents can use the resources offered to educated themselves on the many possibilities of Authorize.net so that they have more resources to offer the best merchant solution for the client. If your processor does not offer Authorize.net you can partner direct to earn commissions off of the gateway fees. Total Merchant Services has been with Authorize.net for a very long time so we have a very low buy-rate with the ability to earn off of the gateway fee and gateway per item if you choose to charge one.

Main Site: http://www.authorize.net/
Re-Sellers: http://www.authorize.net/partners/affiliate/
Developers: http://developer.authorize.net/

Certified Payment Professional

The Electronic Transaction Association offers a Certified Payment Professional program. This is a program that is designed to educate payment professionals in the payment industry. They offer a study guide so that you can brush up on your skills before going to a testing site to pass the exam. The exam cost $350 for ETA members and $450 for non-members. This certification can help set you apart from the many low level representatives in the industry leading to more deals and more commissions. The ETA, for those who do not know, is an association committed to advocacy and professional development in the credit card processing industry. They hold an annual conference in Las Vegas that is also a great idea to attend to expand you knowledge and meet others in the industry.

http://www.electran.org/certification/

American Express Merchant Resources

American Express offers a vast amount of information geared towards merchants. Some items that they include are specifics on accepting American Express cards, federal regulations, and much more. You could use this page to educate yourself on American Express acceptance along with other more diverse items like fraud prevention. American Express has 3 types of processing services. They offer processing direct along with through a processor at the same cost. Total Merchant Services can get special American Express pricing since they are a full Amex acquirer. This allow us to save merchants who process less than 1 million a year in American Express to lower the costs on the processing.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/merchant/support-services.html

Valutec Gift Card Solutions

Gift cards are a great way to add loyalty to your merchants. What a great way to help a merchant out when you can connect them to a service that will allow them to increase their business by offering their customers gift cards, promotional cards, and loyalty cards. Valutec has a great program that offers standard or custom cards to merchants to help build customer loyalty while gaining new customers with gift, loyalty, and promo cards. They also offer a lucrative commission structure so that you can earn more per merchant making your book of merchants more diverse and stable. I have been partnered with Valutec for many years and have yet to find a gift card program that has the flexibility that they offer. They can integrate in to terminals, POS systems, and even offer a virtual terminal to fit special merchant situations.

https://www.valutec.net/

Verifone Terminal Manufactures Page

Verifone is one of the most well known credit card terminal manufacture in the industry. They were founded in 1981 when the card payment industry was still just getting headway in the US markets. They have many terminals that they have released in the years since and have become a leader world-wide with payment terminals. Total Merchant Services now offers the Verifone vx520 as an alternative placement to the Ingenico unit for a counter-top solution.Verifone also covers the many industries that they provide equipment for that you can use to educate yourself of the possibilities they offer.

You can visit Verifone's site here.

Click on the below image of the Verifone vx520 to access the datasheet.

Verfone vx520

Ingenico Terminal Manufactures Page

Ingenico is one of the fastest growing terminal manufactures in the industry today. They offer a wide range of credit card terminals. Their page has detailed information on the terminals that they offer including the functions and features of each. Total Merchant Services offers both the Ingenico iCT220 and the iWL255 terminals. You can find detailed information on the terminals so that when you are talking with a merchant you can educated them on the extensive features that benefit thier business.

Click on a terminal image for more information on a specific unit:

Ingenico iCT 220

Ingenico iWL Series

Card Machine Outlet

If you are setting merchants up to process credit cards you will likely run in to a time or two where you will need to buy equipment. Even if you are placing terminals with Total Merchant Services free terminal programs you many need additional terminals and the merchant would rather purchase them than rent. Card Machine Outlet has a wide selection of credit card terminals that all come with a 1 year manufacture warranty. They also have discounts when you purchase more than 10 units at once so that you can stock up and resell at a profit.

http://www.cardmachineoutlet.com/

Merchant University

This resource has some limited information on the credit card processing industry. It would be a good resource for a person who is very new to the business and it just getting started. They accurately cover most all of the basics of the industry. They have some certification classes that the site appears to offer but where is says to click does not work. Even though they may no longer be offering any certifications they still have the basics outlined in the 101 education section of the page. If you are already a seasoned agent you many wan to skip over this one.

To access the page visit:
http://www.merchantuniversity.org

CCSalesPro Podcasts

This is a great resource for someone who is just starting out in the credit card processing industry. There is a large list of podcasts that are available to help with sales. This is an educational podcast that can help with how your are going about sales. Any sales job can be very hard to get motivated and stay on track when things are slow. In the podcasts you will learn things that will help you become a better merchant level sales agent.

To access the podcasts visit:
http://poddirectory.com/episode/7454411/3-enemies-of-sales-success

Groovv POS Video

This is a video that outlines the Groovv POS. Groovv is a powerfully simple point of sale that is a great fit for small businesses including retail shops, small restaurants, salons, and many other merchants. Inventory can be added in to the cloud based back office to make managing a small business much easier than with a traditional cash register. With integrated credit card processing you can keep track of all of your sales and inventory with one simple system. Check out this video on the Groovv POS.

You can see all of the video resources for Groovv here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/GroovvChannel

There you can find tutorial videos that help merchants get started with their Groovv unit.

My Total Merchant Services Page

How could I write a bunch of posts about the credit card processing industry without including my own merchant services page? I can't! Here you can see almost everything that Total Merchant Services has to offer their merchants with great detail on each type of accounts offered and their benefits. The page, like many pages on the internet is a work in progress. All of the free terminal programs are outlined including the retail Ingenico iCT220, the wireless Ingenico iWL255, the Groovv POS system and its configurations, and Authorize.net the online payment gateway we primarily offer.

Visit this page at: http://www.totalmerchantservices.pro/

Visa Merchant Resource Library

The Visa Merchant Resource Library is a wonderful resource for agents and merchants. This is a blog that covers many merchant issues and give suggestions on how things from preventing fraud to best practices. As an agent you can educate yourself so that you can go in to talk with a merchant providing useful information rather than trying to sell them something. Everyone is more receptive to learn how they can improve their business and you will set yourself ahead of the 100's of calls they are getting on a daily basis to lower costs or place free equipment.

Total Merchant Services Agent Program

Total Merchant Services offers a very lucrative program for any level merchant sales representative. With up to $1,000 bonus per account and up to 70% split all while providing free equipment it is easy to see why partnering with Total is an easy choice. Total also has free terminal programs including the Ingenico iCT220, Verifone Vx520, Ingenico iWL255, Groovv POS, and Authorize.net virtual terminals. If you would like to talk more about becoming an agent for Total Merchant Services give me a call at 800.518.6825. The below site will show you everything about our program. Once you are ready to get started give me a call and I can get you a Sales Representative Agreement.

Visit http://www.totalpartnership.com/ for a full overview of our partner program and it's benefits.

Discover Interchange Rates

Discover no longer gives general access to their processing costs. You have to have permission with an access code to get the most recent tables. You would likley be abel to obtain a copy from your current processing company you are working with. To give you an idea of what they look like you can download a copy of the interchange table from 2012.

Click here to download the old copy of Discover's interchange tables.

MasterCard Interchange Rates

Just like Visa MasterCard also has base costs for processing credit cards. This is the MasterCard interchange tables showing the cost to the processor for processing MasterCard brand credit cards. The cost is formulated as a percentage and a per item cost for each. With several pages of different cards it can sometimes be challenging to match up the card cost to the merchants processing statement. Some processing companies lay out their statements in a way that makes this nearly impossible.

Click here to download a copy of MasterCard's interchange tables.

Visa Interchange Cost

Visa is one of the largest card issuers in the world. Here you can find the most recent Visa Interchange tables showing the cost to the processor for each card type. You can see that there are many cards and the rates start at 0.05% and go up to a 2.95% cost. There is also a per item cost on each card type that is generally $0.10 for credit and $0.21 for debit. Many merchants do not completely understand interchange fees and educating them can give you a foot in the door but first you need to learn them for yourself.

Click here to access the interchange tables for Visa in PDF format.