Retail Merchant Account

You may have heard something about how a retail merchant account works. Simply, it lets a business or company accept credit payments through a variety of ways instead of taking only cash or checks from their customers. If you own or operate a retail establishment, you may be able to grow your business by opening a retail merchant account.

Benefits of a Retail Merchant account

One benefit to accepting credit card payments from customers is the convenience of their not having to stop at the ATM for cash or remember to bring the checkbook. There is some evidence to suggest that using credit to pay for purchases may encourage customers to buy more than they would when paying with cash or check. They know the additional purchases can be paid on the credit statement when it comes later, so they have the freedom of doing more shopping at your retail establishment now.

Another advantage to opening a retail merchant account is that you may be able to reduce your bookkeeping and accounting operations. There will be less need for printed billing statements and posting of check payments in the ledger. Instead, a credit card payment will be tracked through your merchant account and post very soon after the transaction. This could mean less work and cost for you, with the result of greater income and profit.

You can consider several types of retail merchant account services. For example, processing credit card and debit card transactions is one of the most popular services available today. Many customers expect to charge a purchase, and if your retail store fails to provide this service, they may go elsewhere. Furthermore, they are likely to tell others about their credit shopping experiences, which means you could lose more business from unhappy word-of-mouth comments.

In addition to or instead of credit card processing equipment, you may want to set up a telephone ordering system. Staff members who handle telephone orders can manage this aspect of the business, along with requests for information during set hours. Or you may decide to install an automated telephone ordering system. This can coordinate with a mailer or catalogue so customers can receive product information by mail and then call the company to place an order through an automated response system, either during specific hours of operation or around the clock.

The Next Level

When you're ready to move to the next level of technical sophistication, you may want to consider setting up a retail website to conduct e-commerce. This will let you sell products and services via Internet, and like the telephone system, does not require a staff member in attendance at all times. All you need do is make the website operational, ensure that it is properly updated and maintained, and assign someone to process orders as they come in. Your website could include a variety of options, like product descriptions, price lists, testimonials, and product reviews.

Find out more about opening a retail merchant account by doing an Internet search or checking with your local financial lender.