Credit card percentages?

The credit card company I use will not budge off of their minimum montly requirements.

I usually fall short of that, and as a result, they bump up their fee to me to the minimum monthly charge.

Does anyone use a credit card company that doesn't do this? Or is this standard practice within the credit card industry?

Thanks.

not all credit card companies demand a minimum. the ones that don't usually charge a higher %. You should be getting a discounted rate(low 2's or below) for having a minimum. If you are getting a good rate, then yes, a minimum makes sense.

it does make sense to shop around and see who offers what(and what features go along with that).

Like most things....you'll find that the cheapest is not always the best for what you are looking for.

But also check on things like customer service, refunding, access to your customers info when needed.

Scott:

In another thread, weren't you praising the company you use? Are they just a local bank or do they have national capabilities?

The reason for the minimum is that the passthrough at Visa and Mastercard for you to conduct your transactions cost your merchant account a monthly fee.

Some merchant accounts charge a higher percentage, because on an average, they make more this way, enough to cover the fees by default.

Either way, there is a cost involved in taking credit cards. However, if you use them properly in your marketing, it can be well worth the small cost involved.

I hope that this helps.

It helps alot, but right now, I'm not making enough in sales to not have to pay the min. charge.

Bubble Parties sales look like they're going to be seasonal, in the late winter and spring, as DJs start to look ahead to the upcoming summer season.

We're already into July, it would be tough for someone to just get the business plan now and have the proper time to implement it.

Plus, I really have limited income at the moment. I took a huge income hit when I lost my DJ business. Having an incurable and debillitating heart condition is a bitch.

Anyway, what about PayPal? Is it reliable? Min. monthly fees? Does anyone have any notable experiences with it, either good or bad?

Thanks! :thumbsup:

I've been using PayPal as my only payment processor for sometime now. It's been very reliable, no monthly fee, plus you can get a PayPal debit card which gives you immediate access to the money any time you need it. If the card is used to make purchases, there are no fees associated with using it.

http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-fees-outside

It works great for me, than again I don't do a lot of CC transactions.

John,

You may wish to look at debit cards as well. These things are issued by your bank and carry the Visa definitions. They'll do for credit or debit, your choice.

For my part, I have never owned a credit card. Nope, not a single one. My Visa debit card does all I need. As long as I keep a minimum bank balance there are no fees. :)

Be VETY careful with Paypal.

Paypal has NO seller protection for services. Bottom line... If you are selling a service, and your customer EVER wants their money back, they get it. 100% of the time. You dont even get to tell your side.

Good point about the service refund. What's anyone's experience been with selling product?

Scott:

In another thread, weren't you praising the company you use? Are they just a local bank or do they have national capabilities?

national capabilities.
http://sales.payjunction.com/shanna

can take credit cards via your website, over the phone, process on your cell phone, or process cards on payjunction's website. All customer info stored securely so if you need to look them up to charge them again...or credit them....or set up multiple payments....its very easy. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE

There is truly the perfect credit card system for mobile DJ's. But john, there is a monthly fee for all of this. It's $25 a month....very worth it if you are doing enough transactions.....but probably not if you are only doing a few.

Anyway, what about PayPal? Is it reliable? Min. monthly fees? Does anyone have any notable experiences with it, either good or bad?


i used paypal for a year. Wasn't bad...i liked not having monthly fees...but with them charging 3.9%, the charges added up fast.

the other things i didn't like about it was if someone gave me their credit card info and i went to put their info in....i needed their paypal password if that card was assigned to a paypal account. Didn't happen often, but enough to make it annoying. And Customer service was not helpful.

If i only processed a few credit cards a month, i'd use them again.