There are a couple of 'comparative' sites out there. Try www.startupnation.com.They have one of those sites like the mortgage site where you compare several merchant processing sites.
Before going this route, understand what these sites are, and what they are
not. Primarily, they are
competitive MARKETING sites just like PPC (pay per click), not to be confused with inpartial consulting sites. Advertisers (in this case merchant account providers) troll for prospects, and they pay the site provider probably in the range of $18-30 or more per 'click'. So basically, what you are comparing is many different obviously biased sales pitches, not impartial recommendations.
The flaw in 'comparing programs in this manner is: There is no such thing as a one-size-fits all credit card processing program. The program that is best for you is the one that fits YOUR needs TODAY...not your needs 2 years ago or 2 years into the future, and not the guy across the street. For example
In what qualification Interchage bucket will most of _you_r transacting volume fall into: Qualified, mid-qualified, or non-qualified? Getting a great qualified rate is is great if most of your volume falls into qualified interchange, but it's worthless if 60% of your volume will get charged at mid-qualfied. And yes, less than you think (if any) of your transactions will fall into what Visa and MC now define as 'qualified'.
What is your cash flow situation. Would you profit by paying a few basis points higher for monthly discounting instead of daily discounting?
How do you do business? Lots of refunds and returns, or none? Would you profit by accepting a little higher discount rate for gross processing instead of net processing?
Is the program you are considering a low-ball bid? Will it increase shortly. If so, by how much?
What are the tip-offs?
Do you understand the difference between qual-mid-and non? Monthly vs daily discounting? Gross vs net processing? Do you understand the concept of Interchange? Pass-through pricing? And a thousand other
aspects of credit card processing? If the answer to any of the above is 'NO', then propping up several competing processing plans on a screen and comparing side-by-side probably on the basis of 'rate' is the biggest and costliest mistake you'll ever make.
For a glossary of the terms and explanation of the concepts mentioned above, please consult our free
informational website, particularly the 'glossary' page:
www.MerchantServices-help.com
AMSPCS
Moral of story: All merchants are different in important respects, and so are all processing programs. No such thing as 'one size fits all'.
