Adam Abernethy asked:




When choosing an credit card processing agent several aspects should be considered in addition to the cost. There are many off line and online merchant account sources to choose from. You should consider what they have to offer and how they help serve your specific needs.

One of the best places to start your research is by determining which credit or debit cards you wish to accept. American Express and Discover give you the option of applying directly, but MasterCard and Visa require that you establish service through one of their sales channels.

As an example, the place you now bank most likely offers merchant services and may be the easiest way to start your credit card payment processor shopping. Often times merchant service are offered in bundles with merchant products that you may not need or use. It’s worth looking into a banks packaged services, but you may want your merchant account a la carte.

There are many independent sales organizations that sell merchant accounts, credit card swipe machines and even software for online credit card processing. The ISO’s don’t actually process payments, that’s done through a third party. That third party could be your local bank or a banking institution out of state.

Your local Chamber of Commerce or other networking groups may be a good resource for referrals to find a reliable merchant or card services company. Ask other business people you know for their recommendations and specifically, colleagues in the same industry can be particularly helpful. Restaurants, car dealers and doctors all have different needs when it comes to accepting credit, debit and gift cards in the shop, office or online. Someone in the same industry as you may have found a good solution for your needs, even if you are just now discovering what those needs are.

Possibly even more important than slight variations on costs and price is an organization’s customer service. Remember a credit card merchant account is like any other business bank account and when you need help or clarification, time is money. If the company offers referrals, call them and ask how easy or difficult is it to get through to customer service and inquire about how the fair thepayment processor is when dealing with disputed charges or charge backs.

Some service providers, especially web based payment processors may charge for customer service or different levels of customer service on a monthly or even per occurrence basis. Some companies can be reached at all hours even on weekends and some service departments are only open during normal business hours. Consider when you do most of your sales transactions and let that be your guide. Also online, internet help may be offered in addition to phone support.

My last piece of advice is to make sure you are doing business with a reputable company. In the case of Visa and Master Card you are relying on the processor to handle your money and make sure you get paid in a timely manner. Checking the Better Business Bureau and online checking of possible complaints only takes a few minutes and can that information in the long run could be …”priceless”.

Anita

Max Anderson asked:




Not all banks who offer secured credit cards advertise the fact. Because of this, you may find yourself applying for numerous unsecured credit cards before you come across a secured credit card application.

This can result in numerous inquiries on your credit report and a decrease in your credit rating (which is part of what got you here in the first place)!

If you want to find the banks who offer secured credit cards without going through all of the hassle normally associated with doing so, follow these seven tips:

1. Be Realistic

The first thing you need to do when looking for banks who offer secured credit cards is be realistic about what you’re going to qualify for.

Don’t apply for an American Express or a Diner’s Club card thinking they’ll offer you a secured credit card if you don’t qualify. As a rule, upper-crust credit card companies do not offer secured credit cards.

2. Utilize the Web

When it comes to searching for banks who offer secured credit cards, the Web is your very best friend. There are informational websites that offer a wealth of knowledge on secured credit cards and they can even direct you to sites that allow you to apply for secured credit cards online.

3. Target Your Search

Rather than haphazardly filling out credit card applications hoping to run into a secured credit card opportunity, look specifically for secured credit card applications to fill out.

The banks who offer secured credit cards do want your business and they aren’t really hiding from you. Search for secured credit card applications and you’re likely to find just that.

4. If It Sounds Too Good To Be True…

As with any credit card offer, if you run into a secured credit card offer that sounds too good to be true, proceed with caution.

Some of the banks who offer secured credit cards really don’t have your best interests in mind. That is why it is important to deal only with reputable credit card companies.

5. Understand the Differences

When looking for banks who offer secured credit cards, make sure you understand that not all of them are created equal. Some will charge higher fees, while others will charge higher interest rates.

Before applying for any single secured credit card, evaluate the costs of that card and make sure it’s the card that will best meet your personal needs.

6. Don’t Pay Anything Up Front

Never, ever deal with the credit card companies that ask you to send them cash up front. Nine and a half times out of ten they are a scam.

A legitimate secured credit card company will charge any applicable fees to your new credit card account, allowing you to pay them off after the card is in your hands — not before.

7. Easy Does It

Keep in mind the golden rule — less is definitely more. Too many credit card applications equals too many credit inquires. Just because you find ten banks who offer secured credit cards, it doesn’t mean you have to apply for all ten of them.

By following these seven steps, not only will you be able to find the banks who offer secured credit cards, but you’ll be able to tell the good from the bad in seconds flat.

Kim

dirtrider asked:


if i go to walmart and get a green dot card can i use it online because the website says it only accepts visa,master card,discover and american express..would a green dot card go under one of those?

Dean

Raul T. Cruz asked:




I can still remember seven years ago when I applied for an American Express card online. It took more than one month for me to get approved. Nowadays it’s a lot different. With instant approval, you usually receive notice via email of your acceptance within seconds of completing an online card application. If you have a good to excellent credit record you can even get an easy approval credit card with guaranteed 10,000 limit or an easy instant approval student card, but what happens if have a bad credit score? Are you doomed to pay all your purchases in cash? Certainly not so don’t despair.

The first alternative for people with bad credit score is to get a “secure card.” There are some major card issuers which requires applicants to make a deposit or what we call “secure cards.” If you have a bad paying history, the most logical thing to do is save a little money to be used later on to “pre pay” a card. A secure card is a no credit card because the amount you can charge against the card is determined by the amount of your deposit. If you deposit, for example, $5,000, then you can charge up to $5,000 only. Hence, there is no actual “credit” being extended. Typically, these cards are marketed as no credit credit cards because of the fast, easy instant card approval.

The second alternative is to search for a “bad credit credit plastic” and find an easy approval unsecured credit, but they should try to resolve their bad credit issues and prevent further damage to their credit score.

While there are plenty of bad credit credit plastic choices available, they can do more harm than good if not used wisely. This is one way for a consumer to repair his damaged reputation by making up to date payments on his bad card and eventually upgrading to the real credit card in the future. And also a bad card charges a higher interest rate because of the increased risk to the issuer.

The third option is to apply for a debit card. Debit cards are cards that can be used depending on how much money the user transfers to the specific card. Consequently, the risk of running up credit card debt is nil. There are also no finance charges to contend with, only minimal fees for application, start-up and ATM card.

Credit cards for bad credit score were designed to rebuild credit that had been damaged. For those with no credit or poor credit there are secured credit cards, bad credit credit cards and debit cards but there are also unsecured cards that can be used for this purpose. These cards generally come with low credit lines (around $300) and additional fees. This kind of card will not allow you to on shopping sprees but it will certainly help you restore your damaged credit history. If you’re disciplined and pay all your bills on time you can ask for a credit increase after a while with an end goal of upgrading to an easy approval credit card with guaranteed 10,000 limit. Isn’t that wonderful? But in the meantime let’s concern ourselves with finding easy approval credit card applications with bad credit score.

Peter

Ahab asked:


I just applied for an american express online and I was declined. I was thinking I’d apply for citi card right away. With the american express declined seconds ago, will this affect their decision in approving me the credit card?

MAJOR

Jeff Weber asked:


Five years ago, a consumer could apply for a credit card and receive not only confirmation of approval, but also the card’s 16 digit number and expiration date in a matter of minutes. Getting a credit card online was truly an instant process. And an easy one. Especially for identity thieves, who could max out a person’s virtual credit card before the actual plastic arrived in the unsuspecting consumer’s mailbox. Problems such as these ultimately led to the phasing out of instant online credit cards.

At present, American Express® offers 60 second decisions upon submission of an online application. If approved, the consumer is given notice of his or her status, not their numbers. If the consumer does not immediately qualify for online approval, then notification of approval or denial is sent via mail. Consumers with good to excellent credit looking for an instant credit card, therefore, should consider American Express® credit cards.

Most credit card issuers generally take anywhere from five to seven business days before reaching an approval decision and getting the plastic in the mail. With some companies, consumers can expect to wait as long as 30 days. Clearly, the days of the instant credit card are gone.

Individuals without excellent credit that are in a rush to get a new credit card can now expect to wait at least five business days to get the card they applied for. Having good credit facilitates and expedites the decision process. However, those with average and borderline credit scores are often left in credit decision purgatory.

So what should one do if they truly need an “instant credit card”? One solution is to consider applying for credit cards from different issuing banks. Since each bank varies in its application processing time and approval criteria, applying for credit cards from different companies can expedite the process of obtaining an “instant credit card,” while also providing an opportunity to make a more informed decision on which credit card to accept and use over the long term.

Perhaps the end of the guaranteed instant online approval era of credit cards is not such a bad thing. The more stringent and time consuming application process currently in place provides consumers and credit card companies immeasurably better protection against identity theft. It also gives the consumer time to evaluate the interest rates and rewards offered by the instant credit cards they apply for and make better decisions about which credit card to use.



BRADLEY

caleb b asked:


Apply online credit card from American express credit card company is right decision or not? What sort of things does American Express look at when applying for a card, especially for business?

RANDALL

Roger Powers asked:


Credit card number validation is essential to determining a valid transaction.  Because merchant account fees are so high, verifying a credit card number before submitting it to the processor can save time and money.

Did you know that even for a declined credit card assesses a transaction fee, and often an AVS fee and WATS fee, and other charges that could total between $.30 and $1 each.

Some declined cards can be weeded out using credit card validation at your site, or through a free online credit card verification tool.  Taking bad card numbers out of the picture will drop your declined card rate, and save on fees.

Some merchant providers look closely at the declined card rate when evaluating your discount rate or transaction fees.  A high rate of decline could mean a rise in fees.  By managing bad card numbers, you take one factor out of the loop.

Many online shopping carts and order forms already have a credit card validation routine built in to them.  If you have one that does not, use the readily available JAVA scrips that utilize the card number verification algorithm to eliminate bad card number declines from your merchant record.

You can build in a validation routine for MasterCard validation, Visa card number verification, American Express card validation and Discover verification.  When the number is validated, simply pass the transaction to the merchant provider.  If the number is not validated, you can display a message before the transaction even proceeds to alert the end user that the credit card number entered is invalid.

You can add additional validation by screening the Bank Identification Number [BIN], which is the first 6 digits of any credit card number.  The BIN will tell if the card is debit or credit, what type, what bank issued it and what country it is from.

 

 



DARYL