Credit Cards

By Thomas Morva

Nowadays, almost all establishments accept credit card payments. This is because many consumers make their purchases using their credit cards, and establishments who do not accept credit card payments risks losing potential sales. Given this, it is then essential for any company that intends to sell products in the market to make sure that their stores can accept credit payments. There’s good news, though! Today, accepting credit cards is usually a fairly easy process because companies can gain access to the tools that they need to be able to process credit card payments from a number of sources.

Setting up a merchant account

The first step in accepting credit cards is setting up a merchant account. This will involve locating the right merchant account provider or credit card processor. Many businesses do this through the banks where they do their business banking. However, not all banks provide credit card processing services.

A good source of information is any trade associations that a business belongs to, which may have negotiated rates with a certain credit card processor that the business could contact. Another good source of leads is from other businesses that already accept credit card payments. On the other hand, given that most processors aggressively pursue clients especially start up companies, it is most likely that these processors will contact new business owners and offer them their services.

In deciding on which credit card processor to use, it is a good idea to employ canvassing strategies, which includes interviewing each credit processor and asking them questions that can help business owners pick the right processor. Some of these questions include asking them about their fees, their rates, and other services that they provide their clients. After which, business owners then should analyze which processor can give them the best deal for the credit card processing services that they are offering.

Nowadays, no business establishment should be without credit card processing capabilities. This is because given that most people make many of their purchases using their credit cards, establishments that do not accept credit card payments risk losing a significant number of sales. The good news is that today, the tools that businesses need to be able to accept credit card payments, which includes merchant accounts, are easily accessible, as there are a large number of companies that provide credit card processing services.

Credit Card Processing provides detailed information on Credit Card Processing, Online Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Software, Wireless Credit Card Processing and more. Credit Card Processing is affiliated with Wireless Credit Card Terminals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Morva

Posted by Orce Dimitrov at 3:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

By Daryl Flagg

Everyone hates late fees and being late will cost you dearly these days. For some credit cards today, if you are late, you will have to shell out as much as $40 each time. This can put a nice sized hole in your pocket really quick.

Below, I will provide you with some tips and strategies on how to steer clear of those monstrous late fees. This will not only save you a lot of money in the long run, but it will also keep those money-hungry credit card companies, I won’t mention any names, from getting your hard earned money.

Just pay your bill. One of the easiest ways of avoiding a late fee is to just pay your bill each and every month by sending in a check, money order, or other type of payment to your respective credit card issuer. Just make sure you follow the numerous guidelines, which are usually outlined on the back of each credit card bill, on how to send in your payment. These guidelines must be followed precisely if you want to guarantee that your payment will go through on time.

Payment guidelines may include everything from a specific payment address to the time of day by which the payment must be received to be credited that day. Many issuers also stipulate that payments must arrive in the preprinted envelope sent to the customer.

While the Fair Credit Billing Act requires issuers to credit payments the day they are received, each issuer is allowed to set specific payment guidelines. If any of the guidelines are not met, the issuer can take as many as five days to credit the payment.

An on-time payment could easily become late during that five-day period, so follow those payment guidelines carefully.

Just skip the payment. One of the more rare types of methods you hear of are Skip-A-Payment services. You can use these services to skip mortgage, credit card, or loan payments. Usually you would need to get in contact with your bank just to see if you even qualify or not. There are also independent companies out there that will allow you to do the same thing, no matter what bank you are a member of. Depending on whose service you use, the fee’s associated with it vary. When you use these types of services make sure you know how much you will be charged then decide if it’s worth it or not.

Pay minimum due immediately. One of the best ways to prevent a late fee from being charged to your account is to pay the minimum due immediately. As soon as you receive your bill, send in the minimum due. This will always insure that your credit card issuer received payment. You can always send in more money later if you decide otherwise. This is a great way to avoid missing a payment because if you forget to send extra money you can guarantee that you won’t be charged a late fee because the minimum due has been already been paid.

Move your due date. Are your credit card bills due at a time of the month when you're running low on cash? Many people have trouble saving money, so when it comes time to paying their credit card bills, they don’t have any cash to do so. One particular solution is to move your due date. Many credit card issuers will allow you to set your own due date to meet your specific needs. If you have trouble saving money, move your due date to a time when you do have money, like as soon as you get your paycheck. If you time your credit card bill to come the same day you get paid, you will always have cash to pay the bill.

Pay by phone. If you are one of those people that wait to the last minute to do everything or if you just forgot to send in your credit card payment early enough, you could always pay by phone. This guarantees that your payment will be on time. Just supply the representative on the other line with your checking account number and your bank routing number, which is printed at the bottom of each check. Usually the routing number is first and the account number is second. A lot of issuers allow you to pay by phone and some will charge you a pretty penny for doing so. Fee’s can range from $5 to $20.

Use other express methods. If your bank does not offer a “pay by phone” service and you need to get your payment to your credit card issuer as soon as possible, I recommend either sending your payment in by express mail or by Western Union. Either one of these services can get your payment to your credit card issuer immediately. These express methods are costly, but it will always most likely be cheaper than any fees associated with being late. Make sure you send your express payment to the proper address. Many issuers have separate payment addresses for express payments. The last thing you want to do is slow the processing of an express payment by sending it to the wrong address.

Daryl Flagg is the founder and CEO of Next Month Online. Next Month Online is a service that allows its visitors to skip credit card payments. They can be found at http://www.NextMonthOnline.com. Sign up for free!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daryl_Flagg

Posted by Orce Dimitrov at 2:38 AM | Permalink | Comments

By Terje Ellingsen

What do we mean when we say an instant credit card? As most of the internet surfers should already have noticed, many credit card companies operating online and offline for that matter, announce they can offter the best credit card online, even with instant approval if you apply for it on their website. Some people think that this means they can instantly download a copy of a card like waving a magic stick and start to purchase with it immideately. Let's sort out some confusion here. Many credit card websites can approve your application instantly, which in most cases means within a few minutes. But that doesn't mean you can print out your card and run to your local Wal-Mart or Target or wherever and immedeately shop. Of course you can shop, but not with your newly approved card, because you have not received it yet.

Though the approval procedure only takes minutes, you have to be patient and wait for your card. This will be sent in the
mail, and it will take a few days. Now, the nice thing with applying online for a card is that you know if you are approved
for it or not within a fairly short time, and I would think that this is the best thing for people to know, or like the
saying goes "those who are waiting for something good don't wait in vain"

Compared to the old-fashioned way of doing it, returning the snail mail offer for a credit card, waiting days or even weeks
for the bank or credit card company to process it and run your credit, and finally waiting for them to send out your new
credit card, the online way is far more convenient and fast. Another advantage of doing the application online is that it
also gives you a fantastic option to compare the cost of credit offered from a lot of card companies.

There are certain limitations however on who is eligible for an Instant online credit card approval. Instant approval credit
card offers are targeted to - or at least originally meant to be for - people with good credit records. However, there are
ways to go around this and sometimes this might be pure luck. What I mean is, sometimes the card company you apply to, may
not be able to access your credit records for some reasons. But this is an exception. The competition on the credit market
is so high today, that some companies are willing to tow the line pretty far to get customers. The bottom line is that even
if your credit history is not so good, you can obtain an instantly approved credit card. So regardless to what your credit rating is, there is no reason not to apply.

If you want to apply for an instant approval of a credit card online, go to the web and search for instant credit card
approval an you'll have more than enough websites to choose among, giving you the opportunity to compare the offers from
different sites with respect to the cost of credit. Then you will be able to find the best deal. Good luck!

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet publisher. He runs the website 1st-In-Loan.net
Terje gives advice and helps people with personal financial issues like applying online for an instant credit card and getting rid of bank debt.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terje_Ellingsen

Posted by Orce Dimitrov at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments