One of the time-honored conventions that most businesses depend upon is rapid processing of sales transactions. In fact, in general terms, the velocity of money has a major impact on national, regional and even local prosperity. Everyone wants to get paid as quickly as possible, because that’s what makes a healthy cash flow.
For the average small merchant, they often turn to the credit-card companies, because they perceive that is a more efficient way to handle the tedious chore of collecting the money owed to them for merchandise and services. If they only knew the price they were paying for that convenience.
When was the last time you tallied the true cost of accepting payments solely via credit cards? The average small merchant or service provider has tight margins. If your profit margin is in the low single digits, you can’t afford be forking over even one percentage point of sales for the “convenience” of getting immediate payment at the point of transaction.
There is a better way. You can still offer your customers the convenience of a quick and easy payment method that also softens the hit on your bottom line. If you’re not using ACH payments, you should. (The ACH stands for Automated Clearing House as these transactions go through the banking system.) Cut the ties with MasterCard, Visa, etc., and pocket more of your hard-earned money.