How much are you billing me again?

Let’s paint a picture of a difficult situation that a business could be experiencing.

The owner of this business (let’s call them Jim) is having some trouble deciding which processor, and processing solution, he needs to use to accept credit card payments. Jim owns a retail business where he takes most of his payments in the main store, but he also does a bit of sales at local events and markets where he wants to accept credit cards on his mobile device. Sometimes his customers will even call in to place a deposit over the phone for special items.

In the past, Jim has had many bad experiences with merchant processors. Between rates not matching what he was promised, terminal issues, contracts and early termination fees, he has had a tough track record managing this part of his business.

Jim thought that he was promised a flat rate of 1.89% for all in-person transactions and that would be his final overall rate every month on his statement. But when he reviewed what he was actually being billed, the total fees ended up closer to 3.5%. Jim had no idea how this was happening when he was promised a rate of about half that amount. When Jim asked his processor to explain why the fees were different, they told him to review his monthly statement where all the fees were “clearly” listed.

Turns out, Jim’s statement was not easy to read at all. Where Jim saw his fees for each card type accepted (like a Visa Rewards card), there was no rate listed - only a total amount to be billed. He noticed most of his credit card volume ended up in the “Non-Qualified” fee type where it seemed like the total billing was much higher. Jim decided that he needed to get to the bottom of this and understand what he was paying for.

Jim then gave a call to PolyPay.

He heard about PolyPay from a friend of his in the area who recently switched to their processing services and had a good experience with the transition. That friend owns a similar type of retail business and was setup by PolyPay with a fast, new terminal for the store and EMV-ready mobile solution, in addition to saving over $100 a month in processing fees.

PolyPay was able to take a look at Jim’s monthly statement and follow up on the same day with a full review and proposal for services. Jim was taught about where his current processor was marking up fees, and also how the pricing structure he was set up on did not transparently show the rates he should have been billed. Plus, PolyPay provided Jim with a new terminal for the store that can accept chip cards in 3 seconds, and an easy-to-use mobile solution for sales at his events. It was then that Jim realized that he needed to make a change of processors as soon as possible.

There should be no reason for any processor to hide processing fees from you unless they are raising your rates on a regular basis. PolyPay is always happy to complete full statement reviews to help business owners like Jim understand what they are actually being billed for their credit card processing services.

If you know a Jim in your life, have them give us a call.