[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ border_style=”solid”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=””][fusion_text]
Processing through online gateways opposed to terminals
How do you process credit card transactions? Do you use a stand-alone terminal, or an online gateway? Many merchants are under the impression that sticking with a stand-alone terminal will guarantee the lowest credit card rates in the industry. While this was once true, technology has advanced quite a bit since the dawn of the first terminal in 1979, but the terminal’s basic ability has not. Today’s online gateways allow for the capture of more card information, which garners the lowest qualified interchange rates available. Here are some benefits to using an online gateway as opposed to a stand-alone terminal:
Better qualifications
Using stand-alone terminals used to be the only way to qualify a card at the lowest interchange rates available. However, times have changed; newer technology allows merchants to qualify cards at the lowest possible interchange levels—lower than ever before possible. Before, merchants could only receive lowered rates if cards were swiped due to the lower risk of fraud in those transactions. Now, merchants can access those ultra-low interchange levels by entering information into an online gateway—without the extra hardware.
View your batch in real time
Stand-alone terminals force merchants to wait until the batch settlement to view any full day’s transactions. However, with an online gateway, merchants can easily access any transaction—from any time within the life of the gateway account—with a quick field search.
Easily issue credits and voids
Issuing credits and voids while using a stand-alone terminal can be a troublesome process; merchants have to re-enter all of the pertinent information. With an online gateway, merchants have access to current and previous batches and can easily refund a transaction or void it with the simple click of a mouse.
Better reporting tools
Printed batch receipts from physical terminals don’t offer much in the way of reporting tools, and keeping a bunch of slips of paper around the office tends to only add more clutter to one’s life. Now, by using an online gateway, merchants can easily create customized reports by any searchable criteria in your batch, including card type, customer type, invoice number, and customer name—without the paper mess.
Store card information via tokenization
Merchants using a physical terminal with repeat customers have a raw deal—they have to input and re-input customers’ card information every time those customers place orders. Nowadays, online gateways have one-click billing (or automatic recurring billing) features that make these transactions as easy as any other. Customers’ credit card information is always stored in a secure, offsite server—never on a merchant’s desktop—so PCI compliance is absolutely assured.
More user-friendly in comparison to key-in terminals
Need we say more? It probably isn’t such a leap to say that online gateways are much more user-friendly than stand-alone terminals. Just imagine: No more keying in entries. No more printing batch reports. No more standard interchange fees. The future is here—and, it’s so much better than 1979! Don’t wait to update your stand-alone physical terminal any longer. Go online and upgrade to a virtual gateway today!
[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
