Accepting Credit Cards
There are 3 ways to accept VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Debit Cards to perform credit card processing at your place of business:
- Begin or continue to use a CC Terminal (w/Phone Line)
- Use AveraCharge service w/Mag Stripe Reader (Internet)
- Use 3rd Party CC service w/Mag Stripe Reader (Internet)
CC Terminal (Phone Line)
PROS:
- No change in the way you process cards
CONS:
- Speed - Authorizations of up to 10-15 seconds per sale
- Cost - Purchase or Rental of Terminal
- Cost - Ongoing cost of New or Shared Phone Line
- Efficiency - "Batch-out" reconciliation performed separately from POS
- Efficiency/Cost - Swipe done outside of POS and amount keyed manually, risking miskeying of erroneous amount
AveraCharge Service (Internet)
PROS:
- Speed - Authorizations average 2-3 seconds per sale
- Cost - Use Low-Cost Mag Stripe Reader
- Cost - No additonal 3rd party software needed. The service itself is the full solution
- Cost - Supported on ALL Windows operating systems. No need to purchase more expensive "Business/Pro" versions
- Efficiency/Cost - Swipe/Batch Out processes performed within POS. No mis-keys or duplicate reconciliations
- Efficiency/Cost - One support source for both POS and CC Processing. Alleviates "finger pointing", should problems arise
CONS:
- Flexibility - Service availability through a single source
3rd Party Provider (Internet)
PROS:
- Flexibility - Service availability through multiple sources
- Speed - Authorizations average 2-3 seconds per sale
- Cost - Use Low-Cost Mag Stripe Reader
- Efficiency/Cost - Swipe/Batch Out processes performed within POS. No mis-keys or duplicate reconciliations
CONS:
- Cost - Additonal 3rd party software needed
- Cost - Supported ONLY on more expensive "Business/Pro" versions of the Windows operating systems.
- Efficiency/Cost - Separate support sources for both POS and CC Processing. Risk of a "finger pointing" scenario, should problems arise