POS Credit Card Processing in 5 Simple Steps
If you are a business owner, you are most likely to accept credit cards. Whatever you sell, however, you sell and wherever you sell, your customers would want to pay for their purchases with their desired credit card, debit card, or an increasingly long list of alternative payment methods like e-wallets.
Learning the working of credit cards can be overwhelming at first and it’s tough to know where to begin. We’ll initiate by sticking with the traditional world of accepting payments in-person.
Choose a Payment Processor First
When you start thinking about setting up a POS, equipment is probably the first thing that will come to your mind, which is surely an important consideration.
A payment processor enables us to accept credit/debit cards and brings business, banks, and card networks together to make payment procedure easy. Payment processors are also good at selecting a POS system, providing processing services, and helping secure your business data from breaches and fraud.
Evaluating payment processors can be a little more complicated than other steps in the procedure. You’ll have to compare processing rates and learn about the technology the processor uses.
Go for the Right Point-of-Sale System
There’s a long list of considerations when it comes to choosing a POS system. First, figure out what payment method is feasible for your target audience. Is your business online, in-store, or a combination of both?
Generally, POS systems fall into the following categories:
Stand-alone terminals offer the basic terms to accept credit and debit cards. These are simple counter-top devices where we can swipe cards, dip or tap for payment.
Mobile POS terminals accept debit and credit cards from a static checkout station. The smartphone allows businesses to accept payments anywhere.
Integrated POS systems – like Oscar point of sale system – are all-in-one solutions offering payment processing, reporting and analytics, inventory and accounting management, loyalty systems, and more.
Safeguard From Fraud and Data Breaches
A brick-and-mortar business owner knows the importance of store security: like locking all doors, controls on alarm systems, and security for valuables, like cash drawers.
Offering alternative payment options like credit and debit cards, the security becomes another layer to a business security plan. You’ll have to consider data security plans to prevent the potentially devastating impacts of a security breach and also need advanced payment technology to keep customers’ transactions safe.
Select the Value-Added Features That Best Serve Your Business
Consider these options to get the most out of your credit card processor and your point of sale solution:
- Fast funding – how quickly do you receive payments after customer’s credit and debit transactions?
- Do reporting and analytics tools add insights to determine customer behavior and sales trends?
- Can you scale your business with gift and loyalty programs?
- Will disrupted network protection enable you to process payments, regardless of connectivity?
How’s the Installation, Staff Training, and Support?
It’s better to understand the merits and demerits of any solution you are looking to implement. Check the product demo, witness fraud protocols, and whether necessary updates are automatically installed. Partner with the service provider that offers 24/7 customer service.
