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Why are we placing equipment FREE?
We realize, as many industries have, including cellular and satellite, that good money is made by securing recurring revenue. We make a profit on regularly scheduled rates and fees. Therefore, we do not need to charge our valuable merchants high costs on equipment. Instead, we are offering to provide our equipment for you to use as long you are processing with us, Absolutely FREE!
What does your competition Charge for the same equipment? (new)
A. Our competition will usually sell the Hypercom T4100 for $750 + the check imager for another $500. The wireless Nurit 8000 GPRS would cost $1500+.
B. They also tend to lease the equipment, see below:
* Value of our Free Terminal Placement Program:
A typical lease on the same equipment with our competitors is priced at $49.95 per month x 48 months (typical term). That would cost you a total of $2,397.60. With Advanced Merchant Services, we will ship you a Hypercom T4100 Terminal with an optional Check Imager free of charge when you activate a merchant account with us.
What Type Merchant Account Do You Need?
The first step to setting up an account is to decide what type of Merchant Account you need. There are several types of Merchant Accounts each designed for specific industries. Below you will find a summary of the different types of accounts and what will be best for you. There are three, separate types of merchant accounts: Retail, MOTO (mail order - telephone order), and Internet. The major differences between these types of accounts are the transaction fees charged and the rules associated with the use of the account. It is not unusual for a business to have more than one merchant account, each of a different type.
We have also provided information below to help you better understand the Merchant Account Requirements.
Retail Merchant Accounts
Retail accounts offer the lowest transaction fees and have the most restrictive rules associated with them. Retail merchant accounts require that a very high percentage (usually 80% or more) of credit card sales be conducted with the "card present" and that the card be "swiped" by passing it through a physical credit card terminal. Retail accounts are associated with "brick-and-mortar" businesses such as restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, gift shops, auto repair, etc. Basically, establishments where the customer comes in and makes a purchase and takes their merchandise, receive a service and completes the payment by swiping the card face-to-face.
If you have or are opening a "retail store front" business and wish to charge credit cards you will need to have a Retail Merchant Account. You will also need the proper P.O.S. equipment to swipe cards to get the lowest rates. If you wish to have a Retail Merchant Account and also process Internet, Mail, or Phone orders and manually key in the card numbers, you may need to have two merchant accounts, a Retail and MOTO merchant account however, if the amount of internet, mail or phone is 20% or less you can use the same merchant account. Keep in mind when manually keying in credit cards you will be surcharged at a higher rate due to the risk involved.
MOTO Merchant Accounts
MOTO or Mail Order - Telephone Order accounts are processed at a higher transaction rate compared to retail accounts and are used when credit cards cannot be physically swiped. MOTO accounts were originally created to address the credit card processing needs of Mail Order companies and Internet merchants that receive their sales by mail or telephone.
Merchants that have a MOTO merchant account usually process credit card payments by entering the credit card information directly into a terminal that contains a keypad, by using terminal software installed on a personal computer, or by using a "virtual" terminal that allows the merchant to use a normal Web browser to process transactions on a payment service provider's Web site.
Internet Merchant Accounts
Internet accounts are very similar in cost and rules of usage as the MOTO account. While many banks issue a MOTO merchant account to businesses conducting transactions over the Internet, some banks have started creating a separate Internet merchant account type in order to address the unique needs associated with this type of credit card transaction.
Merchants that have an Internet merchant account process credit card payments using a "virtual" terminal or by using a payment service gateway with custom-designed HTML forms or a shopping cart application.
Wireless Merchant Accounts
As our society continues to demand conveniences, wireless technology is advancing by leaps and bounds. The payment industry is not the exception to this growing trend. Over the years, payment solutions have gone from credit cards being slammed against carbon receipts using the handy imprinter to terminals that operate independent of phone lines and power outlets. As businesses continue to see the value offered by these mobile point-of-sale devises, Advanced Merchant Services continues with its commitment to provide dependable and affordable solutions to our clients.
AMS mobile solutions include access to all major credit cards and regional Debit networks, several wireless carriers that ensure maximum coverage, and point-of sale solutions that are priced not only to be competitive, but also unbeatable! That is why thousands of Mobile businesses choose to process with Advanced Merchant Services.
Requirements for Securing a Merchant Account
There are many requirements and restrictions associated with both getting and keeping merchant accounts. This section will help you to better understand what these requirements and restrictions are and why they exist.
Approval Guidelines - Level 1 (Retail)
- 90%+ Card Swiped
- Future Service Liability Less Than 30 Days
- Acceptable Type of Business
- Visa/MC Monthly Volume Less Than $200K/month, $2.5/year
- Average Ticket Less Than $300
Funds Availability - Merchants receive their funds in 2 business days.
Level 2 (Retail/Service/Trade Show)
- Greater Than 50% BUT Less Than 90% Card Swiped
- Future Service Liability Less Than 30 Days
- Acceptable Type of Business
- Visa/MC Monthly Volume Less Than $10K/month
- Average Ticket Less Than $300
Funds Availability - Merchants receive their funds in 2 business days.
Level 3 (MO/TO, Internet-Based)
- Future Service Liability Less Than 90 Days
- Acceptable Type of Business
- Visa/MC Monthly Volume Less Than $10K/month
- Average Ticket Less Than $300
Funds Availability - Auto-Approved internet-based merchants receive their funds in 5 business days. All other merchants receive their funds in 2 business days.
Understanding credit card risks
Your merchant account is a financial agreement between you and the bank that issued the merchant account. Just as a bank will impose rules on a checking account or savings account, rules are imposed on merchant accounts. These rules are in place to achieve one objective: to avoid risk. There are three types of risks associated with merchant accounts:
Credit risk
Credit risk is the risk the bank takes with respect to the amounts you, as a merchant, may owe the bank. Many people are surprised to learn that this is not the most important factor when it comes to accepting (or rejecting) a merchant account application, especially for new, startup businesses with small monthly charge volumes (less than about $5,000 per month). This is because fraud and contingent liability risks are much more important factors when underwriting a merchant account application. Merchant accounts are routinely issued to individuals who have no credit or poor credit histories.
Your credit rating becomes more important the longer you are in business and especially as your monthly charge volume grows. Few business owners can succeed and remain in business beyond just a few years unless they build a good credit rating.
Fraud risk
Fraud risk is the risk of inadvertently processing credit card transactions that have not been authorized by the credit card holder. Credit card fraud typically occurs as the result of stolen cards or card numbers. While all merchants are susceptible to credit card fraud being perpetrated via their Web site, new merchants are at great risk since they are not as familiar with the methods of detecting and preventing suspicious credit card transactions. In addition, some types of businesses and certain products are subject to higher fraud risk.
Contingent liability risk
This is the greatest risk associated with the merchant account. It not only includes the risks associated with fraud, but also all the unforeseeable risks associated with different types of businesses and marketing methods.
To better understand contingent liability, consider the following real-world example: A couple of years ago, a new startup company was offering lifetime Internet dial-up accounts for a one-time, flat fee. Many subscribers took advantage of this offer by using their credit card to pay the fee. Recently, this company declared that it was discontinuing its business because this marketing model simply was not viable. Since the company could not fulfill its promise of a lifetime account, subscribers demanded, and were entitled to, a refund of their fee payment.
The above is an example of contingent liability. In this case the liability was the growing amount of all potential refunds. Payment of these refunds was contingent on the ISP remaining in business and offering the service for the lifetime of the customer. Lifetime services or products represent the worst-case scenario when it comes to contingent liability. The liability just grows and grows with each new sale and to truly understand the financial risks requires the application of actuarial tables similar to those used by the insurance industry to forecast costs associated with life insurance policies. If you offer a lifetime service or product for a single, flat fee, don't expect to get a merchant account.
Contingent liability will be a factor any time that a payment is made for something that is contingent on the merchant providing a service or product at some future date, as opposed to immediately delivering the product or service. In general, a merchant account will not be approved for any product or service that is delivered more than 90 days after payment.
Another form of contingent liability is associated with intangible services. An example of a high-risk, intangible service would be the sale of an online, pay-per-view video delivered over the Internet. In general, the more fleeting the service along with the higher cost of this one-time service, the greater the risk. The risks associated with this type of service are due to the fact that it is extremely difficult or impossible for the merchant to provide proof of delivery.
Geographic Requirements...
The United States is currently the world leader when it comes to e-commerce technology. In addition, the US has always enjoyed lower costs for both computer hardware and software. It is not unusual for a software application sold in the US to cost up to twice as much in other countries. Because of these two factors, the general consensus among industry consultants is that if you are going to do e-commerce, do it in the US. Although the virtual nature of the Internet may make it viable for a large company to establish a presence in the US, most small and medium sized businesses may find this difficult or cost-prohibitive. Compounding the problem is the fact that most US banks will not establish a merchant account to businesses outside the US.
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