How to accept credit cards

Setting up your business to accept credit and debit cards is easier than you might think.

It’s your business, your customers, and your money. You get to decide how to approach credit card processing. You care about your customers, and that means making payments easy. So, find a reputable partner that also cares about making payments easy, safe and convenient.

Simple steps to processing card payments

The best place to start is to find a credit card processor. Also known as a payment processor, these companies enable the technology that allows you to accept credit and debit cards. Credit card processors often offer a host of other services that help your business grow, leading many businesses to call their credit card processors, trusted payment partners.

Next, decide how you’ll want to accept payments. For taking payments in person, you’ll need a payment acceptance device. Your credit card processor can work with you to select the equipment that works best for your business. From credit card terminals to fully integrated point of sale systems, there’s a solution for every business and every budget.

If you’re jumping into the world of e-commerce, you’ll need a website gateway. There are a host of reputable gateway services, often included within broader e-commerce platform services. Find a solution that fits your business, and make sure they offer flexibility to connect with the payment processor of your choice.

It’s all up to you. A good processor can work with you no matter where you are in the decision-making process, what requirements you have and what your goal is.

Take payments, wherever you do business

No matter how unique or sophisticated your business is, setting up payments can still be simple. There’s a perfect credit card solution out there for you and you don’t have to look far to find it. Today, you can take payments virtually anywhere:

• In store: accept in-person payments to serve your customers face-to-face
• Online and in-app: accept card-not-present payments through your website or mobile app
• On-the-go: accept payments at your expo, street fair, pop-up booth, or wherever you do business

Accepting payments should be easy, no matter where you’re doing business. Simple payment processing works where and when you want it to.

Take advantage of smart payment features

A smart solution does the work for you. You don’t have to know everything about accepting credit card payments and the equipment you need. A smart solution has:

• Reliable transaction service: The service is dependable, has back up protection, and it’s easy to get help—day or night
• Growth solutions: From insightful data about your customers to customizable gift and loyalty programs, you have tools to grow
• Management tools: Payments are one part of a larger system of connected programs that work together to help you run your business efficiently

You know your business inside and out. You don’t need to be an expert in credit cards too. Payments should make your business operations work smarter, not harder.

5 tips to start accepting payments right away

You know you want to accept credit cards, so how do you make that happen as fast and pain free as possible? Here are some things you can do to speed up the process.

1. Ask for recommendations. Ask some other business owners how they use payments, talk to your point-of-sale provider or other business connections you have. Perform research on your own. This can help you narrow things down to a handful of leads.
2. Make calls to compare providers. Once you have some providers to examine further, check out their websites to get a feel for their service offerings.
3. Have your credit card processing statement and other business information ready. A credit card processing professional can look at your statement and give you an informed quote.
4. Think about how you’ll be doing business. How many customers do you expect to serve per day? What will your average ticket be? Will you offer online sales as well as in-person transactions? What might that mix look like?
5. Return your fully completed application quickly to speed up the process. Make sure you have all of your information handy when you call to speak with a credit card processor: any DBA name, your business bank account information or a voided check, your social security number, and complete contact information for you and any other account managers.

A world of value at your fingertips

Payment processors offer additional products and services to help merchants operate their businesses and get the most out of their payment processing technology. It’s helpful to have an idea about your top priorities. Some popular value-added services include:

• Free 24/7 customer support
• Fast funding to fuel growth
• Data reporting and analytics
• Network outage protection
• Gift and loyalty programs
• Marketing programs
• Comprehensive security and fraud solutions
• Multi-location and franchise services

Ready to get started?

We enable every type of payment your customers want to make—anywhere, anytime, anyway. Connect with one of our payment experts to learn more about how your business can start accepting credit card payments today.