Choosing a merchant account should be simple. Each provider should display a rate and then whoever is looking for the account can choose the cheapest one.

Unfortunately, like everything else in life, it’s not that simple. The first reason for this, is that there is never just one simple rate you pay for a credit card transaction.

Asking a merchant account provider for their best rate just doesn’t make sense, rates vary on many different factors including where and when the transaction is made, the type of card that’s used and the information collected.

Next, the rate is only part of the picture. There are many other charges that are added to accounts such as a transaction fee and things like statement fees.

So, the only way to be sure which company is going to be the cheapest overall, for a company’s individual business needs is to have a proper consultation to discuss it.

Unfortunately, so many companies in the industry today favor hard sales tactics instead of a proper consultative approach. With these tactics you often see them advertising ‘best’ or ‘discount’ rates to entice customers to sign on.

These will always be discount rates that just apply for introductory periods, or under certain conditions, which may or may not be the conditions that a merchant normally takes a payment under.

Finally, you cannot judge a merchant account on cost alone. What good is a cheap account if the service and technical infrastructure are lousy? If the systems are down or not working then nobody can process transactions, and money is lost. Anybody looking for a merchant account needs to be sure that the provider can give excellent customer service and technical backup.