Small Business Credit Card Processing Warning

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Before You Choose the WRONG Credit Card Processor

Whether your business is struggling or thriving in todays challenging economy, it is still vitally important you get the best Merchant account credit card processing program for your small business. Credit card Processing for your small business is a must have service. It has been proven over and over again that you will make more sales by increasing the ways your customers can pay. But while it can be quite easy to acquire Merchant Services from a credit card processing provider it can be quite difficult to tell which ones are telling you the truth about the actual costs.

The competition for your Credit Card Processing business is growing fiercer everyday. New Merchant Service providers are popping almost daily. The majority of the credit cad processing companies are third and fourth party. This means they can be sales agents for a sales agent for a company with the actual agreement with VISA and Mastercard. Why should this concern a small business owner? With every new layer between your business and VISA and Mastercard there will be another sales and administrative workforce that will need to be paid. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that it will be the small business owner who will be paying for those salaries.

What are a few of the things to look out for when you are approached by some of the Merchant Services providers? Several of them will employ what is referred to as using a Blitzkrieg approach. They hire a team of hard-sell, high pressure sales reps who come into a city or town in groups. They sweep in, cold call and use everything in their arsenal to make the small business owner take action right then and there to change to their company. They will often lead the merchant to think that this great deal is only good for that day. Some small business owners have remarked that their heads were still spinning long after the sales rep had left with the signed paperwork. The honest sales reps will allow you to take the time you need to make an intelligent decision.

Probably one of the biggest complaints leveled against some of the credit card processing companies is their use of hidden fees. Some merchant services providers have as many as 21 different types of fees they can charge your account. Unfortunately many of the merchant account statements are confusing to read and unless you are trained on how to read them you wont see where you are being charged extra or unnecessary fees.

Whether you are a small business owner who wants to start accepting credit cards or you are an established business owner who wants to keep as much of your profits as possible, you need to know what to look for in a great merchant services program. Talk to a Merchant Service Specialist. The honest ones will disclose all the costs involved with you accepting credit cards for payment. And they will be willing to put it in writing. Dont be the victim of hidden fees and misleading sales reps. It is your money. You deserve to keep as much of it as you can.

When it comes to small business credit card processing you must talk to an expert.

The Schewels Credit Commitment

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The Schewels Furniture Company had been in the business of selling home furniture for over 100 years now. They continue to keep a good reputation to their customers because they are credible, give the best-quality items, best services, and now they also offer Schewels Credit to make it much easier for everyone to buy home furnishing from them.

They are committed to making every home in the United States, and perhaps in the future for the rest of the world, to have the right kinds of home furniture that will make every house turn into a cozy home. A family needs a home that has all the needed furniture. Whether you’re the wealthiest man out there, or you are just making ends meet, we all need to be comfortable and happy at home. So, they offer Schewels credit to those who can’t afford to buy home furnishing straight away and doesn’t want to use a credit card with really high interest rates if they can’t pay in time. With the in-store credit, customers are given a flexible deal based on their financial capabilities and how much they can pay each month. If the monthly budget is less than the regular deal, the in-store credit counselor could extend the time of payment so customers don’t need to adjust their budget just to add a few extra dollars for their monthly payment at Schewels. They don’t request assistance from a third party financial company or bank as they will be charging more interests from the customer. Though this would protect the company, but it would be an added burden to their customers. They want to make sure that every customer who avails of in-store credit would get the lowest interest rates. After all, they availed the in-store credit because they have limited budget.

The Schewels credit option is very practical and useful. To those who can afford, they can avail of this too if they want to purchase a higher-end piece of home furnishing that they normally couldn’t afford. It’s like raising the bar a little without making them feel the difference as the monthly dues are minimal and won’t affect their budget for their monthly needs. It had helped thousands of families to finally get the right pieces of furniture for their homes. Now they can just go to Schewels and buy home furniture when the need would arise and not worry about breaking the bank each time. The company had been successful with this idea, and it had helped boost their reputation as well. They care about their customers a lot. Elias Schewel will most definitely be proud if only he could see how much his company grew throughout the years.

Skye Bank Customer Alert – Beware Of Hackers

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One of the features of online/Mobile banking is SMS banking services which are operated using both push and pull messages. Push messages are those that the bank chooses to send out to a customer’s mobile phone without the customer initiating a request for the information. For example push messages could be either Mobile marketing messages or messages alerting an event which happens in the customer’s bank account, such as a withdrawal of funds from the ATM or a payment using the customer’s credit card, etc.

Pull messages are those that are initiated by the customer, using a mobile phone, for obtaining information or performing a transaction in the bank account. Examples of pull messages for information include an account balance enquiry, or requests for current information like currency exchange rates and deposit interest rates, as published and updated by the bank.

The bank’s customer is empowered with the capability to select the list of activities (or alerts) that he/she needs to be informed. This functionality to choose activities can be done either by integrating to the internet banking channel or through the bank’s customer service call centre.
It is however sad to note that fraudsters and internet hackers have capitalized on this laudable innovation to rip people off their money. So it is important that as a bank account holder or intending holder you should be aware of this trend and choose the right bank to bank with where your money will be properly secured through adequate online security tips.

Skye bank as a customer friendly bank knows about the activities of these fraudstars and has developed security measures to protect its customers finances. If you are a Skye bank account holder, you might receive emails that seem to emanate from the bank.The mail might even carry the names of Skye bank top Management staff or Director. Some of them may require you to send in information on your Bank details, Pin codes and even your personal information as contained in the bank’s database of you. They might also claim to have access to large sums of ($)US dollars for you domiciled with the bank. Please note that these are scam mails and you should be very careful to avoid being a victim to fraudsters.

As part of its commitment to online security, Skye bank has developed some security tips for all its customers to recognize when they receive emails or letters from potential fraudsters.

Please note that Skye Bank would never ask you to disclose your account number or Pin code on the internet. Also Skye Bank would never ask you to disclose personal information on the internet.

You should also note that Skye Bank site would always carry a security certificate which would be visible on access to the bank’s site and be sure that the site you are on is a genuine Skye Bank site.

In addition Customers should not open attachments or follow Web links in unsolicited emails from unknown parties or from parties with whom you do not normally communicate, or that appear to be known but are suspicious or otherwise unusual.

The official Skye Bank web address is www.skyebankng.com. If you are still in doubt, please get in touch with your nearest branch or call us on (000 234 1) 8531655, 8948103, 07028390633-5

Card Customers Being Surprised By ‘trailing Interest’

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Credit cards customers who are trying to clear their debts are being surprised with further charges even though they may think they have already cleared the balance.

An egg customer and Guardian reader brought the problem to the media attention, the problem can occur when a customer is paying debt carried over from the previous month.

This is what many credit card companies call trailing interest on any negative balance between the issuing of the last statement and the customer paying off the debt.

Some have a minimum fee and if interest does not reach, that amount it will be “topped up” the charge, so borrwers will be repaying no lower than the minimum fee.

Unfair minimum charges

In the case of Egg the minimum is 50p, while at MBNA and Barclays it is 1. For customers with Egg, the internet bank who pay off their debt via direct debit they could incur up to 18 days worth of interest on a balance that they think they have settled in full.

A spokeswoman for Egg, speaking to the Guardian newspaper, said: “Interest is charged on the outstanding balance between our issuing the statement and the payment being made. We request payment via your direct debit 14 days after the statement date.”

Direct debits cannot be called over a weekend so if a customer’s direct debit is due to leave their account on a Saturday or Sunday, we’ll move the payment date to Monday. The longest they’ll go between statement date and paying their account is 16 days – 18 if their payment date falls over the Easter weekend.

The spokeswoman added: “If the interest amounts to less than 50p we top up the charge so it equals that amount. She added that interest would be charged on the outstanding interest and top-up fee.

“All credit card contracts will mention trailing interest in the terms and conditions but more often than not it can be hidden away within the small print of the contract. In Egg’s case the explanation behind the charges has been described as virtually incomprehensible.”

The top-up fee

In the contract it says it will charge, “a top-up fee where the amount of interest charged to your account on any statement is less than 50p and the fee will be the amount required to make the top-up fee plus that interest equal to 50p. Where this applies, your statement will show a 50p minimum finance charge”.

Barclay card mentions on its website that interest is charged until the full date of repayment meaning that you may receive a further interest charge the second month, however there is no mention of the extra 1 pound charge.

Peter Harrison, a credit cards specialist at a leading price comparison website, said too often financial services companies include these wrinkles in their terms and conditions and it is important customers check the details before applying.

He added: “Whilst the sums of money involved are quite small, many customers who want to clear their full balance will, no doubt, find this irritating.”

The extra interest charges are not likely to send customers spiraling back into debt but there is no doubt that many would find it annoying receiving another statement after thinking that the balance had already been paid off.

Do It Yourself Credit Card Settlement The Fastest Way To Peace Of Mind

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Do it yourself Credit card debt settlement is like getting a new lease on life. All those nagging phone calls from collectors and creditors will become history and the letters will stop. And now more than ever creditors are taking what they can get, or what you can give them.

You can approach do it yourself debt settlement in 1 way. Stop paying, get behind, save your money and get on the phone playing the big guy or gal. So there is a little more to it than that.

Do it yourself debt settlement, is by far the fastest and cheapest way to go about debt settlement. Is it the easiest in my opinion, yes. Because I am the one calling the shots. Meaning I don’t have to rely on some guy in an office somewhere in Boise, Idaho with 321 other credit accounts to step up to plate for me. By the way I randomly picked Boise Idaho. But you get the point. Plus the the greatest thing is not only am I saving thousands of dollars doing it myself, but it makes me responsible for MY own financial status.

The other way is paying a debt settlement company to do it for you. There are hordes of people and companies that advertise credit card debt settlement in one day or something of that kind which will look just fantastic. Such credit card debt settlement offers/advice are generally not genuine. Plus know that debt settlement will not happen over night. So, beware of the agencies offering miracles. But this post is about do it yourself or DIY debt settlement.

Here are some quick tips for do it yourself credit card settlement:

* Gather your statements and original paperwork if you have it
* Order a copy of your credit report
* Total up how much you owe (balance, fees, rates)
* Know your history like how long you have been with the creditor
* Make the call

That is it a nutshell, but you want to come across as knowing your account just as good or better than they do.

Always remain calm and never take the first offer.

Your future plans are important and creating a plan, mindset, and lifestyle that will keep you out of debt is just as important as the debt settlement process.

Create a plan to start over, and new beginning if you will. The Money Mastering Mindset is not just reserved for the affluent people of the world, its meant for you.

If this was helpful and you would like more information such as what to say and who to speak with when you call join my newsletter and drop a note.

Thanks for reading!

Gene