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Credit Cards and Your Business

Any business will cringe at the thought of what the banks
put them through to use credit cards. If you do not know
what I mean, then this article is for you!

The fact is that everyone online wants to use a credit card or debit
card to process their order. It is very true in our society that the
credit card is a way of life, and if
you do not offer that ability to accommodate them,
customers will move on to another website that does allow
them to use their cards. This society has become driven by
instant gratification and expects to receive their products
immediately, either by a download or a short shipping
duration. Taking credit cards as a form of payment on the
internet or offline should be thoroughly understood. Read
on to see what I mean and how to protect yourself.

The fact is that any merchant taking in payments is
immediately at risk for whatever amount is charged and
MORE. The banks will take the charge disputed along with a
“charge back” fee right from your merchant account, and you
better have enough in there that has cleared to pay your
own bills or you will be charged more for “overdraft
charges”. Some banks are waking up to the fact that it is
not always the merchant at fault and most merchants are
more than honest in their dealings. There is so much credit
card fraud out there and since the merchants are ALWAYS
liable, you need to realize this and take action to prevent
as much disaster for your business as possible.

First, if you have your own merchant account, then you have a lot of
work to do when you receive a credit card order. You must verify as
best you can that the card, the name on the card, the address, the cvv
number verification, and the quantities are all in order. You need to
verify the IP address of every order and see if it is within the
location of the card holder. A person living in Toronto, Canada,
probably would not be in Las Cruces, New Mexico, charging products.
This is a red flag but not a deal breaker, some people DO travel.
Caution needs to be taken to protect your cash flow. As a merchant you
must get money safely into your account for any goods or service you
provide, so that you can become a larger or more substantial
independent business.

Do not just take in cards and believe that everything is
going to be just fine now that you have the money in your
account, because it can come out just as fast, or faster,
than it went in. There is a real need for you to understand
a lot more than can be mentioned in this article.

The best way to receive all the tools and services you need to protect yourself and to make your voice heard is to
check this website: http://www.merchant911.org This is a
group of dedicated individuals who have been working for
years to try to change banking and processing company rules
and regulations as relative to merchants, both large and
small. If you need any more proof of their dedication, just
read some of the press releases and look at the tools they
have assembled for merchants to use.

Right now is the time to start to protect yourself from
credit card fraud. If you have read any of the newspapers
or listened to any of the news reports, then you already
know you are at risk. There are reports of over 40 million
cards in the hands of criminals and thieves and they will
sell these cards or will use them in various illegal
methods. It’s not hard to imagine that some day soon you
will be approached and asked to spend your time and money
to ship a product or provide a service with these
fraudulent cards.

Do your part to keep America strong and allow your business to grow
and prosper, not be destroyed by thieves and credit card sharks.