Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about credit card processing? Below, we’ve compiled answers to common payment processor questions. For more information, you can check out our blog and e-book, too!
Popular questions
Acumen Connections can set your business up with the ability to accept many payment types! VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, debit, ACH transactions. We also provide solutions for in-person payments, online payments and gift card programs.
Most credit card companies have a contract with a cancellation fee. We have a contract, but we got rid of cancellation fees because we don’t like them. It’s our belief that our service will keep our customers happy! No contract cancellation fees, ever.
Acumen Connections requires that the business owner notify us about account cancellation as soon as possible. There is no fee for cancellation, but a little bit of paperwork on our end to verify the time and date of your account closure. Account fees are paid by the merchant in arrears, so there will be one more monthly statement and bill after closure for the month prior when the account was active.
A point of sale (POS) system can be a great tool for a small business to automate some functions of the business that the business owner would otherwise do themselves or could potentially not be able to complete without hiring more staff. Functions like inventory management, timekeeping, sales reports and more are built within a POS system and give the business owner more information on the health of their business.
Fees and pricing
The cost of credit card processing equipment depends on the features that the business prefers or how they capture payments. We offer virtual terminal options through payment gateways for as low as $15 per month. A traditional standalone terminal ranges from $200 to $800 as a one-time purchase. Rental options are also available.
We customize processing rates based on how the business is taking payments. The cost of accepting payments involves the type of card used, how the card information is input, and the amount. We take your unique business information into account to provide the most competitive rate possible. Some flat monthly fees include an account fee of $13.00 a month and an annual PCI fee of $89 per year. If there are hardware rentals or monthly subscriptions, those are a flat monthly fee as well.
Yes, there are fees to facilitate the function of accepting credit card payments.
Credit card processing costs are directly related to the volume of transactions and dollars that are being processed by your business. A business can reduce their credit card processing costs by monitoring card types and encouraging the use of cards that are less expensive like debit cards or non-reward credit cards. Additionally, trying to swipe or tap cards versus manually keying information can cut back on expenses. We are happy to review your current rate structure at any time!
About 40% of B2B commerce payments are made with a paper check according to pymnts.com. B2B payments tend to be a higher amount and are more likely to be recurring. Acumen Connections can give your B2B commerce business the ability to send and receive electronic check (ACH) payments to remove the hassle of drafting checks.
Interchange fees make up 80%+ of the total cost of processing card payments.
We are transparent about our fees. We have monthly fees that allow the account to be open and receive statements, processing fees and an annual PCI compliance fee for all merchants. Statements are released at the beginning of the month for the previous month, breaking down all fees assessed that month. We are happy to review your statement and any questions you may have at any time.
Payment processing
A merchant account is simply a name to describe the relationship between business owner and payment processor. Merchant services accounts allow businesses to accept card payments from customers.
A payment processor is a company that facilitates transactions for your business. The processor relays purchase information between banks. It also typically provides equipment to accept credit card payments. The payment gateway is the technology that securely transmits the payment information from point of entry to the payment processor, typically through online payments such as eCommerce. Payment gateways are a tool used for eCommerce, credit card readers, online POS systems, and software integration. Learn more here.
Credit cards and other forms of digital payments are processed through a system often referred to as “interchange.” Basically, this is a series of events to authorize, capture and settle a payment to execute a transaction between a cardholder and receiver (typically a business).
A credit card reader creates a more seamless way of collecting credit card information from the customer to the business by swipe, insert, or tap. Otherwise, the business owner would have to manually enter the card information to run a transaction, which is time-consuming, less secure, more expensive to process, and allows more room for human error.
These terms all refer to different parts of the payment processing system. The payment processor transmits data between the customer and merchant, in other words, between the issuing bank and acquiring bank. To accept credit card payments, a business needs a merchant account. A merchant account is a relationship between a business and a payment processor, allowing them access to accept credit card payments. The payment gateway is the tool that will securely transmit online payment data to the processor. The payment processor transmits data between the customer and merchant, in other words, between the issuing bank and acquiring bank. To accept credit card payments, a business needs a merchant account. A merchant account is a type of bank account that allows companies to accept online card payments. The payment gateway is the tool that will securely transmit online payment data to the processor.
The average time is 3 seconds but is typically done so quickly that neither the user nor the business owner is left waiting for long. Learn more about processing credit cards in our e-book.
Security
Yes, credit card processing is secure. There are certainly ways to enhance the security of how your business processes credit cards. First, PCI compliance is a requirement of all businesses that accept electronic payments to protect both the business and the customer. Second, businesses can put processes in place such as keeping receipts and records with customer data under lock and key, restricting access to customer data to those with certain levels of access, avoiding writing down any sensitive information, enacting secure passwords, and completing security checks to ensure that nothing has been compromised.
The full acronym is PCI DSS, which stands for “Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.” This is a set of compliance standards that is designed to protect businesses and their customers against payment card fraud and theft. Any business that receives payments through credit or debit card is required to be PCI DSS compliant. The risk of being out of compliance when a fraudulent attack happens could cost your business thousands of dollars in fines and penalties.
Security features are reliant on how you’re taking payments, but some general security features that we recommend are password protected devices, user access levels to restrict information access to only those necessary, secure WIFI, adding an SSL certificate to your website, adding a CAPTCHA to your online checkout, and running consistent security checks to check your security measures.
Support
Acumen Connections is here to support you and your business. We chose the word “connections” in our name because it is our mission to either solve your request ourselves or connect you with a solution. Questions about payments, growing your business, technical support, or small business ideas? We’ve got your back. Looking for better ways to recruit employees? We can get you in touch with a partner! Contact us today.
Contact us at support@acumenconnections.com to order more receipt paper. Direct shipping options are available or free pickup.
The right payment processor for your business is the one that supports your business needs. Acumen Connections supports our customers through excellent customer service, fair and competitive pricing, business resources, and innovative hardware and software solutions. Helping our customers by building business connections is our goal.
That is entirely dependent on the business and business owner. There are point of sale machine options from simple inventory management to robust solutions that can control payroll and HR. The expense ranges based on the features that are vital to your business. We partner with many POS machine options to fit a wide range of needs. Contact sales to learn which is best for your business!
E-commerce
Payment processing allows your website to become shoppable, which basically takes it from a website to ecommerce. Whether you have an online shopping cart function with a checkout or a simple payment link, if you would like the user to facilitate the transaction online you will need a payment processor. Acumen Connections can integrate into hundreds of ecommerce CMS platforms easily. Give us a call, today!
Yes, information that is collected from the sale will be within your dashboard of your payment gateway processing. Information collected will be determined based on fields required during payment but is typically customer name, address, contact information, amount sold, and types of goods sold.
A payment processor that can integrate into your existing ecommerce website, is focused on providing secure payments and can help you grow your business is the best payment processor for your e retail or e commerce management. Thankfully, you’ve found all that right here with Acumen Connections.
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