Switching providers
13 guides written so a business owner can act on them, not so a processor looks good.
Can Your Terminal Stay If You Switch?
Many owners put off a fee review because they assume a new processor means new equipment. Often it does not. Here is how to find out before you decide anything.
6 min read Switching providersWhen Does Your Processing Contract Renew?
If you do not know the date your processing agreement renews, you do not know when you can actually change it. Here is how to find it and what to do before it arrives.
7 min read Switching providersProcessor Bought or Merged? Check Your Next Statements
A merger is a good reason to read your next few statements line by line, not a reason to panic.
6 min read Switching providersSwitching Payment Processors: Contracts, Fees and Timing
Switching is usually easier than providers make it sound, but the contract you signed decides what it costs. Read it first.
8 min read Switching providersMerchant Account vs Payment Facilitator (PayFac)
Signing up in minutes with a PayFac and applying for your own merchant account put you in different positions under the card network rules. Here is what Visa's rules say.
8 min read Switching providersMoving Stored Cards Between Processors
The rules do not describe a vault migration. They describe the state you have to be in at the end of one.
9 min read Switching providersChanging POS Systems Without Closing for a Day
The catalogue is the work. The card rules are the deadlines, and they do not move for your go-live date.
9 min read Switching providersAm I on the MATCH List? Mastercard's Terminated File
A plain-English guide to Mastercard's MATCH database, built from Mastercard's own rulebook, for business owners who suspect a listing is behind a declined application.
11 min read Switching providersWhy Was My Merchant Account Application Declined?
Most declines come from a check the acquirer has to run, not from an opinion about you.
10 min read Switching providersMerchant Underwriting: What They Are Actually Assessing
They are not assessing whether you are a good business. They are assessing whether the acquirer can safely stand behind your transactions.
9 min read Switching providersMerchant Account Application: What Underwriting Needs
Most of the form is not the processor being nosy. It is two rulebooks, and knowing which is which tells you what is negotiable.
10 min read Switching providersEarly Termination Fees and Liquidated Damages Clauses
A flat fee is a known cost. A damages formula can be thousands, and most merchants never read the clause until they want to leave.
7 min read Switching providersHow to Cancel a Merchant Account Properly
Stopping processing is not cancelling. Many agreements keep billing until they receive notice in the form they require.
8 min readEvery fee named, usually within 4 hours. Or call now and we quote you on the spot.
Everyone else in this industry says twenty-four hours. We say four — and if that is still too slow, pick up the phone and get your numbers while you are on the call. No contract, nothing to cancel, no pressure.