The holiday season is barreling down on your retail store faster than a snowboarder careening down an icy hill. If you own a brick-and-mortar or online business, this just might be the busiest time of the year for you. Hitch your wagon to the right merchant service provider, and your sales could really soar this December. 

The role of your merchant services provider.

Although you can accept cash without needing a third party, that is not the case if you plan to accept credit or debit cards or any other form of electronic payments. Your merchant service provider is the entity that provides you the tools and services necessary to function in the digital payments world. Credit card processing tools available through your service provider include the following:

• Card readers equipped with the near-frequency communication (NFC) technology necessary to take contactless payments from customers’ smartphones or devices.
• Mobile payments hardware and software enabling customers to pay using their smartphones or via services like PayPal and Venmo.
• Terminals and tablets to facilitate the reading of customers’ credit cards and securely communicate with the other players in the payments process.
• An ecommerce platform allowing you to set up an online store and accept payments over the internet with a payment gateway.
• A virtual terminal that allows you to accept a payment without the credit card being physically present.
• A point of sale (POS) system to accept customer payments and streamline other back-office business operations like customer, employee, and inventory management. 

Considering the wide array of capabilities a high-quality merchant services company can bring to your business, it makes sense to exercise care and caution in choosing the best one.

Reaping the rewards: How a premium provider can boost your sales during the holidays!

When your customers love your business and what you have to offer, their enthusiasm is contagious. Here are just some of the ways your merchant service provider can jump-start their goodwill during this frenetic time of the year:

• Provide state-of-the-art processing equipment that facilitates fast, secure payments that buyers can trust.
• Offer merchants capabilities that let them provide customers with payment choices. These can include paying via credit and debit cards, electronic checks, ACH, and even cryptocurrency.
• Give merchants the ability to offer recurring billing options to their customers. Through this subscription-based model, buyers can make an agreement with you in advance that specifies a set amount to be withdrawn from the customer’s bank account on a certain date each month. This solution reduces late payments and bestows predictability to merchants and customers alike.
• Accept multiple currencies. If you do business with buyers from countries that use monetary denominations different from yours, it is very important to let them cash out using the currency with which they are familiar. In an ultra-competitive commercial landscape where foreign sellers are already at a disadvantage, offering currency conversion demonstrates that your business is transparent, which engenders trust. 

Best of all, the POS system you get from your merchant services provider is capable of streamlining your overall business functions. Essential elements like employee and inventory management, customer relations, and report generation can be integrated into a seamless whole that enhances the buyer’s entire shopping journey from their initial browse throughout your ongoing post-purchase contacts. This thorough attention to each buyer as a person helps to cement your current rapport and promote a long-term relationship that will translate into sales and referrals for years to come.

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