Posted by Marian_in_CA on 10/25/10 8:06pm
Msg #358198
Taking Credit Cards - especially on the road
My largest portion of notary work is general mobile notary services... not loan work, though I happily do both. More and more, people have been asking if I take credit cards as payment, and not like you would online through PayPal, but actually in person. I've actually lost quote a few calls because of it.
Well, as part of my work as a Virtual Assistant, there was a recent discussion about credit cards, and one of the bookkeepers highly recommended a merchant account through Intuit, the people that make Quickbooks. The fees are actually less expensive per transaction than PayPal, though there is a monthly fee of $12.95.
If anyone is interested, I highly suggest applying for an account. Right now they're offering 60 days free (no $12.95 fee), no application fees, setup fees or anything... just the per transaction fees. You can take a credit card right on your mobile phone through their secure browser, and email a receipt to the person. Alternatively, you can buy a small bluetooth swiper/printer, which will result in lower transactions fees.
The coolest part about this, for me, is being able to pull up the charge screen on my BlackBerry and enter the data right there. The risk of chargebacks in our industry is fairly low, considering (at least in CA) we tend to get fingerprints. Pretty tough to dispute that kind of thing.
I applied online, and they approved my account within a few hours. I think it really helped that I had a solid website in place before I applied, but I don't think it's required. I think it DEFINITELY helps to have an EIN number. They don't require a business bank account, but you do have to give them a verifiable checking account.
I don't get anything out of this... but if you've been thinking about it.... take 60 days to at least try it out, because they let you cancel, no problem:
http://www.gopayment.com
The $12.95/ month fee doesn't seem that bad at all if it means I don't lose work. One mobile call would more than pay for it. This type of plan is built specifically for mobile professionals.
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