| Credit card payments are becoming increasingly | | | | statement often to detect transactions where |
| common and businesses that incorporate credit card | | | | customers have stopped payments to CC companies. |
| processing (CCP) solutions enjoy considerable | | | | You may be paying for invalid charge backs. |
| increase in sales. The retail industry in particular has | | | | Some customers purchase products and regret it later. |
| taken to accepting credit card payments in a huge | | | | Instead of following the correct protocol of returning |
| way. Most organizations that offer credit card (CC) | | | | the product to the store and asking for a refund, these |
| payment options are not aware of the actions that | | | | customers call up their CC company and stop the |
| inadvertently make them pay more than necessary | | | | payment by disputing the charge. This is a bad practice |
| for such transactions. | | | | and the business bears the charge back to the CCP |
| You can avoid paying more for CCP by following | | | | vendor. |
| these guidelines: | | | | You can keep a tab on such transactions and |
| Avoid manual entry of credit card number | | | | customers by developing an efficient system to |
| CC often get damaged by scraping with other card in | | | | compare income statements and CCP statements |
| the customer's purse. If the magnetic strip is | | | | regularly. |
| demagnetized, the swipe machine cannot read it. To | | | | Avoid fraud by using the following procedures |
| overcome this problem, checkout staff key in the CC | | | | consistently |
| number manually. | | | | Credit card fraud occurs every day. Small-time |
| CCP fee increases with the risk involved in such a | | | | fraudsters can be checked by following simple |
| transaction. Entering a card number manually increases | | | | procedures to verify the identity of the card holder |
| the processing fee to almost double, as the physical | | | | before processing the payment. Simple checks include |
| card is not used in the transaction. Such transactions | | | | asking for ID, matching signatures and not accepting |
| are a risk to the business, the CC company and the | | | | cards based on relationships with the cardholder. |
| customer. Many such transactions in a month can | | | | Businesses must train staff to follow these procedures |
| increase the business' payout to CCP vendor by a | | | | consistently and conscientiously to protect itself and its |
| good margin. | | | | customers from fraud. |
| The business should train checkout staff to ask for an | | | | The key to saving money is avoiding actions that incur |
| alternative CC if the one in hand is not working. More | | | | cost. Follow the simple measures explained above to |
| often than not, customers carry more than one. | | | | avoid paying extra for CC transactions. CC payments |
| Process manually only if an alternate card is not | | | | are a great way of boosting sales and you can |
| available. | | | | minimize the risks associated with it by following CCP |
| Frequently check credit card processing statements | | | | guidelines consistently. Train your staff to follow these |
| against income statements | | | | simple measures to avoid fraud and lower your costs. |
| Compare the CCP statement against the income | | | | |