Article Contributed by Andy Lax

In every industry, with fire in their bellies, pitchmen and women embellish claims, hoping to reel in buyers by using smoke and mirrors. Consider the cosmetics industry, for example. We incessantly hear about the latest miracle anti-aging cream, able to reduce lines and wrinkles by x percent in y time. Elasticity, firmness and skin radiance dramatically increase, and with the continued use of product, one’s face defies gravity even more than airplanes.

Too many times, sadly, the buyer reports that the given product did not live up to claims. There goes money out the window yet thousands continue to search the holy grail of cosmetics – for the right product, at times regardless of expense.

Even in my own beloved merchant account field, declarations are made to entice and galvanize merchant interest. Accuracy and honesty be damned – all in a concerted effort to close a sale. In the spirit of safeguarding consumer protection, the following lists some common merchant account claims that may truly be misleading and purposely so:

We will give you z amount of dollars if you find a better offer – Imagine calling this merchant account provider. You report, “Smith Merchant Account Associates gave me a list of fees that are lower than yours. Please forward payment.” You will then proceed to hear that Smith has hidden fees or is a fly-by-night.

There are too many merchant account providers for any company to proclaim that it has the best rates across the board. It’s better to perform your own due diligence and choose the company that you determine has the lowest fees.

I can almost guarantee that you will not get any money by one merchant account provider if you discover a better fee structure somewhere else. (How’s that for a claim?)

We accept 99% of applicants – This is highly unlikely in light of the fact that an underwriting team assesses each merchant’s application. One criterion that is used in determining whether an application is accepted is the merchant’s personal credit score. Too many business owners do not have the requisite scores to obtain an account. Other business owners may run enterprises that are on a prohibitive list, precluding them access to credit card processing capability.

Sign up with us and get the first month free – Upon closer examination, realize that your processing costs will not be free. Your monthly fee may likely be waived which may be construed as generous. Still, when you compare merchant account providers, look at the total projected costs for a year’s time to make a suitable determination.

We offer free credit card processing terminals – Any honest merchant account company should disclose the caveats associated with the “free terminal” program. When a prospective customer investigates purchasing our “free terminal,” I am quick to delineate the terms and conditions. It may be better to just purchase a terminal outright.

Our credit card rates are as low as - In the merchant account field, a merchant's rates are dependent on the type of credit card that a customer offers. If a customer uses a check card, for example, the merchant account provider's rates are lower than if a customer uses a standard Visa/MasterCard card. Such savings may be passed on to the merchant.

Therefore, a merchant account provider may disclose the lowest rate that the company charges. (We've even had to do this on our website as prospective clients need to know that we provide discounts for certain types of cards, too.) But it behooves the merchant account provider, in an ethical sense, to explain that the lowest rate is not across the board and the rates go higher for different types of cards and transactions.

Limited Time Offer – These three words have been used in every form of advertising, in every sector of business, since the Stone Age. Yes, merchant account providers may run intermittent special offers, but more times than not, such wording is just used to lure the “impulse buyer.”

Our company was voted best by … – What entity voted for you? What criteria did they use? I am not aware of any prominent organization that ranks merchant account providers. And if there was such an organization, do they really evaluate the hundreds, if not thousands, of existing providers? (I have seen several sites list the “best merchant account providers,” but my emails are not returned when I asked them to evaluate our company’s pricing.)

Use us because we’re a bank – Please note that all reputable merchant account providers work in concert with acquiring banks. Going directly with a bank may or may not prove advantageous.

If you open an account with us, we’ll give you … -- Merchant account providers may provide you with any meaningless gift. I’ve seen several, for instance, that promise to register you with thousands of search engines. This is not necessary and will not help your site’s visibility. It’s just another marketing tool to make the prospective buyer think that he/she is gaining something for nothing

We get better rates from Visa/Mastercard – Merchant account providers who assert that their rates are better from the cardholding associations do so in an attempt to make merchants believe that they pass savings onto them. All providers deal with the same Interchange rate structure although some may have less “bin” or basis points that they have to apportion to their banks. The merchant account provider/acquiring bank relationship often has no bearing on the rates charged to the merchant.

Our bank is the largest one this side of the Mississippi – This can either be construed as a positive or a negative. Will the merchant receive exemplary customer support or will he/she be lost in the shuffle? How about the rates? Smaller providers may be hungrier for business, and may offer superior fees. Bigger doesn’t always mean better. (Where have I heard that before?)

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Of course, there are a number of other tempting phrases that you'll see emanating from merchant account companies' websites. Remain vigilant, be an educated consumer, a smart shopper, and a wise soul. As my Grandma always says, "You can't believe everything you read. (Of course, this truism does not apply to anything that I write.) She also says, "There's no truth in advertising." (My grandmother is very cynical, or "realistic," as she puts it.) Let the buyer beware!

Andy Lax has worked in the credit card processing industry for over five years and is now an Account Manager at IntelliCollect, a merchant account provider that enables business owners to accept credit cards and electronic checks.

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