BluePay Blog

Cash used to be king, but today’s consumers prefer to pay with credit, debit, or even alternative payment methods, like Apple Pay. Offering your customers more ways to pay can help increase your sales and generate customer loyalty.

Topics: Payment Technology, Getting Started with Payments, Merchant Accounts

There are three essential components you need to bring together to accept credit cards:  A merchant account. This is essentially a bank account that allows you to accept incoming credit card payments.  A payment processor. This term is used interchangeably with merchant account provider. When you apply for an account to accept payments, your provider will set you up with an acquiring bank and the connections to authorize and settle transactions into your bank account of choice. A payment gateway. This is the tool that captures credit card data before sending it to your processor. Think of it as an “online” credit card terminal. 

Topics: E-Commerce and Online Payments, Payment Technology, Small Business Tips, Enterprise Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Merchant Accounts

Roughly 80 percent of American shoppers cite plastic as their preferred payment method. The simple act of hanging credit card logos on your store window or embedding them on your website can help attract more traffic. It’s clear that accepting credit cards can be a great way to boost sales. However, credit card acceptance carries a number of merchant fees. Paid entirely by you (the retailer), these charges are designed to cover payment processing costs such as: 

Topics: Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Merchant Accounts

When you launch a new business, you can usually get away with accepting cash and checks. You might even consider accepting PayPal or Apple Pay if you sell products and services online. 

Topics: Getting Started with Payments, Merchant Accounts, Awareness

Choosing a merchant processor for your business isn't easy. There are so many providers out there that it’s sometimes hard to know exactly where to start.  Many businesses focus on fees, which makes sense. Since each transaction costs money, it's only natural that you’d try to reduce processing fees as much as possible. However, merchant fees don't simply vary across providers. They also change depending on the size and nature of your business. For example, larger companies often qualify for lower fees than do smaller ones.

Topics: Getting Started with Payments, Merchant Accounts, Awareness

Any time you begin accepting credit cards within your business, you can expect to pay certain fees. These charges can sometimes become complicated. Though the more you understand how credit card merchant fees work, the better positioned you are to negotiate better rates or dispute unnecessary charges. The following is a breakdown of the most common credit card processing fees in the industry:

Topics: Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Merchant Accounts, Awareness

A merchant account establishes a business relationship with a merchant services provider, like BluePay, which enables a business to accept debit and credit cards, EMV mobile payments, and more. By adding a merchant account, you can begin accepting electronic payments. Although you are free to continue relying exclusively on cash or checks, adding more payment options will allow you to capture many more types of sales.

Topics: Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Merchant Accounts, Awareness

A merchant account is a type of bank account that lets your business accept multiple forms of payment, including credit cards, debit cards, and ACH payments. Merchant accounts are provided by a merchant acquirer or acquiring bank, which may also be a credit card processor.  A credit card payment gateway is a crucial component to e-commerce.

Topics: E-Commerce and Online Payments, Payment Technology, Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Merchant Accounts, Awareness

When businesses decide to accept credit cards, they typically sign up for a merchant account that automatically bundles Visa, Mastercard and Discover together. The rates are reasonable, and competition amongst merchant account solutions provides plenty of payment processing options.

Topics: Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Payment Trends, Merchant Accounts