I am Dr CC Processor. Merchant Payment Services has hired me as a consultant to help merchants across the country. I will giving weekly tips on how to improve your processing experiences, educating about new products and procedures, and giving helpful advice that is guaranteed to make you life more awesome!Find me on twitter, Facebook , & youtube, or go straight to the Merchant Payment Services website and check out their amazing weekly blogs.Remember, I might not be a real Doctor, but I do really like helping people with their credit card processing!Until next time, I am Dr CC Processor and this message has been approved ...read more
By Merchant Payment Services March 19, 2014
I have a hard time understanding why it is such a battle training some of our merchants. We offer several avenues and options to accommodate different schedules so everyone can be properly trained. Somemerchants will set up accounts, and then try to “wing it”, but never actually get trained on proper procedures for credit card processing. Not fully understanding processing procedures can be risky! You wouldn’t hire an employee without giving training, would you? I recognize the benefit of giving proper training, suggesting training should be a standard for retailers to embrace. Research shows over half of retail store employees feel disconnected from their company strategy and direction. Training is a key issue for merchants, who operate in an industry that traditionally experiences high staff turnover and relies heavily on front line staff to deliver an engaging and positive customer experience – employees directly impacts on customer loyalty and sales performance. In terms of how training is currently being delivered: • store associates are receiving training primarily from a supervisor• employees receive no formal training• employees are asked to read a manual or handbook• an outside source/professional is asked to specifically come in to train Bringing proper training to store employees means a better experience for the customer in store and we think this is worth talking about. I see a huge improvement in retail stores driving sales, increasing loyalty, improving staff retention, and creating a greater connection to the company. It always is and always will be my recommendation to not refuse training when setting up a new merchant services account. Regardless of who you process with or how long you have been using a credit card terminal, processes and procedures change and you could be saving lots of headaches down the road with a simple ten minute training session. ...read more
By Merchant Payment Services March 19, 2014
A few weeks ago, we were approached by a local church who asked if we could help them get a giving kiosk. For those of you who don’t know what a giving kiosk is, it is basically a free standing credit card terminal that allows unattended people to tithe and give donations. I was happy to help, so I started doing a little research on compatible equipment. It took about 10 minutes for me to do the research on theequipment, what somehow devoured my entire hour lunch break was the posted user comments. After reading random comments about credits cards in church I learned three things. 1) If your church accepts credit cards everyone involved is going to hell.2) If your church does not accept credit cards everyone involved is going to hell.3) People are opinionated and kind of crazy. Before I get to far into this, I feel it necessary to say a few things. Most of the things discussed here are going to be opinions and interpretations, not fact, not law. When using the word “church” I will mainly be speaking of the Christian church. I am a Christian, the church I was doing the original research is Christian based, my knowledge bank and resources are all Christian based. If you are a non-Christian that has some kind of worship center and would like me to address my thoughts, let me know, I will gladly accommodate. A lot of people are for credit cards in church, it seems like about half say they are for it. Although less mean then the other half, they still have some not so nice opinions on those exact people. Here are some reasons and things to think about for the PROs category: 1) Stay with the times-News flash, we no longer use the same currency as they used in biblical times. At some point change happened, probably several times. I bet not too many years back taking checks was a hot topic in the church payment world. Now, checks are a preferred way of payment for many churches. 2) Convenience- We are entering an age of cashless times. Most people no longer carry cash because they have the connivance of carrying plastic. Many people don’t want to make a special trip to an atm just to go to church on Sunday. People don’t answer the phone cause they can text. People won’t tithe unless they have their preferred option to do so. 3) Churches are businesses- Try to deny it all you want, but your church is a business. You are a salesmen for Jesus and that’s okay! Compare a successful businesses that does about the same transaction size as a church (the average tithe), you will see that the business that accepts credit cards is much more profitable. 4) Options-Accepting credit cards give you unlimited options when it comes to receiving donations/tithe. You can set up credits processing with a custom built app, a standalone terminal, several websites, and the list goes on and on. If someone is sick, or is from somewhere else they are still able to give without even showing up. Credit cards do not have to replace cash&check, but they can add an option for a congregation. 5) Let God lead you- A stand alone credit card terminal gives people the option to give how and when they are lead. If the offering plate has already passed, how do you give if you are lead to do so? Especially in larger churches, who knows how long it would take to track down the individual who will make sure your money gets to the right place. The other half, or as I like to call them “the scary amount of angry-judgement-criticizing people”. This is for the people who are against credit cards in the modern church. For some reason, the people for it were like “ya, I’m for it”, this group was like “NO, WE ARE AGAINST IT YOU DEVIL WORSHIPER” (please remember, I am just referring to the hour of comments I read. I realize that the majority of people who disagree with credit cards in the church never commented at all.) So here is the CON list. 1) Debt- Proverbs 22:7 was the most commonly seen scripture on several reviews. “The rich rules over the poor, the borrower is a slave to the lender”. Credit is a form of borrowing, so credit is bad. Debt is a big problem in our country, so if you allow people to use credit cards you are being part of the problem. You are not only directly hurting your congregation, but you are also being a negative reflection of Christ. 2) WWDRD- Dave Ramsey preaches against credit cards. Dave Ramsey believes there are zero responsible uses for credit cards. 3) Emotional giving, not responsible giving- If someone gets caught up in the moment, credit cards make it easier to give more than they can afford. Several pastors, worship bands, guest speakers, are really amazing at what they do. Goose bumps and tears in full swing, could cause a momentary lapse in judgement and cause giving resentment. 4) Big Brother-The government wants churches to accept credit cards so they can better monitor money. Due to separation of church and state, the government has a hard time knowing how much money churches actually take in. A cashless society helps uncle Sam know who is doing what. 5) Hypocrisy- Some people think, if a church offers debt management or financial classes (which many do) they are being hypocritical by offering credit card acceptance. How can a Church offer a Dave Ramsey class and still accept credit cards? The third half, my half. After reading everyone’s opinion and beliefs, I didn’t form as much as an opinion on credit cards at the church, as I formed on Christians on the internet. We need to fix ourselves. I am not perfect by any means, but if I was posting a comment on a Christian website about Christian subjects, I would certainly be sitting up straight. Here are my thoughts on the above topics. 1.1) Staying with the times- I totally agree that the times are changing. No argument, doesn’t matter if I like it or not,I think cash will be out soon enough. 1.2) Debt- Well, how far do you want to take this. I believe the Bible is absolute and it is true, however I feel some things are hard to interpret into today’s life. Credit cards didn’t exist in Bible days, so no they are not mentioned. I would be willing to bet a lot of people that quoted the listed verse don’t have any issue with having a mortgage. What about cable, electric, water, sewage, all things you borrow and then pay for later. Whats the difference? I believe credit is a part of life and denying it or making evil doesn’t help a realistic family. Rather than pushing high school kids into college loans they will be paying back their entire lives, we should be teaching about proper credit, interest management. Where was that class? Educate and don’t wait until it’s too late. 2.1) Convenience-I can totally relate. I don’t know how many Sundays I have reached for my wallet and not had cash for the plate. If I would have had an app or any other advertised way to pay, I might not have missed my tithe. A lot of churches actually accept CC, they just never promote it, so no one knows. (In my more recent adult years, I have tithing scheduled and pulled out automatically through my checking account to make things easy for me.) 2.2) WWDRD- Dave Ramsey is awesome. That being said, he is a business man not God, and he accepts credit cards on his website for his stuff. Clearly, someone on his team understands that paying with credit cards might not be the best, but accepting them is a must. (It is marked as debit, but without out a pin it is a credit trans not a debit. It is a way a marketing team can argue they don’t really accept cc, but sorry, they do.) 3.1) Church is a business- I agree and disagree with this one. I don’t agree with removing the God, the morals, and the Bible from the practices to get answers to your equation. I actually believe God, the morals, and the Bible should be added to secular businesses. I can however see the big picture of a business model and I agree. 3.2) Emotional giving, not responsible giving- This is tough, it’s not a good thing to give out of your means, but probably something that isn’t manageable. I have seen many people give more then what is responsible without credit cards. To this I say, pray, and let God lead. I good rule of thumb on something you are taking a leap of faith on, is pray several times, and seek open council from unaffiliated elders. If they have no stake in the claim, but they share the same belief system, they could probably lend a wise tongue. Then act. 4.1) Options- Can’t argue with that! 4.2) Big Brother- I don’t see why anyone would care, I get it. The funny thing is, no one brought up the point of “How is it even legal for churches to accept credit cards.” If you own a legal marijuana clinic you can’t accept credit cards because it is federally regulated and federally illegal. How can churches accept credit cards when they aren’t allowed to be federally regulated? 5.1) Let God lead you- see 2.1 5.2) Hypocrisy- This this one is dumb. To me, it’s like saying, “you can’t do weddings because you offer marriage counseling.” One doesn’t contradict the other at all. Some things work for some and not others.Well, there it is in all it’s glory. Basically, it all boils down to, do research, form an opinion, act according to what you think is best. What do you think? ...read more
By Merchant Payment Services March 19, 2014
Making the decision to sell one's stocks can be very confusing if one is a novice. There are a number of factors that should be considered when selling stocks, such as what price one should sell the stocks for and when is a good time to put them on the market. ...read more