At Firearms Merchant Accounts, we make accepting debit and credit card payments simple and affordable. Here are five easy steps your firearms business can take to save money when accepting credit cards.
1. Ask Customers to Use PIN with Debit
If a customer pays with a debit card in a retail setting, always ask the customer to enter their PIN as opposed to just running the debit card as credit. Why? Because PIN Debit transactions are typically a full 1% cheaper for the business than a debit card run as credit.
2. Dip or Swipe Over Keyed In
Always try to swipe or dip a credit card as opposed to keying in a customer’s credit card number. For example, if a customer calls ahead before picking up their firearm, don’t take payment over the phone, instead do so in person. Similarly, if a customer’s credit card stripe is worn, try it a few times before resorting to keying in the card number. Why? Keyed in transactions are subject to more fraud, and as a result businesses pay approximately 0.5-1% more to accept keyed in transactions.
3. Use Mobile Swipers Instead of Calling in Orders
If you occasionally accept payments at a gun show or on the road, consider purchasing a mobile or wireless swiper as opposed to simply calling the order in, or waiting until you get back to the store to key the customer’s card info. Why? Not only is it more secure, but you’ll save 1%-1.5% by using swiped as opposed to keyed in transactions.
4. Use AVS to Reduce Fraud and ‘Friendly Chargebacks’
For eCommerce firearms sales, fraudulent orders and ‘friendly chargebacks’ (where customers attempt to charge back an order after receiving it in an attempt to get it for free), are a real threat. By enabling Address Verification (AVS) on your payment gateway, however, you can significantly reduce fraudulent orders and friendly chargebacks and their associated costs. That’s because credit card thieves typically don’t know the legitimate cardholder’s zip code and thus get blocked from placing the order, and ‘friendly chargeback’ fraudsters have a more difficult time arguing that they didn’t actually place the order when their address was properly entered.
5. Complete PCI Compliance
Visa, MasterCard, Discover and AMEX require businesses to meet basic security standards (PCI) to ensure that their customer’s credit card numbers are protected. As a result, each year you have to complete a 5 minute questionnaire to confirm that your firearms business is taking basic precautions to protect customers’ credit card info. If you don’t, you’ll be charged a monthly PCI non-compliance fee. Given how simple and quick it is to complete, it’s a easy way to lower your monthly bill.
Want More Ideas? At Firearms Merchant Accounts, our goal is to make accepting credit and debit card payments simple and affordable for retail, mobile and online businesses in the firearms industry. If you have questions about how to implement these ideas at your company contact our US based customer support team.