Credit Card Processing By Phone: A Working Long-Distance Relationship

So, you advertise in the phone book. Magnets of your company logo hang on hundreds of refrigerators across your county. You even have a small company website that hosts your contact information. Hundreds, if not thousands, of potential customers are only seconds away from finding your number and calling you. Did you ever wonder how you could turn this exposure into profit? Well, there is no easier way to do this than being able to process credit cards over the telephone.

The first step to turning your phone line into a profit generator is to get a merchant account. A merchant account is a contract between you and a financial institution where the institution underwrites your business’ credit card transactions. This ensures that your hard earned money is securely deposited into your bank account.

Next, you may consider obtaining a toll free number or even an additional phone line so that you can process orders while not tying up your original business line. For your toll free or additional line, you might choose to have it automated. Or you could allow it to remain staffed.  It’s important to discuss your line options with your merchant account vendor to see all the possibilities you have and how much direct or indirect expenses you will incur.

Although there are fees for telephone credit card processing, they can be as low as 2% of your total transactions. Processing credit cards over the phone is a simple and effective weigh to boost profits and expand your business.