Payment processing for companies such as Home Depot and Walmart is a relatively painless process; volumes create power, attract better interchange rates and help develop new options. But, for smaller companies that lack the infrastructure, legal support and technical skills, it is an entirely different world
• Small businesses in Southern California have joined hundreds across the country in warning others to beware of possible fraudulent sales techniques regarding credit and debit card processing and equipment leasing companies.
• … Kobayashi found out she had inadvertently signed a “non-cancellable” four-year lease of credit card reading equipment with Northern Leasing that cost over $100 per month. The processing rate was also much higher than promised.
The issue persists 3000 miles away; there are surely many businesses in between with similar issues
• Northern Leasing has denied allegations by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman that the company “trapped small businesses into never-ending lease agreements for over-priced credit card processing equipment and abused the judicial process by suing to collect on these leases,”
Another challenge for the small companies. Sometimes cost saving efforts don’t work as well as sticking with established vendors and pricing the cost into your products. You can’t get away from accepting cards; maybe it just makes sense to stick with the process and accept the costs…
Overview by Brian Riley, Director, Credit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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