Finding the right merchant service provider, of MSP, is one of the most important decisions you can make as a small business owner. If you choose the right one, it is a simple and easy process that sets your company up for success. Choose the wrong one and you can get stuck paying higher transaction rates and extraneous fees, while these costs may not sink your business they certainly will not help your cause. Making the process of choosing a great merchant account more difficult is that accounts can be structured differently depending on the type of transactions you will see, the types of credit cards, the equipment you use, and the network your transactions are processed on. These differences between accounts are designed to help save you money, but it is up to you as the small business owner to make sure that they are not costing you money.

If you're reading this article you've already taken the first steps towards signing up for a great merchant account, as research really is the key. The three main areas that I always suggest merchants how to be a credit card processor focus on when evaluating merchant providers are the rates and fees available, the lifetime costs you can expect to see, and the customer service you will receive after becoming a merchant. This list seems obvious to many individuals, but often the allure of getting the "lowest rate" possible, blinds merchants to the second and third points.