Dear Cathy,

I am looking for a credit card processing company and I never took credit cards before. do you think that they will approve me and how much should I be paying?

Susan Johnston

Dear Susan,

You have many options. The war is on with the services that provide credit card processing for Internet based businesses. These companies are coming out of the woodwork. In deciding which company to go with, you first need to ask yourself some questions:

1. Do you already have a web site? If so, what type of software does your hosting company use? If not, there are many companies that offer free web sites and a small monthly hosting and transaction fee.

2. How is your personal credit? Banks and larger merchant service companies will look into your personal credit history as well as your business history. If you have good credit ratings you can shop around.

3. What are your sales goals? If you are looking to process a lot of transactions per month, look for a company that has a slightly higher percentage of the purchase price and a low transaction fee. Look for companies that process all different types of credit cards not just mastercard and visa.

Shop around for a deal. If you already have a web site and a shopping cart you can get pretty aggressive about saving money on set up fees. Here are areas of concern, is the company trustworthy? what are the setup fees? what are the transaction fees? what percentage of the sale do you have to pay? Is the customer service department easy to reach? Is there a monthly maintenance fee? Are there any bank charges associated with the transaction?

By answering these questions, you will be able to choose your merchant service provider. By the way, if you do not have good credit, look for a company that provides turnkey solutions, web site and all. They are also very competitive and will take a chance on newcomers and people without a sterling credit history.

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