In order to compete with businesses in the same industry, merchants on the go must offer their customers a wide variety of payment options, including credit cards. However, not all portable payment devices are created equal. It’s important to research a variety of units in order to find the one that best meets your specific needs.

As a basic guideline, look for an advanced device that is easy to use for the merchant as well as the customer. For example, both parties would benefit from using a super fast unit that comes with a touch screen so that customers can quickly sign for transactions without wasting time with pen and paper. Merchants might also want to find portable payment devices featuring value-added transactions, such as gift and loyalty cards. Finally, look for a credit card processing device that is not only portable and light, but also secure and reliable.

Once you’ve found a reliable portable payment device, you can look into online credit card acceptance and other payment options for your business.

By incorporating the right loyalty marketing campaigns, businesses can satisfy the consumer’s need to purchase from a company they know and trust. This relationship building tactic transforms existing customers into dedicated shoppers. Of course, it also boosts sales.  

Just as it is important for businesses to accept credit cards and other payment options in order to satisfy new customers, companies can engage current clientele by offering attractive loyalty card programs. However, your loyalty card program can benefit your business beyond increasing sales. A simple loyalty card program can help you monitor customer behavior and history. With a loyalty card program, it’s easy to track the items they buy, where they buy, and when they buy. A loyalty card program also monitors how much they spend. All of this valuable information can be used to enhance current loyalty programs to better reward your clients.

How important is customer retention to your overall marketing campaign? Are you interested in maintaining or growing your loyalty programs? Learn more about our Gift-and-Loyalty Card program for your business, free credit card terminal opportunities, and other ways to expand your business.

Get on the right track by setting up a wireless credit card terminal and opening up your enterprise to online credit card acceptance. By Google’s own accounting, a whopping 97 percent of Americans head online to find services within their locality, but the number of businesses that are already online is seriously lagging; it stands at a paltry 38 percent. You certainly do not want to be left in the dust. Rise to the occasion by meeting the challenges of today’s market reality; set up online credit card acceptance within your business. It can do a world of good for your bottom line.

So gear up your business for a more bustling pace by contracting the assistance of a reliable merchant services provider — you’ll have all the resources you need to welcome credit card-wielding customers into your fold.

That’s why it’s no surprise that thoughtful preparation always yields the most generous benefits. Any business wins by being able to accept credit cards in person and online. Accepting credit cards will expand your customer base. In addition to capturing shoppers unlikely to visit your store in person, being equipped for online credit card acceptance means that your access to shoppers who do visit your store will be remarkably enhanced.

Those who value your products and services enough to make the trek on pavement to get them are also the most likely to make virtual shopping/purchasing at your business a regular habit. The added convenience of online shopping eludes very few people, so fall into this inexorable groove. Even when weekends are packed and making the trip after work is impossible, buyers will have time to schedule in a little “screen time” and buy what they need or want from your business online. But to take advantage of these situations, you must be prepared with a reliable ecommerce credit card processing service.

Kaplan began his career in 1994 when he founded Superior Bankcard Service.  In less than a year, SBS became the 12^th largest non-bank acquirer in the U.S. Kaplan eventually sold SBS for over $100 million, and, in 1999, founded his second company, Innovative Merchant Solutions. Four years later, Innovative merged with another company, and Kaplan sold his merchant services provider company for $116.

According to Ed Freeman, Chairman and Founder of Total Merchant Services, Kaplan was the perfect fit for the job. In a press release announcing the appointment, Freedman said, “We are all really excited to be working with Joe and trust his leadership and vision of where we need to go, and how we will get there.”

Kaplan was also eager to step up to the plate. “I’m looking forward to my new role in leading Total Merchant Services through its transformation from a sales and service organization, to a next generation, payment processing company, offering innovative payment processing solutions to merchants that will be the envy of the entire industry,” he said.

Kaplan added that he has admired TMS’s approach to the marketplace. According to Kaplan, TMS has been proactive and is leading the way in the industry. He said that the company is always evolving and is expected to “grow dramatically in the coming years.”

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to lead this well-respected, successful company,” said Kaplan.

Total Merchant Services is a Colorado-based ISO that provides affordable payment solutions for merchants who accept credit cards for their goods and services.

If your business is without this service, and your vision is one of growth, now is probably the best time to delve into the pre-contractual inquiry of what you want from a merchant services provider and what said entity can realistically provide you with. Important factors to consider are fees that bringing the services aboard will originate. The fees are not something to fear, but they are something to understand and grasp with a good dollop of deliberation.

An account setup typically requires the ordering and organizing of hardware and some software that may be in need of programming. All this work will more than likely be covered by your initial setup fee. An example of the hardware you get is a merchant credit card terminal. When mulling over the fees, remember that credit card payments streamline the purchasing process for customers, and when shopping is easy they’re more likely to indulge in it. Needless to say, this is all very well and good for your business. When you’re ready, go to a trusted merchant account services provider, like yours truly, where safeguarding you and your clients’ transactions are a top priority.

Consumers today are using credit cards more than ever before. And while plastic seems to be the way of the present, it just might be the way of the future. Market research predicts that credit card use is not only growing, but will become the payment of choice for consumers in the future both in the real world and online. According to recent data from Javelin Strategy & Research, online credit card use will increase a whopping 63 percent from 2011 to 2016, compared to a 2 percent increase in debit card use.

Plastic is dominating the shopping industry, both in the real world and online. Consumers prefer using credit cards because they rather not carry cash, they can gain loyalty points, they can purchase large ticket items (such as electronics and home appliances) and they can keep more money in the bank.

This means that merchants who want to survive in the business environment of the future will need to have the ability to process credit cards online, and in their stores.   However, selecting a merchant account provider is not easy. This is why Total Merchant Services is dedicated to providing merchants with the lowest rates in the industry. Speak to a representative about our customizable payment solutions. We can help you find the best merchant credit card terminal for your type of business.

In order to thrive in today’s business environment, small business owners will need to understand that plastic isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Numbers across the board are pointing to a major increase in purchases made with credit cards. First Data reports that credit card use increased 8.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011, 9 percent in the second, and 10.6 percent in the third quarter.

Plastic is also the payment form of choice for holiday shoppers this year.  CNN Money reports that payments made with credit cards on Black Friday rose 7.4 percent from the same day last year, while debit card purchases only increased 3.4 percent.

Without a proper credit card processing service, merchants and entrepreneurs forfeit consumer impulse purchases when they don’t accept credit cards. If you don’t want to forfeit sales, we recommend contacting Total Merchant Service, the leading merchant account service provider in the industry. We will get you started with a new merchant account so you can begin to accept credit cards as soon as possible. The holidays aren’t over yet, so give us a call to open a merchant account today.

To start, it’s important to round up the facts and figures and come to a decision without too much hesitation or trepidation. Going for long periods of time without the ability to accept credit cards can prove exceptionally costly in terms of lost revenue and client rapport and recognition. The technology offered by merchant providers is not by any definition a trendy bandwagon to get on — it is the way of the present and future. With the wide assortment of resources offered by a company like Total Merchant Services, it’s not necessary, nor recommendable, to go without a merchant credit card terminal any longer. You don’t have to take our word for it, of course. Simply talk to your business peers or peer into the latest printing or online publication of the business section.   

The popularity of credit cards and even credit card enabled smart phones is evident in any national daily you pick up with your morning coffee — if you’re not already reading it on an iPad. Things are looking up for something, alright, and that something is electronic circuitry and satellite technology.

Now, although you might want to, there’s really no need to thank your lucky stars for the fact that plenty of business out there, and this ever-helpful merchant services provider is most certainly included, are hot on the trail of this technology. We’re just doing our job. And by the force of our efforts, you, too, can enjoy unmitigated admittance into consumers’ increasingly well-guarded disposable incomes. Admitting the slim-ish chance that the ability to accept cash will ever go out of style — and the scenario of a neo-Ice Age where we all become barterers and connoisseurs of sea shells is being excluded, here — accepting credit card payments is pretty much mandatory for the efficient running of any modern business.