Credit Card Processing - A Primer (1329 words)

By Tim Litle

How to shop for a service bureau, understand processing charges and much more.

You know that you must accept Visa and MasterCard; most catalogers wouldn't be in business without them. And you know that credit card processing can be expensive, typically costing more than 2 percent of sales. But you probably don't know if your payment processor is doing a good job, or if you're getting value for your money. And what you don't know might be hurting your business.