How do you accept credit card payments over the phone?

haring · January 10, 2012

I have tried to avoid accepting credit cards in the past because of the incurred cost. It looks like that I need to change this because more and more brides and grooms want to pay via credit card.

My question: Do you accept credit cards? If yes, which company do you use? Which type of service/provider should I avoid? Which is the most cost effective provider? What is the easiest way to start this?

Thanks for all you help!

Mark Dickinson · January 11, 2012

Yes -

Squareup.com

First data is another someone recommended to me

You can always look at it as added bookings, add 25.00 to your packages to cover the fees, or 50.00 depending on what your charges are. You will lose business because of the credit cards. We've increased our instant bookings where we say, well we can do a retainer now, (well I have no check) They are looking for a way out, then say we do cards and you can get points from us to save you additional money. That usually wins them over but not always.

jsinon · January 12, 2012

I'll second the Square. I've had mine for over a year.

In this day and age I don't see how a business could survive without accepting plastic. I know my wife and I almost never carry cash, and keep a minimal supply of checks for the few holdouts that don't take a credit/debit card. Square will send you their card reader for free, and they only charge something like 2.5% if you swipe the card and about 3.5% if you manually input the card. No other processing fees. The app is available for both the iPhone and Android. Not sure if you even need a phone for the service, but you would then have to manually input every card thus incurring the higher percent.

Mark Dickinson · January 12, 2012

Ipod, ipad work too with the reader - or manually punching in

jsinon · January 12, 2012

Mark Dickinson wrote: »

Ipod, ipad work too with the reader - or manually punching in

Duh! Forgot the iPod and iPad.

Rocketman766 · January 12, 2012

I have used both Square One and Intuit's Go-Payment for taking cards. I currently use the Go-Payment because it fits me better, but both are great. Fees are about the same for each. The fees are not very much so if you raise your price just a slight bit (don't tell people they are paying that fee for you.. I know some people who have) and your fees are covered. Another way to look at the small fees are just the cost of doing business.

Gary Peterson Photography · January 13, 2012

Squareup.com with I-phone.

jarboedoggart · January 15, 2012

Ditto.

Square on my iPhone and iPad. Only 2% charge which isn't unreasonable, free app and scanner, and quick next day deposit. No issues with them yet.

dixonjg30 · January 31, 2012

For those that have the Square app, check out the iPad version if you have one! You can customize it, etc and have prebuilt charges, so it comes out on the receipt as itemized, etc. . .ie. . $10 for this, $5 for that. . or whatever.

Andy · January 31, 2012

Hah. Obama's campaign staff is using Square to collect donations onsite whereever they are. Love it.

Mark Dickinson · February 2, 2012

dixonjg30 wrote: »

For those that have the Square app, check out the iPad version if you have one! You can customize it, etc and have prebuilt charges, so it comes out on the receipt as itemized, etc. . .ie. . $10 for this, $5 for that. . or whatever.

But you can't add a custom description like on the iphone which causes me headaches when im taking payments over the phone and dont immediately document them,

GerryDavid · February 12, 2012

Does anyone know if square up or something like that would work on a computer?

I dont have a smart phone because I dont want to pay double for my internet, plus my studio doesn't get the best cell signal.

Right now I tell my customers they can pay with a CC via paypal, but I do charge 5% for cc payments to cover my expenses. But saying I use paypal doesn't seem to professional.

ADMIT Photography · February 13, 2012

I was just looking at the Squareup.com site. Is there any month statement fees or anything of that sort? Just paying the per transaction cost seems to good to be true. I've been looking for a good company to accept credit cards through.

Mark Dickinson · February 13, 2012

Gerry,

You might be able to find a iphone/smartphone emulator and download the app and punch the numbers in, but they do not have a computer app that I know of.

Farns: yes there is a monthly statement, but NO fee. Its similar to paypal except swiping, and punching in numbers. No fees on my side, last year we did over 30k in square with onlocation purchases. I swear by it. Download the app on your phone for free and try the interface.

ADMIT Photography · February 15, 2012

Only thing I wish they offered was a virtual terminal online. I'm looking at getting a new phone right now and I'm looking at the iPhone.

Mark: You've not had any problems with the company then?

Mark Dickinson · February 16, 2012

Farns, no problems with transactions, nothing with the reader, (keep spares though), nothing overall. My wife doesn't like it for searching and reference, but make sure you always put a description in the transaction that will save headaches. It blocks out phone numbers, and emails partially for security and protection of customer.

How do you accept credit card payments over the phone?

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