How To Go About Accepting Credit Cards

I learnt the hard way in regards to accepting credit cards. I won't ever forget the day a gentleman wanted to buy one of my large (and higher priced) paintings at an exhibit.

When he mentioned that he could only pay via credit card, my heart sank.

I tried offering the "pay a deposit now and pay the rest later" option but this guy didn't want to make payments. He wanted the painting now or he wasn't go to pay at all.

I even pointed out the closest ATM machine so that he could retrieve some cash. He wasn't interested.

As a result, I had lost the sale because I could not accommodate with an appropriate payment option.

Let me make it quite clear, you will lose sales if you do not have a way for accepting credit cards. Let me put it another way; if you want to increase your sales, have a way to accept credit card payments.

I learnt a valuable lesson that day. Most people don't walk around with wads of cash in their pocket with the intention of buying art.

In a lot of cases, people accidentally stumble upon a piece that totally grabs them and they just have to buy it. Therefore, if you do not have the payment options available to accommodate, you will lose those impulse purchases.

The best part is; it is quite easy to go about accepting credit cards as a payment method for your customer. At first glance, it may seem that the options available to us artists to process credit cards are endless.

There are literally millions of people establishing home-based businesses all around the world, every year. As a result, the merchant companies are also growing in great numbers.

Accepting Credit Cards & Setting Up a Merchant Account

Having a merchant account is very handy for accepting credit cards at outdoor events and art festivals.

You ultimately want to make the whole payment process for your buyer, painless, easy, fast and as reliable as you can. The best piece of advice I can give you about setting up a merchant account is to shop around.

You need to be aware of the merchant account providers' contracts and conditions - not to mention how much you can expect to be charged in fees for each transaction you make.

Additionally, there is often going to be a monthly fee for simply using the account, so you will need to do some sums and determine the validity of using such a service.

One big tip I will give you is to make sure that your merchant account provider has 24/7 support.

I was involved with a merchant account provider some years ago and the only way to contact them was through email (which sometimes took up to 24 hours to get a response) or phone during the hours of 9 to 5 Monday to Friday.

Even during those hours I was lucky if somebody picked up the phone at the other end.

I take full responsibility for not doing my homework as well as I should have. I didn't do a full assessment of the company I was dealing with on the basis that a business associate had recommended them to me.

In the end I paid the cancellation fee to break my contract with this particular provider and went elsewhere. Although I was $350 out of pocket, I was happy to be free to find a much more reliable service.

I didn’t tell you that story to scare you, but more importantly to reiterate the importance of doing your homework properly.

As I always say, I have made more mistakes than anyone I know. But I take notes.

Do a Proper Assessment

I really encourage you to do a full assessment of each merchant account provider and compare the features. Consider evaluating such things as:

Customer Support - do they have a 24/7 support line so you can talk to a live agent. Additionally, if you send an email, are you likely to receive a quick reply, and not have to wait 24 hours?
Cost of Equipment – it's likely you will need a credit card swipe terminal to process payments at your event (or process payments on a laptop)
Application Fees
Transfer Fees – are you going to be charged bank fees? Will the merchant provider charge you transfer fees or a percentage from each sale made?
Monthly Fees (or annual) – there are merchant providers who do not charge monthly fees, but an annual fee. Be sure to compare the fees of one merchant account provider against another.
Cards Accepted - what cards does your merchant account provider accept - MasterCard, Visa etc? This is one pitfall I fell into because my first merchant provider only accepted just a few credit cards. Remember, the more people you can cater to, the more you increase your likelihood of making a sale.
Cancellation Charges – if a customer ends up not accepting the charge on their card, you may have to pay for the cancellation. How much is the chargeback fee?
Protection Against Credit Card Fraud – how equipped is the merchant account provider in dealing with fraud protection.

Increasing Your Chances of Sale Giving people the opportunity to purchase your art without having to hand over cash currency will greatly increase your chances of making more sales.

Be sure to let people know that you accept credit card payments.

Quiz your merchant account provider about getting a sign (with all the card emblem logos) to display what cards you accept.

Not only does this help you as a self-promoter (some people see credit card signs and are drawn in without having even considered what the product is) it will also show that you are operating a real business.

Accepting credit cards will make you look like a professional.

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