Want to become a merchant services agent but don’t know which merchant services ISO agent program is right for you? Well, why don’t we solve this problem for you? This guide is specifically created to help people who are stepping their toe into the vast sea of merchant processing. By the end of it, you will have a pretty clear idea of how to find a good processor.

10 Things You Need to Consider in a Merchant Services Agent Program

We will tell you 10 factors that you need to consider when looking for a viable, credible merchant services agent program. This way, you will ensure that there are no problems later on in your career as a credit card processing agent. With that said, let’s get started:

1. Fast Funding:

One of the most important things to look for in a merchant services ISO agent program is their funding period. Clients should not have to face delays in terms of funds transfer after a transaction is made. One of the most attractive and compelling features of a good merchant services ISO program is that the merchants get their funds the same day.

This is what attracts most of the merchants as they do not want their earnings to be kept by a 3rd party for more than a day. You will also be able to sell this kind of program better because of the speedy service.

2. Several Discounts:

When you are deciding to become a merchant services agent, go for the processor that offers a cash discount program. Simply put, it is a payment processing tactic where the fee of a particular credit card transaction is offset to the customers. This means that the merchant will not have to pay any transaction fee, the customers are using the facility instead of paying in cash, so it should be them who bear the cost.

The best cash discount program allows merchants to do just that! The algorithm of POS software is already trained to charge the percentage of fees levied on each transaction from the customer. Plus, some of the top merchants also provide free signage that educates customers about the fee on a credit card transaction, so there are no surprises at the end.

3. Dealing in High-Risk Industry:

There are many that become a credit card processor, but they have a very low-risk appetite. This means they will only deal in safer industries and not offer services to risky businesses like medical marijuana stores, travel agencies, and pharmacies etc. Now you might not work with these businesses when starting out, but soon, when your business grows, you will have to get clients from high-risk industries.

So if the credit card processor doesn’t deal with these industries, then you will be limited to a few fields which will put a cap on your growth potential. So instead of finding a merchant dealing with high-risk industries later on, you need to work with one from the start.

4. Assistance in Marketing:

As a credit card processing agent, you will need several marketing resources at your disposal to close sales. One of them is a team assisting you with lead capturing and turning the cold ones into warm leads. A terrific processor will have excellent merchant support that will help you convert more merchants with minimal energy, time, and resource exhaustion.

Plus, some of the excellent credit card processors also have their own landing pages designed to show to your potential customers. These landing pages can take several hundred dollars to make, but the processor will offer you for free, making your conversion process easier.

5. Flexible Plans:

One of the most necessary parts of working with a merchant services ISO program is to get paid properly and on time. You do not want to be underpaid, so make sure to work with a processor that offers a fair share of the income to you. Also, they must have lucrative bonuses if you go out of your way to close a specific number of sales in X amount of time.

You need to properly analyze the contract you will sign with them and check their payment terms, make sure to work with a company that pays on time.

6. Merchant and Income Analytics:

The best part of working with the top credit card processors in the industry is that they leverage technology to make things easier for their agents. A good processor will provide you with your own dashboard that will display various performance metrics like the number of sales you closed, your earnings, number of clients, and more.

Some even go the extra mile and provide data on merchants as well. You might be able to see the number of transactions they make and even get information on individual transactions.

7. Equipment and Software:

Many become a registered ISO for merchant service providers, but they do not work on their equipment and its advancement. The credit card processor must provide you with the necessary technology that you can offer to your clients and seal the deal. A good processor should offer these equipment and facilities:

• Point of Sale terminals to suit the needs of merchants
• Smart online payment options
• Facility of mobile payments
• Support loyalty programs and gift cards
• Fast processing with minimal errors As for the software, they must have up to date, user-friendly software in their equipment, allowing merchants to complete the transaction process smoothly.

8. Excellent Support:

Besides the marketing assistance that we discussed above, the merchant services provider should offer fast, responsive, and friendly customer services. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where your customers are facing any issues that need to be solved, and you cannot get in touch with the processor’s customer support to fix them.

In this case, even if the problem is not caused by you, you will be the one facing the consequences if you cannot get a customer support agent to solve the problem. The merchant might stop using the processor, and that will result in your financial loss.

So before you decide on working with a merchant, you need to ensure that they have a dedicated customer support team that can quickly answer your questions and solve any problems as soon as possible.

9. Multiple Boarding Options:

Look for a program that provides different boarding options from big payment processing platforms like EPX, First Data and Global Payments. Being able to access these programs means complete peace of mind for both you and the merchants.

Because there will be fewer chances of facing any integration or technological problems when connecting the POS or billing software of the merchant with the platforms your program uses. This will ensure your whole sales process goes smoothly, and you don’t lose a ready-to-convert client at the last moment.

10. Must Be Credible:

Lastly, you need to do your complete due diligence in finding everything about the company you can. They should not have a shady track record, damaged reputation, or bad reviews on the internet.

You need to work with a company that has the face of its CEO attached to it, has a brick and mortar headquarter, and is licensed to operate.

Plus, keep your eyes peeled for any too good to be true bonuses or discounts; these things come with bad surprises later on.

Is There Any Program With These Qualities?

Glad you asked, I was wondering that I have written 10 points for you to look in a company so it might be challenging to find one that meets this criterion. Well, let me make things simple for you by introducting North American Bancard. They are excellent at what they do, and their core focus is to benefit their agents and merchants. Have a look at a few of their key features:

• They have Global Payments, EPX and First Data powered merchant accounts
• Their terminals work with both credit and debit cards. Plus, they support both EMV and NFC based methods of payment
• They also support mobile payments via PayAnywhere technology
• Their PayAnywhere feature also works with storefront point of sale system
• Automated cash discounting
• They have web-based terminals that provide agents with all the details of their performance and the specifics of their merchants
• Very attractive signup and profitability bonuses

Parting Words:

If you have successfully made it to the end, then it means you already know about the key things to look for to find the cream of the crop credit card processing company. We have also suggested the leading program with all the qualities discussed in this guide. So it is fair to say that you have everything you need to get started on your journey to working as a merchant services representative. You just need to take the first step and make a career doing what you really want to do.

If you are a merchant services agent, then you know the benefit of having a ISO agent program provider that you can trust and depend on to provide quality services to your merchants. Even though any credit card processing agent will tell you that a processing program that is high-quality is of utmost importance, it is still difficult to try and find a program that fits your needs. That’s because with all of the options, it can quickly become a messy, tricky process.

To provide you with some guidance as to the best credit card processing ISO programs, this list will delve into the most reputable programs and why you should consider them as your processing program. With this resource at your disposal, you’ll be one step closer to finding a credit card processing program that is right for you.

North American Bancard

If support and experience are priorities for you when you are choosing a processing partner for your agent activity, then North American Bancard is one of the most obvious choices. For years, North American Bancard has been one of the best in the industry when it comes to customer support and length of experience. These are two very valuable assets to have when searching for a merchant processing partner at any point in your agent career, but they are especially important for agents that are just starting out. When you are just starting out as a merchant, you need a partner that is both experienced and offers good support to guide you through the early stages and ensure your merchants get the very best service possible.

In addition to the customer service that they offer and the experience that they bring to the table, North American Bancard also happens to have some of the most high-tech and innovative merchant services available on the market today. If you’re looking for the best of both worlds, then North American Bancard is definitely an option for you.

Shaw Merchant Group

For years, Shaw Merchant Group has been one of the main leaders in the merchant processing industry. They feature a great partner program that is one of the best in the country for those that are looking for growth potential. For ambition sales agents that want to maximize their earnings potential, SMG offers a very robust and lucrative bonus program that has rewarded good performance time and again.

Apart from the benefits that they have to offer in the way of earnings, SMG also has a proven track record of providing high-quality customer service to their merchants and agents. This is a huge selling point with merchants and helps to assure them that you will be there for them regardless of what happens.

Where Shaw Merchant Group  really shines is in the ease-of-use that they have to offer with the solutions in their product suite. Merchants often have a difficult time getting up and running and training employees on payment systems, but solutions from SMG basically solve this problem altogether. Their merchant services solutions feature easy-to-understand dashboards that provide you with all the functionality and processing power that you might need while still saying simple and easy.

PayProTec

If you’re looking less for a partner that sits in the background and collects payments and more a partner that takes an active role in your business and helps you to succeed, then one of the best choices that you can make is PayProTec. PayProTec has a reputation in the agent processing program industry as being a partner that gives you the tools that you need to succeed in a very competitive industry. In an industry like merchant services, you’ll take any help that you can get when it comes to selling merchant services. PayProTec will work hand-in-hand with you to get you established and give you actionable resources to increase your performance and market your business.

In addition to providing you with a wide range of tools to help your success, PayProTec also has incentives that will help your merchants feel more comfortable such as instant customer support and a free terminal program to make your services look even more attractive to merchants.

Shift 4 Payments

The POS system that a merchant operates will always have a very large impact on how willing they are to make the jump to your services. When you work with Shift 4, you will see exactly the impact that working with one of the most reputable providers of POS systems in the world provides. When you work with Shift 4, you’ll be gaining access to one of the world’s most robust POS offerings, and you’ll be able to offer it for free. Shift 4 helped to pioneer the free POS system offering and they continue to offer it today to merchants around the world. When you can offer a brand new POS system to your merchants, they are much more likely to use your merchant services and be willing to open up a lucrative, long-term relationship with you as their merchant services provider.

Durango Merchant Services

If you offer merchant services to merchants that are considered to be in a high-risk industry or business, then you know the struggle of trying to find a good merchant processing partner program to take them on. If you do cater to these industries, then Durango Merchant Services might be the best option for you. Durango has been around for a while and in that time, they have established a reputation for catering to high risk merchants and putting together robust merchant services packages that remain affordable for a high risk business account.

One of the main strengths of Durango Merchant Services is that they allow a wide range of industries. Some high-risk merchants like to specialize in one industry, but Durango does it all. If you’re looking for a merchant processing program that will provide you with flexibility when working with these merchants, then there’s no better choice in the industry than Durango Merchant Services.