Do you need a payments advisor?

You probably haven’t heard this term before as it’s a fairly new one, but a payments advisor is an individual that helps a business with both costs and structure relative to the way an organization accepts payments.  In today’s world every business has to accept all forms of payment in order to satisfy their customers, but typically that means multiple processes and multiple vendors.  So what if you could sit down with someone who’s independent, who has years of experience, and can help you identify holes, pain points, and area for savings.

Let’s face it, accepting or paying to accept credit cards is not something any business owner wants to do.  You get telemarketed almost daily, there are all these steps or systems to process cards, and no matter what type of business you are in the costs can be inordinate.  What starts out as a simple request to be able to accept credit card payments turns into a lengthy process of how you would like to accept them, what equipment or software is needed, and what is my internal process of getting that accomplished.  This doesn’t even take into account finding, meeting, discussing, and then deciding on a provider.  Whether you work with your bank or have someone referred they can make things even more confusing.  So who do you trust, how do you decide?  A payments advisor is there to help give you direction, be that person that has your back when it comes to determining the better vendor.

A payments advisor can also look at your organization to streamline your internal processes.  Previously if you stated that you wanted to process credit cards the vendor gave you either a credit card terminal or signed you up for an online account.  These days there are thousands of ways to process a credit card do you see the card or not, do you need invoicing or just an online tool.  Do you need to worry about chip cards or am I exposing myself to more risk by using one tool or another?  Using a payments advisor will help you wrap the process around your existing business so that it becomes more convenient, saves you time and money, and identifies any open risks.

Another area that a payments advisor helps businesses is risk.  The card brands, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express are always changing their rules and regulations.  A few years ago PCI compliance was introduced to every business across the US that accepted credit cards.  As I’m sure you are aware, every business had to complete a series of questions with little or no explanation or assistance from their provider.  This is another area in which a payments advisor can help.  Unfortunately, a payments advisor cannot complete it for you, but they can look to see if you are getting hit with extra fees or surcharges because you are missing or haven’t passed the series of questions.

There aren’t many companies out there that provide payments advising, but they do exist and typically charge very little.  Especially if you take into account the amount of money they save you, the time and resources eliminated, and the risks eliminated once they are complete.  Finding and having a conversation with one is well worth the time just to ensure your business is in good shape.

For additional questions or for more information on this topic, feel free to reach out to us at 602-635-6494 or visit us on the web at www.dfgaz.com.