Merchant Services Credit Card Processing Accounts Keep Up with Mobile Trends

You might have seen advertisements for the many standalone portable mobile devices that you can use with a smartphone to collect money from clients when you are on the go. These devices work well for businesses that set up shop in multiple locations, door to door salespeople and people who need to collect client deposits and payments during meetings and on the spot.

However, though these devices are convenient, great little tools in their own right, if you are like most merchants, what you don't know is that you can get these payment processors as part of a merchant services credit card processing account as well. Your merchant account will have a similar device that you can use to turn your Android, iPhone or Blackberry into a mobile payment processor. With merchant services credit card processing, just swipe the card anytime, anywhere and collect payments.

In addition, merchant accounts are more secure; come with better support than a standalone device and offer many more benefits as well.

Why Merchant Accounts Fit Businesses of Every Size

The modern merchant account expands your customers' payment options like never before. It's also a compliment to your business management processes. In addition, when you have a merchant account, any payments you collect through your mobile device or other payment gateways attached to that account, reach your bank accounts faster and more often.

In addition to accepting mobile and standard credit and debit card payments, a merchant services credit card processing account lets you enjoy other features like:

• Accepting electronic checks, Internet checks, paper checks, checks by phone and deposited checks
• Accepting gift cards
• Processing your employee payroll through your merchant account, and
• Getting an extra terminal solution that's right for your business model, (The right terminal for a retail store likely isn't the right one for a 4-star restaurant)

Lastly, you will receive the type of fast, professional support that only a bank can give you, (via text phone, email or social media) and your money goes right into your account.

When you use payment processors instead of a bank, you sometimes have to wait up to a week to receive the money in your checking or savings account. In addition, the longer you have your account, the more freedom you will get with it and the more options you will receive to expand your business. In essence, with a merchant account, you're choosing a relationship and not just a simple product.

How to ensure secure credit card processing

This day in age, you can never be too careful, especially when it comes to the electronic transfer of money. Make sure you are performing secure credit card processing with help from the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or PCI DSS. The PCI DSS is a set of security guidelines for businesses that process cardholder information for a wide variety of cards, including credit, prepaid, e-purse, ATM, debit, and POS cards.

These credit card processing security guidelines are enforced by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. They created these standards to gain deeper control and insight into cardholder data. This regulation allows the PCI DSS to lessen the amount of credit card fraud and ensure credit card processing security. Companies are audited each year to ensure everyone is following secure credit card processing best practices. These audits are done by a Qualified Security Assessor, or QSA. If a company processes a large number of card transactions, the QSA will develop a Report on Compliance or ROC. If a company processes a smaller number of transactions they will be audited via a Self-Assessment Questionnaire, or SAQ.

There are currently 12 requirements of credit card processing security compliance. These requirements are divided into six categories called “control objectives”. Learn more about these objectives here.