Should Your Business Accept Debit Cards?

Summary: So many people these days use debit cards instead of cash, checks or even credit cards to make basic purchases. Should your business accept them?

Many businesses wonder when they are thinking about getting set up to accept credit cards whether they should accept debit cards as well. People love to use these cards that look like credit cards but take the money directly from a person's checking or savings account instead of charging them for the purchase. Debit cards are convenient for consumers because they don't have to carry around cash or a checkbook but at the same time they're not overspending by using a credit card for daily purchases. Accepting debit cards is also a great choice for a business for many reasons: *Another payment option is always a good idea. *Using any kind of "plastic" causes people to spend more and buy more impulse items. *The payment is based on the amount of money in the customer's account, so the payment simply won't go through if they don't have enough money--no bad checks! *It is very difficult for fraud to be committed with debit card payments, since the person using the card has to know the PIN number. *It's actually cheaper to accept debit cards than it is to accept credit cards because there is no transaction fee paid to your payment processor. If you think you're already equipped to accept debit cards but you don't have a keypad for people to enter their PINs on, you're missing out. People can still use their debit cards like credit cards on your credit card machine, but the trouble is your credit card processor will consider that just like a regular credit card purchase. That means you have to pay the transaction fee and the discount rate that you pay on any other transaction, which you wouldn't have to pay if your customer were using a regular credit card. If you get a device that allows people to enter their PIN numbers when they pay, you'll cut out the fees and be assured of a secure transaction. The company that provides your credit card payment processing should be able to get you the proper equipment to accept debit cards as well. Once you start providing this service for your customers, you'll wonder why you spent so long paying credit card fees for these transactions. If you are just now looking into accepting credit cards, talk to the company that's setting up your merchant account about accepting debit cards as well. It is no more hassle for you to provide both options, your customers will love it, and you'll save a little money in the process. It's really a no-brainer to get set up to accept debit cards.