About to start a bussiness please help!!?

Question

i bought a credit card machine to swipe cards for potential customers.

What do i need to do to be able to charge customers in their credit cards? do i need to make a contract with visa, mastercard????

please help

Answer 1

You need a merchant account. Check online or contact your bank and they will assist you.

Answer 2

You did not state which type of machine? Is it an electronic one or a 'Click Clack' manually operated one? Yes you need to have an account with a bank first. This bank then issues you with the forms to use with the 'Click Clack' manually operated machine. This will have a plate attached to it which identifies your account with the bank. When you lodge the credit card slips showing the sales amounts your account will be credited. If you just use that machine you bought, and it has a name plate attached, or is still linked to an account, then that account will get credit for the money value of the sale.

Answer 3

You best bet would be to go to your local Costco and sign up for their merchant services program.  They are generally cheaper than a bank.

Answer 4

go to the bank that you use for your business and they will take care of it for you. you do the contract with a bank, not visa

Answer 5

Rick James is right. contact your local banks as they will be the carrier of the machine and they will have the prices. Shop around for the one that would suit you the best.

You may also think about putting a surcharge on credit card transactions as they cost more than EFTPOS and everywhere does it, like 2 or 3% of the total amount of the transaction.