Being an online merchant can be a careful balancing act. You want to deliver quality service to your customers, while maintaining security and a good cash flow. In theory, it doesn’t sound too bad, but if one small thing goes awry in the transaction chain, it can be difficult and costly to figure out what went wrong. This might shake customer faith in your business, present extra security concerns, and eat into profitability. If nothing else, having a long process between the time the customer puts their card info in to the transaction actually hitting your pockets is just tedious.

Finding an end-to-end payment processor can help with these issues. A end-to end payment processor simply means that the processor handles the entire transaction chain: they are there from the beginning when the transaction is initiated, all the way to the end. It might not seem like a big deal, but these kinds of processor have serious benefits for merchants. Read on for three big ways that end-to-end processing can bridge the gap between online merchants and payment solutions.

1: Easy integration

Easy integration is one of the most important parts of an online payment processor. You want a product that can easily integrate with your site, offering a professional and simple experience for your customers. An end-to-end processor can help with that — these payment processors integrate will all kinds of technology at the very beginning of the transaction chain. From there, they can leverage their relationships with banks to support merchants at every point of the transaction process. Instead of handing things off to an acquiring bank, issuing bank, or other parties, you’re in one pair of hands the whole way.

2: Fraud Protection

Consumers are wary after the major data breaches of the last few years. Online security is on everyone’s mind, and if customers are too jittery about potential fraud, it could cut into your bottom line. As a merchant, you should take steps to reduce the likelihood that payment information might get stolen. One way to do that is to look into end-to-end processing. The more steps there are between when a consumer swipes their card to when a merchant absorbs the transaction, the more opportunities there are for that information to become compromised. And if there’s a breakdown anywhere in the process, it take more time to locate it and make sure payments are still secure.

A single point of contact reduces all of these risks. End-to-end processing simplifies the transaction chain and provides fewer opportunities for information to be stolen. And with only one payment processor, any issues that arise in the transaction process can be taken care of quickly. This higher level of security in end-to-end payment processing technology gives consumers and merchants more peace of mind: a win-win scenario for everyone.

3: Saving Time

It’s not a hard calculation: subtracting the middlemen from a transaction saves you time. With other payment processors, it can sometimes take up to a week for merchants to receive a payment, creating potential cash flow issues. Switching to a processor with end-to-end technology makes this process not only simpler, but faster as well. Having only one point-of-contact helps facilitate smoother and faster transactions. And as an added bonus, there’s better accountability from the beginning to the end of the process: there’s only one party dealing with this transaction, rather than many different banks.

With an end-to-end payment processor, cutting out these other entities can also save you money.  The more people that are involved in a transaction, the higher the labor and overhead costs can rise. An end-to-end processor can complete a transaction much more rapidly than the alternative, simply because there are fewer parties involved. And time is money, after all. ..Shouldn’t you be trying to get more of it?

End-to-end payment processors take care of every piece of the payment puzzle. They have strong relationships with banks, deliver more cohesive reporting, and experience greater operational efficiency than the standard payment processing chain. Ready to make the switch? Find a merchant account provider like PayArc. With over 300 integrations, merchants can connect with PayArc virtually any way possible,  allowing them to focus on growing and managing their business. Are you ready to explore payment solutions for your business?

PayArc is pleased to announce new specialized merchant services for coffee shops. We understand the importance of creating the best payments infrastructure for your small business, and we’re here to help.

Coffee is lifeblood for your patrons: they wake up in the morning, dreaming of the perfect cup of Joe. The smell of your roast, created from the perfect blend, wafts into the air and draws them in. They walk through the door and stand in line, mulling over which roast they’ll sample, while reaching for their wallets. As they approach the front of the line, they pull out their payment card, anticipating their warm brew and the buzz of caffeine that will supercharge their morning. What they are not mulling over is the mechanics of how the money gets from their account to yours. If your payments operation is set up correctly, you shouldn’t be mulling over it, either.

Payment processing is the lifeblood of your business. Without the proper tools, technologies, and processes, cash flow tightens and business suffers. Thankfully, we specialize in helping coffee shops like you streamline payments so you can focus on what you do best: running the best coffee shop in town.

We provide merchant services for coffee shops so you can quickly accept credit card payments. We understand the unique nature of merchant services for coffee shops and take time to understand your unique business model. We advise on the best solutions that can be tailored to meet your needs. Whether its points of sales systems or mobile payments, we will guide you through the many options to arrive at a solution that fits your business and keeps your customers happy.

If you already have some systems in place, we can integrate with almost all of them. We help you quickly and easily accept payments of all kinds while ensuring that payments remain secure, protected from fraud, and efficient. Our always-on customer support ensures that you have a lifeline in case you have any questions, and we offer some of the best pricing in the industry. In fact, we are offering Interchange cost pricing plus $0.029/transaction and $25 per month.

Our merchant services for coffee shops provide the tools you need to succeed:

Gateway Services – Payarc’s PCI compliant web based payment gateway allows you to monitor transactions in real-time.

Credit Card Processing – Payarc’s global network of acquirers and banks provide merchants with the scale-ability they need in over 25 currencies.

Point of Sale Systems – POS systems provide many businesses with the tools necessary to run an efficient operation.  POS systems add tremendous value when cash flow is vital to your operations.  There are hundreds of POS systems that can help niche businesses even more.

• Choose from dozens of POS systems
• PayArc can assist in POS integrations
• We can help find the right solution for your business

Mobile Payment Processing – Payarc’s mobile SDK makes it easy to integrate mobile payment solutions. Mobile payments is by far the most exciting aspect of payment processing today.  PayArc provides merchants with the latest technology options to help mobile merchants integrate payments into their apps or mobile payment systems.

• PayArc offers many EMV card readers to choose from
• Mobile app SDK is easy to integrate
• Safe and secure encryption
• Take your business on the road!

Online Payment Processing – Does your coffee shop offer products online, too? Setting up an online store can be a daunting task but it can also add significant sales growth to a merchant. PayArc eCommerce solutions provide merchants with an all in one solution for small merchants to large eCommerce giants.  Subscriptions or recurring payments? No problem! We’ve got you covered with our account updater tool so you never lose a customer!

• Recurring payments
• Account updater
• Dozens of shopping cart integrations to choose from
• Fraud and risk tools
• Robust sales reporting
• PCI DSS protection

With over 300 payment technology integrations we’ve already done the hard work to ensure that our merchants can process with confidence. We understand the special requirements of merchant services for coffee shops and have created unique solutions and pricing to help.

The payments industry has dramatically shifted over the past few years, and many people now choose to pay with a credit card, or an electronic wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay. Digital solutions like credit card processing for dental practices eliminates the overhead associated with paper invoices, and provides many benefits to dental practices and their patients.

The nuances of credit card processing for dental practices can be tough. Use this guide to get the basics on terminology, adherence to HIPAA, and reducing credit card fraud.

What Matters Most About Credit Card Processing for Dental Practices?

Choosing the right payment processor is an important step towards making sure your credit card processing is seamless and smooth. Some processors will offer lower fees, while others will tout the benefits their technology, and seamlessly integrating into websites and mobile applications. Other companies will offer better tech support, customer service and compliance with the requirements of this industry. Start by making a prioritized list of what will benefit your practice most.

A Few Key Advantages for Dental Practices

Credit card processing for dental practices is cost-effective. Most dental facilities are considered low risk, which means fees and other costs are going to be lower than for other types of businesses.

Additionally, you may not need a robust and expensive solution that a more technology or inventory-driven company might want. Retail stores require a fully functioning POS, complete with barcode scanners and other hardware, and possible integration with an ERP. Restaurant management systems require a robust POS that includes kitchen display systems and table service software.

You can avoid costly hardware, and smaller practices may begin with a simple countertop credit card machine or a virtual terminal that uses your existing computer and internet connection. Plan ahead though, as credit card processing for dental practices works best when it’s integrated with practice management systems. Besides better tracking, integration may enable HSA and FSA card acceptance, providing a market advantage over practices that refuse them.

What About HIPAA?

Many dentists worry HIPAA regulations and the associated fines for noncompliance when it comes to setting up a credit card processing systems. While it’s a good idea to review the general rules, you can rest assured that most credit card processing functions rest safely outside the myriad of HIPAA compliance regulations.

The vast majority of credit card processing companies are exempt from the HIPAA “business associate” agreement (where third-parties have to agree to safeguard patient information). This is because credit card companies do not have any access to patient data and are just seen as entities who are carrying out normal banking functions.

Where it gets murky is when your credit card processing company does more than just transaction processing. If their software includes invoicing or patient management, then HIPAA compliance might be required, and you’ll want to work with a payment processing company with the proper expertise.

Patient Data, HIPAA, and Credit Card Processing For Dental Practices

Never include patent health information in any communications with your payment processor. A common mistake would be to include notes about treatment or visits in the “comments” section on your virtual credit card processing terminal, so keep that data in a separate system.

As a precaution, ask your processor how they handle receipts, and what measures they do take to remain compliant with HIPAA. Some will let you print out paper receipts, while others just automatically send digital ones. Processors that evade questions about HIPAA regulations will likely lack the expertise or systems required to remain compliant.

Avoiding Credit Card Fraud

A fact of life with accepting credit cards is the risk for fraud. Many cybercriminals are on the hunt to exploit credit card holders for their own gain, and do not need a physical card in order to use it nefariously.

Start with maintaining PCI compliance to protect your patients’ payment information. The latest PCI DSS standards are available online, and a good payment processor will be able to guide you on any necessary steps to take.

Although processing credit cards at a dental practice is relatively low risk, it’s always a good idea to follow best practices. ID validation is common practice, and may be done when a patient registers for the first time. Ask your payment processor for additional guidance on payment processing and educate your staff on credit card authorization procedures. Keep in mind that an arduous process may turn off some patients, so try to strike an even balance in fraud prevention and customer service to reduce friction. The right policy enforcement will minimize fraud, and patents will have peace of mind that their valuable information is safe and secure.

Keep all of the above in mind as your dental practice accepts credit cards for processing. Not only will you provide patients with a convenient way to pay for services, but you can enact a plan that will help your business grow.