Collective Crooks:
Exposing the Dark Side of the
Payment Processing Industry
by Felix Osawaru
Do you want to discover how your credit card processor is ripping you off? This captivating book is written for individuals and small-business owners who accept credit and debit card payments. The book exposes the deception and unethical business practices of merchant account providers, processors and equipment leasing companies in the United States and Canada. The book provides a step-by-step guide to understanding the various aspects of your merchant account. It reveals many of the dubious and deceitful practices that some of the service providers engage in, and alerts you to potential pitfalls in your contract and monthly statement.
In "Collective Crooks: Exposing the Dark Side of the Payment Processing Industry" you will learn:
The various types of fees, including monthly fees and per occurrence fees;
How to identify potential traps and unfair terms in your merchant contract agreement;
What to look for when you read your monthly merchant statement;
How to find the best service providers and get the very best processing rates;
How to negotiate fees and terms of your merchant account agreement;
Questions to ask your potential processors, resellers, and Independent Sales Agents;
How to uncover hidden fees, eliminate bogus fees and reduce some of your current fees;
Why you should never lease a simple, inexpensive Point of Sale terminal;
Fraud prevention techniques and best practices to minimize chargebacks;
How to become PCI compliant and protect your business from liabilities;
Steps to minimize errors and prevent costly mistakes when accepting payment via your e-commerce website;
How to prevent employee theft, identify security breaches and protect cardholder information;
How to understand the various pricing structures and compare quotes from providers;
How to set up your merchant account properly to avoid costly transaction downgrades;
How to analyze your transaction characteristics and prevent unnecessary surcharges;
How to analyze your monthly statement and calculate your effective discount rate, or true cost of processing;
The various government legislation in the United States and Canada, and how they affect your business; How to report the bad providers, close your merchant account without penalties and fight if necessary.
This book will arm you with the knowledge and confidence to get out of a bad merchant account contract and get the very best deals available.
