Merchant Data Systems - Accept Credit Cards
Miami Beach, FL (PRWEB) July 26, 2012
There are simply some parts of life that are necessities. People must eat, they must drink water, and for many they must wash their cars. Merchant Data Systems recognizes that need and has now added a whole slew of new features that keep car wash businesses in mind.
Car washes, for decades, largely existed in the cash-only business world. People would simply drive-in, and use cash for such a simple service. However, the car detailing industry has evolved as the car industry has changed over the years. People want, need and require a myriad of different cleaning options when it comes to their cars and that equals higher expenses. Add in the fact that the world is revolving on credit more than ever and it stands to reason that a car detailing business could benefit greatly from the ability to accept credit cards. Simply put; billions of dollars each year are spent on credit cards. There are currently more than 600 million credit cards in the United States and 97% of individuals admit to using credit cards at least once a year. Almost 50% of all college-aged students use credit on a regular basis to pay for their goods.
Merchant Data Systems has made its rounds in the news recently with a team up with Karma Snack to provide even more expansive services to its customers. The team up with Karma Snack promises to create a feature-set aimed at the car industry with SEO techniques, eCommerce, and generated leads for sales agents being a the flagship of this new feature set.
Merchant Data Systems has long been involved in the merchant processing game; focusing intently on providing credit services to merchants both large and small. A business that wishes to accept card payments requires the approval of a financial institution to do so and credit card machines and credit card terminals. The machinery must be leased or bought by the merchant and connected to a modem. The modem allows the bank and the merchant to communicate to either accept the payment or deny it. A fee is charged for each transaction. MasterCard and Visa are generally a single application while credit issuers such as Discover and American Express have separate fees and applications associated with them. Merchants can choose to accept all cards or certain ones and it is entirely up to their discretion.
Businesses that accept credit cards do more business than businesses that do not offer credit card processing according to statistics, but there is so much more that can be gained by a retailer such as a car detailer from merchant processing services.
Merchant Data Systems is more than just a credit processing entity though. The company provides invoicing solutions and payroll solutions, as well as several other backend services. Invoicing and payroll solutions can quickly streamline a business and help to ensure profit is not lost due to improper payroll or invoice procedures. Merchant cash advances are also generally offered to merchants who accept credit payments. A merchant cash advance, simply put, is a type of loan in which the merchant agrees to pay the financial institution back through a portion of each credit card transaction. This loan can easily be used by a car wash to buy new equipment that offers more or better services to its customers.
Credit card systems can also use POS integration to their advantage. POS, or point of sale, is a system that allows for quick cashiering, but it also allows managers to better understand what is being bought, sold and lost. The POS integration can save a business a great deal in lost profits simply by streamlining the reporting system.
Car washes, for many years, relied on tried and true methods of advertising. Advertising signs or individuals dressed up drew customers in. Today, eCommerce is all the rage and creating a website with mobile payment options and an online shopping cart can open up business to an entirely new customer base. Young professionals and college kids feel at home paying for things online and car washing is no exception to that rule. Creating a website and mobile payment option also raises visibility and can be seen as built-in marketing campaigns. Of course, none of this is possible with a credit processing service.
Simply put, there are few businesses that can afford to do business in cash-only, Merchant Data Systems recognizes that fact and is continuously working to provide merchant services to a variety of different entities. This current move and team up with Karma Snack is only expanding their ability to help even the smallest business create a grand impression.
Car washes used to be one of them but no longer can exist in such a high tech world. There is no longer a single wash, or a single service done at car washes, so why should there be only one payment option? Well, simply put, there shouldn’t be. Merchant service companies are ready and waiting to provide assistance, support, and services to merchants wishing to jump into the credit card game.