Disadvantages of not having a good merchant services provider

If you are running your retail store or providing online services to your customers, you may have come across the MSP’s, also known as Merchant Service Providers. These are the third parties that manage your customer’s debit and credit card and your cash register. As this being said, your relationship with your merchant service provider is critical one because: 

• They enable you to take debit and credit card payments. 
• They maintain the security standards of your online transaction system. 

That’s why it is necessary that you approach a certified MSP to avoid any kind of fraud or online theft. You can consider the following as merchant service providers: 

• Consumer and Merchant Banks, along with their payment processors 
• Five PCI SSC members 
• The companies responsible for handling servers from which you are sending your payment information 

Disadvantages of Having Poor MSP 

Following are the main drawbacks that you may have to experience if you do not approach a good merchant service provider: 

• Most of the fortune 500 companies do not use the mobile Apps for managing transactions. They prefer merchant accounts as they offer more security as compared to mobile payment apps. So if the security mechanism of your Merchant Service Provider is not up to the mark then it can seriously put your company’s data and your customer data in danger. 
•  Even though the MSP has to deal with a lot of companies, which can be very frustrating few times. So, a good Merchant Service Provider must have a scalable customer service. It is not fair that you have to approach another human to resolve the payment related issues caused by your service provider. It can lead to loss of customer’s trust from your services. 
• Make sure to check the transaction fees charged by the MSP. Some third-party processors do not show the transaction fees being charged on every payment made by credit and debit card. Your MSP should be transparent with its services being offered to you. 
•  Not having the secure payment gateway is one of the biggest disadvantages you can suffer. There are many black-hat hackers that are just waiting for grabbing their hands on users credit/debit card details. If your MSP fails to update security protocols when needed, then it can put such type of sensitive data at high risk. 
• A lack of professionalism can cause the loss of trust value between you and your merchant service provider. If your MSP fails to address the issues your customers are facing in the online transaction process, then it’s time that you must think of changing your MSP. 

How to Select a Good Merchant Service Provider 

• Go through the selection process by keeping in mind the type of MSP you need to fulfill your requirements. 
• Analyze the different types of costs and fees the MSP’s are charging over transaction processes.
• Make sure that you read online reviews posted by other business owners before you approach a particular MSP. It will help you better understand the service level of that particular MSP. 

Also, when switching to a new system, it is better than you consider multiple POS options, as there are many variations in Merchant Service Providers. Most of the POS systems allow you to work with only single MSP at a time, or you can also select the list of preferred MSP partners. Others will provide you independence over selecting your own MSP.