Why trust is so important when it comes to who handles your credit card processing

Maybe this is a blog post that sounds the "Obvious" alarms, but our recent research shows that far too few businesses use "trust" in a sentence that describes their relationship with their merchant credit card processor.

What's even more disturbing is that despite this lack of trust, businesses are largely unwilling to change who is handling their processing.

If either of these statements accurately describe your business, keep reading.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that whomever is handling your merchant processing has the ability to impact your bottom line. Directly. Once a customer presents a credit card to you for payment, you are only paid "in theory" until your processor deposits that money into your bank account. Some processing companies can take days, even weeks, to pay you what you are owed.

Let's think about this in terms of inventory. You are the proud owner of Joe's Fine Lumber. Sam comes in, buys your last 5 sheets of plywood to build his deck. He pays with a credit card, which you happily accept. You need to reorder plywood, especially since you know Sam will probably be back in a day or two when his wife decides she wants the deck "just a tad bigger." But times are tough, business is slower than usual, and you will need access to the money Sam paid before you can call your supplier. Only, the money isn't in your account. It's in the digital space between your processor and you. A day or two goes by, Sam returns for more plywood. Only you don't have it to sell. Sam goes to another store, and maybe he starts to think "Gee, Joe is short on supply more frequently these days. Maybe going to the 'big box' store for my lumber is a better idea." He tells a friend, who tells a friend, and it's only a matter of time before Joe's Fine Lumber is a nostalgic memory.

So you see, it's simple: Your money is your livelihood, for yourself, your family, your employees and your business. The relationship you have with those who help manage your money should be the closest of your business partnerships. You should know more about them than just their 1800 number. You should know their cell phone numbers, you should know that their kids play baseball, or (as in my case), that their 2-year-old daughter is affectionately dubbed the "nose-breaker" after an unfortunate Labor Day Weekend head-butt.

Do you know how many kids your account manager has? What do they do in their spare time? I want to know what you know about your merchant processor. Comment below, or find me on Twitter @AmySwipeRite