How can you accept payments outside of your office?

Today's technology allows payments to be accepted at your customer's location or anywhere else outside of your office through a wireless merchant account. There are two types of wireless service - long- and short-range. The long-range solution relies on network connectivity and is ideal for those of you who will be processing credit card transactions at different locations outside of your office, but on your premises. The short-range service comes with a main terminal, which is connected to a phone line, but the wireless device can be operated within a radius of a few hundred feet. With both solutions transactions will be processed quickly and securely. What you need to make sure is that you have network connectivity in the area where you will be using the device and that is actually the biggest issue with wireless credit card processing. These devices use the same technology that cell phones use to transmit information and are affected by the same limitations.

Another potential issue is cost. Mobile credit card processing devices are pricier than regular terminals and you will need to account for that premium when considering the service. On the other hand, using a wireless merchant account will reduce your processing costs. Because you will accept credit card payments in person and the card will be swiped through a terminal, you will be eligible for receiving the lowest processing rates, reserved for face-to-face merchants. If you have to key in the transaction information afterwards, you will pay the higher rates.

On balance, a wireless credit card processing account is the best solution for businesses that routinely accept credit card orders in a mobile environment. If such payments are more of an exception, you might be better off using the old-fashioned payment slips for now.