Merchant services are a must for any business looking to accept credit and debit card payments from their customers. How merchant services work can give a business all the necessary information to help in making decisions as to which provider to use and how to set up its systems efficiently. This article goes into detail about how merchant services work, explaining the different processes and components involved in making each transaction smooth.

Basics of Merchant Services

Primarily, merchant services are any kind of financial services that would help a business process card transactions. They are offered by MSPs or acquiring banks, acting in their capacity as intermediaries between the business, the customer’s bank, and card networks like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

Setting Up Merchant Services

The process initiates with a business applying for a merchant account with an MSP. Such an account may be thought of as a kind of bank account, allowing a business to accept card payments. Before accepting the application, the MSP evaluates the risk profile of the business in view of the nature of its dealings, turnover, volume of transactions, and personal credit history.

Payment Processing Workflow

After setting up the merchant account, the payment processing workflow itself consists of a few important steps, as mentioned above:

Authorization:

• Every transaction that is made by a customer via a credit or debit card is initiated with authorization. 
• The information from the credit or debit card is gathered at a point-of-sale terminal or an online payment gateway. 
• The details are then encrypted and transmitted successfully to the MSP, who further forwards this information to the card network. 

Authentication and Approval:

• The card network routed the transaction to the customer’s bank (issuing bank) for checking card details and sufficiency of funds or availability of credit.
• The issuing bank approves the transaction or declines it and passes the response back via the card network to the MSP.
• The MSP further relays the message of approval or decline back to the business’s POS system or payment gateway.

Clearing and Settlement:

• Otherwise, if the transaction is approved, clearing and settlement ensue.
• At the end of the business day, the business submits a batch of the pre-authorized transactions to the MSP.
• MSP then submits the batch via the card networks to respective issuing banks.
• The latter remits the funds to the acquiring bank deducting the interchange fee.
• It is then deposited into the business’s merchant account by the acquiring bank, usually within a couple of days.

Fees and Charges

There are a lot of fees involved in merchant services. These may include:

• Transaction Fees: This is a percentage of the amount of every transaction. It typically falls between 1.5% and 3.5%.
• Monthly Fees: These are fixed fees for maintaining the merchant account and various other services.
• Interchange Fees: These are fees that the card networks set and are paid to the issuing banks.
• Chargeback Fees: These are charged whenever a customer raises a dispute on any transaction and demands a refund.

Security and Compliance

Security forms an important part of merchant services. MSP uses various security measures such as encryption and tokenization to protect card information during transmission. Businesses also have to adhere to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for the protection of card information.

Integration of business operations

Advanced MSPs of the modern day offer integrated solutions extending beyond payment processing to inventory management, customer relationship management, sales analytics, and loyalty programs. Such integrations automate business operations, providing insight and creating an excellent customer experience.

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If you operate a food business, it is crucial to follow food safety regulations. Not only will violating these regulations lead to disruptions in your business, but it can also damage your reputation during restaurant inspection processes There are several common violations that you should avoid, such as storing cleaning products near areas that come into contact with food, improper sanitation procedures, improper temperatures for stored food, and allowing sick employees to be in the kitchen. Any of these violations could potentially lead to foodborne illness and pose a significant risk to the health and safety of your customers and employees.

To ensure that your business is in compliance with the regulations set forth by the FDA, it is important to establish standard operating procedures. These procedures should be designed to minimize risks and ensure that all food handling and preparation is done in a safe and sanitary manner. By taking a proactive approach to food safety, you can reduce your liability and create a safe environment that both your clients and staff can enjoy.

Helpful Tips For Upcoming Restaurant Inspections

To help you achieve this goal, we have prepared a list of tips from industry professionals on how to stay compliant with FDA regulations. By following these tips and implementing them in your restaurant operations management, you can ensure that your business is operating at the highest level of food safety. This will help you avoid regulatory sanctions and, more importantly, protect your customers and employees from harm.

1. Use a Self-Inspection Checklist

To ensure that food businesses are adhering to proper food safety guidelines, there are free food safety checklists and guides for restaurants. These checklists are designed to assist in maintaining adequate employee illness procedures, good hygiene practices, and preventing food contamination, as well as ensuring that proper food and cooler temperatures are maintained.

By utilizing these inspection checklists, restaurant owners can ensure that their employees are following proper food handling protocols, such as washing their hands thoroughly and frequently, avoiding cross-contamination, and properly storing food to prevent spoilage. Additionally, the checklists can help prevent the spread of illness by providing guidelines on how to handle employee illnesses and how to prevent the transmission of illnesses to customers.

2. Review Some Previous Inspections

It is important for restaurant owners to take a proactive approach to food safety, and one way to achieve this is by reviewing previous restaurant inspections. At the end of each inspection, a report is provided outlining any findings or violations. To avoid repeating past health violations, it is recommended that restaurant owners review their last three to five restaurant inspection reports.

By reviewing these reports, restaurant owners can identify any recurring issues or areas where improvements are needed. They can make a note of all health and safety violations and take the necessary steps to address them. This may include scheduling additional training for employees on proper food handling procedures or implementing new protocols to ensure compliance with food safety regulations.

3. Update Cleaning Procedures

Before a restaurant inspection, it is important to keep your restaurant clean and update your cleaning procedures. A thorough inspection of your restaurant can be done by starting at the front door and checking for any signs of dirt or debris.

Fingerprints on entrance and exit doors should be checked and surfaces under tables, benches, and counters should be free of dust and food particles. Food holding drawers, cooking surfaces, food prep areas, and warming stations should be inspected for cleanliness.

4. Inform Your Staff

One of the most important things to keep in mind before an upcoming restaurant inspection is to make sure that the staff is informed. As a restaurant owner, it is essential to prepare for upcoming food safety inspections. Although the exact date and time of the inspection may have yet to be discovered, you will typically be given a range of dates.

It is recommended to hold a staff meeting to inform all employees of the upcoming restaurant inspection. This allows everyone to be aware and prepared to put their best foot forward in ensuring the restaurant is in compliance with all food safety regulations. During the staff meeting, it is important to review proper food handling and sanitation procedures to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Conclusion

So, these are some of the best tips that will help you conquer your next restaurant inspection in a seamless manner. Follow these tips and find the best results.

In the last few decades, the e-commerce industry has grown in popularity. During the peak of the pandemic in 2020, e-retail sales exceeded a staggering $4.2 trillion mark worldwide.  In fact, it might even be safe to say that e-commerce has changed the landscape of businesses, posing a threat to traditional stores that were not wise and fast enough to adapt to the emerging trend. 

While the advances are quite significant, e-commerce still leaves so much room for growth. The ever-evolving technology means there are bound to change that entrepreneurs and business owners need to keep up with. If you are one of the millions who run an online store, you will want to be up to date with the latest trends and developments if you want to maximize profitability and ensure that your business will grow and thrive in the long run.

This means striving to understand the different aspects of e-commerce. As an entrepreneur, it is important that you do not stop learning. We’ve prepared some of the essential facts that you don’t know about e-commerce.

E-commerce is Not that Different from Traditional Stores

An eCommerce store and a traditional shop share many similarities. The fundamentals of a brick-and-mortar store is still applied in its online counterpart. This includes giving visitors a great first impression, whether one is talking about a physical store or an online shop.

An e-commerce store still needs to conduct a thorough market research to get to know its target customers, competitors, and the latest industry trends. While traditional retail businesses sell their goods in person, they still use the same promotional tactics and marketing channels as most online shops. This includes social media, email marketing, and paid advertising.

Another marketing tactic that both business methods share is the use of incentives in promoting their products. Discounts, giveaways, and limited-time offers are effective in attracting customers.

Market Research and Customer Persona Are Important

A business can only do so much without a strong and loyal customer base. However, this can only be maximized if you take the time to delve deep into your chosen market and get to know your audience. Conducting market research cannot be stressed enough. It will tell you where you sit in the market, what you need to do in order to stand out from the competition, and how you will incorporate the current trends to your own strategy.

A good market research will also reveal your customers. To fully take advantage of this knowledge, you must be able to create a customer profile of your usual customers in order to better provide them with a good customer experience, identify their pain points, and position your product offers in a way that is highly valuable to them.

 A customer persona will serve as your guide in many aspects of and business strategy, from launching new products and pricing to promoting and marketing them. You will need to consider the following important traits when you create a customer persona:

Demographics

This will include information like age and gender. It is important to know these things about your prospects so you will whether your products will suit them and how you will be able to sell it to them. You can label and categorize your products in your online shop through these demographics, too. For example, you can create specific product pages for men and women apparel.

Location

If you are selling from a specific region, it might be a good idea to include this bit in your customer profile. You can also use this information to tailor your product offers according to their location. For example, if you are selling worldwide, people in Australia will experience summer during December. This means they won’t be able to relate with your winter product lines. It is better to customize the products they will be seeing in your shop according to where they are in the world.

Education

Your marketing strategy is more effective if you are able to match the academic level of your typical customers. People with different educational background will often have different incomes, which means they will demand for different types of offers and promotional messages.

Interests and Personal Beliefs

Getting into your customers’ heads is important if you want your strategy to be effective. You should know their motivations, fears, and challenges. What do they want and need? What keeps them awake at night? What keeps them going? Knowing all of these will help you set a great value proposition that is hard to resist.

When you are running ads on Google or Facebook, gender and age can be used to better define your target audience. The same can be said about location, education, and interests. You can choose to show your ads to people of specific age group, for example. You can also opt to target women only for particular products. This way, your ads will become more effective as you are only targeting the most relevant audiences.

Creating Compelling Product Descriptions is a Must

While many people are visual, product descriptions are still an integral part of every online shop experience. putting up detailed product descriptions will help your customers make a sound purchasing decision. This is even more relevant because online products cannot be examined physically. Customers often rely on product descriptions to determine whether it is the right fit for them or not.

Here are some tips that you should keep in mind when creating product descriptions:

•   It has to be original and faithfully describe the item with technical specifications and all.
•   For products that need it, a detailed instruction is quite useful.
•   While it is important that you describe the products properly, you should also make sure that the benefits are laid out.

Producing Informative and Entertaining Content is an Advantage

Many consumers take the time to do a product research first before deciding to purchase. That is why most online businesses create blogs and produce informative, educational, and entertaining content. After all, it is always better to educate first and sell later. Nowadays, traditional advertising is losing its touch. Customers will want to get to know a brand first and learn about its product offers before they can completely put their trust into it.

Your content should include product demos, benefits, and features. You should also make sure to discover the problems faced by your target audience and create content that help them come up with solutions. They will appreciate it if they can get value out of your content. Even on days where they do not plan of buying from you, seeing and reading your content will always keep your brand on the top of their minds. This means they will think of you first once they are ready to buy.

Social Media Can Supplement Your E-Commerce Shop

Everyone, it seems, is on social media. You will be missing out a lot if you have not established a social media presence at this day and age. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and more are great sources of online traffic.

Promoting your products on your social channels will allow you to link back to your online store and take advantage of increased traffic to convert as many customers as possible. Investing in the best Instagram growth service such as Mr Insta vs will be excellent. However, Kicksta is known to be the best in its services by providing organic real Instagram followers to your account which will be great in promoting your products and building a brand for your business. These organic Instagram followers will be your prospective loyal customers as well. A lot of consumers use social media as some kind of research tool, too. They look up brands they are not sure of to see their product offers and read product reviews.

 Another way to utilize the power of social media is to integrate social media buttons into your shop. You can put a social media button next to your product so customers can click and share it on their own social channels, which will be a good way to market your products without actually paying for it. This will help a lot if solidifying your brand identity and enhance brand recognition.

 Retargeting is a Good Way to Capture Missed Opportunities

 Yes, you have driven thousands of visitors into your online store. Yes, they explored your product pages and added items into their carts. But you find that a lot of them abandoned their carts without proceeding to checkout. Some might give up and call it a day.

 Smart online businesses will turn this into a golden opportunity. You can do the same. Retargeting your shop visitors can be a very effective marketing tactic. You can do this by sending them a follow up email if they are already a subscriber, telling them they have products waiting in their cart and now may be the right time to buy them as you are offering a limited offer of 30% discount.

 You can also run retargeting ads on Google or Facebook to recapture visitors who did not convert into paying customers.

 Providing an Exceptional Customer Experience is Beneficial

The beauty of an e-commerce store is that it can operate 24/7. This means you need to provide customer support round the clock, too. People do not choose a time to shop online, or they could be anywhere in the world and will not be sharing the same time zone as you. You have to be prepared to answer their questions and assist them with their concerns.

 This is where chat bots will come in. Automating responses to frequently asked questions can save you a lot of time and effort. Plus, you will be able to be present at all times to aid customer experience and satisfaction.

 Final Thoughts

 What we have listed as essential things might not be totally unknown to you. However, they are important enough for you to keep in mind if you want your online business not only to grow but also to thrive in an ever-competitive world. They will help you make sure that you are always considering the essential elements that can make or break an ecommerce shop.