If you’re a high volume merchant then PayPal isn’t a good choice because they do not negotiate their merchant fees for high volume customers. They charge 3 percent and 30 cents a transaction and a large volume merchant can do much better. Typically you can get under 1.5 percent for card present transactions and less than 2 percent for Internet with 8 cents per transaction. The news gets better though, because the more you do the lower it can go for both check and credit card processing.

The real key here is to avoid an agent who’s locked in at one bank. A merchant account underwriter can shop around 50+ banks typically, then that’s where the deals are found. When an underwriter calls for a quote, the banks know that person can and will shop around, and also that they know which banks offer the best deals for that particular type of business. It’s the reason if a business goes to that same bank, they’ll never be offered the lowest rates. They’ll get something from 75 to 150 basis points higher than an underwriter can negotiate.

Getting rock bottom on  a merchant account is all about negotiating power (your high volume, type of business (amount of risk from chargebacks) and also knowledge of the person shopping the banks on your behalf. If you need the number of a merchant account underwriter, call MST at 800-715-8153 at Merchant Service Today and he’ll be happy to negotiate the best rate your business can get.They also specialize in overseas and high risk accounts if your business falls into those categories.