Wireless option without the wireless(store and forward)

[teutonic]

In talking to one of many merchant services today, the rep talked about using the wireless terminal without the wireless service. You use the store and forward function and then plug in the machine when you get home. They only charged an $8.00 monthly fee plus/no minimums plus the normal percentages for a retail establishment. This was the first Rep to mention this type of setup.

Do all the merchants have the ability to setup the wireless accounts this way?


Has anyone setup an account like this?

Any replies welcomed.

Thanks.

[stymiee]

Most providers don't offer this service because of the higher potential for chargebacks and lost sales for the merchant. By delaying the payment you cause two potential problems:

1) A card may be declined which means you get no money and lose your item. If this happens either too much or with low margin items it can put you out of business. If you're out of business the merchant account provider risks not receiving fees owed.

2) Because the date the card is processed is potentially different from the actual date the sale occurred some customers may not remember the sale properly and then dispute it with their credit card company.

One thing to keep in mind is the rates for store and forward are the highest possible rates you can pay. Bet the sales rep didn't tell you that. That's because the transactions are not swiped and processed immediately and thus fall to the highest rate possible. That is very expensive. If you expect to be a high volume merchant wireless may be cheaper for you overall.