Fraud Doesn't Pay in Restaurants

Fraud seems like an easy way to make a quick buck, but the following fraudsters found out the hard way that crime doesn’t pay...

A recent article in the Pasadena Star News reported that an employee of Pasadena Water & Power pleaded no contest to one count of credit card fraud and other charges that included: petty theft, identity theft, and attempted grand theft. The employee, identified as Rhonesia Bass, was employed as a customer service representative for Pasadena Water & Power and her job was to accept credit card payments for utilities over the phone. She obtained credit card numbers from six customers and then used the credit card numbers to purchase personal items online as well as paying a friend’s utility bill.

Read more "Fraud Doesn't Pay in Restaurants"...

"Search Engine Marketing" How can it help your business increase sales?

By now you have heard that you must get your business online to increase exposure for your product or service. With all the information on the World Wide Web it can be an extremely exhausting task so how can one get involved into this online space?

The goal is to get the word out about your product or service; the more that people talk about you the more people are able to find you. First thing you need to concentrate on would be, asking yourself what do my visitors see when they come to the site. Just like any type of business it is all about first impressions, it is very important your online store looks professional and provides useful information about your product or service.

Without this being in place first your site is just like a blank piece of paper. Another thing to keep in mind is how easy is your site to navigate can your visitors find your information easily. Once your visitors get to your site and easily navigate around it and fine what they are looking for, the next thing you need to look at would be what are they doing and are thing sticking around and making contact with your or are they hitting that back button just leaving. You can research this date with programs such as Clicktracks and other analytic software programs. Depending on your marketing budget you should allow yourself the availability to study these types of analytic behaviors of your online traffic to gauge your marketing goals.

Now that you know what they are doing when they get to your website and what they are doing how do you get more traffic? That is the tricky part, you need to create that so called "BUZZ" how can you get people excited about your product or service that people will start passing the word on the internet around about you....

That is the big question everyone has, there are many answers to that question and something it helps to look at your competition for a starting point and see what milestones they have done to gain their success on the internet. The more useful information you can provide to your visitors the better you will be in your conversions.

How does a merchant cash advance work?

For every $1 borrowed the merchant repays $1.30 to $1.39 over a 4 to 6 month period. A small percentage of the merchant’s MasterCard and Visa transactions are deducted from the merchant account to offset the charges of the Cash Advance. Should the monthly processing be less than the calculated percentage holdback average, the weekly difference will be ACH'd from the business checking account.

View an example of a week's worth of Visa/MasterCard Sales and the resulting payments.
Cash Advance Amount is based on the average monthly MasterCard and Visa sales and the merchant’s need for capital, limited by the merchant’s ability to pay back the advance in no more than 6 months and no more than a 30% holdback percentage.

EXAMPLE: Merchant has average $10,000 monthly MC and V sales and needs to borrow $12,500 for capital improvements

Cash Advance Payback is calculated by multiplying the total Advance Amount by 1.30, then dividing by 6 [number of months to payback] to determine the monthly amount of MC and V receivables that need to be collected.

EXAMPLE: $12,500 X 1.30 = $16,250 (Payback Amount)÷ 6 (no. of months) = $2,708.33 (monthly payback)

Cash Advance Percentage [%] Holdback Rate is calculated on the Merchant’s monthly payback, divided by the average monthly MC and V sales. This percent is the reserve captured on each MC/V batch transaction.

EXAMPLE: $2,708.33 ÷ $10,000 (avg. MC/V sales) X100 (to get percentage) = 28% (MC/V batch reserve)

Receiving Cash Advance Amount occurs 3 to 5 days after the terminal is installed and BCC confirms funds are flowing correctly. The Cash Advance funds are ACH'd to the Merchant's bank account.

Send Us Your Processing Statements for a FREE credit card processing review and preliminary cash advance funding calculation. Our consultants will help you to determine if a Cash Advance is right for your business. There is no obligation.

Small Business Equipment Financing and Loans

Large industries often need several pieces of very expensive equipment in order to run their business effectively and efficiently. This equipment is often used in the manufacturing, restaurant, mechanical, construction, and transportation sectors. The upfront cost of business equipment can be very expensive and may break a small business that is still getting their bearings and working on making a profit. In many cases, the business needs this equipment in order to operate properly and make a profit, but the upfront cost of the equipment is usually very high. That’s why there are some great equipment financing and equipment loans available for businesses that need assistance with their purchases. Not only are equipment loans easier on the wallet, there are a great deal of other benefits to equipment financing. Some of those include tax write-offs, easier management of assets, and most importantly, a higher margin of cash flow to be spent on other expenses.

Getting equipment financing is much like getting financed for a car or home. The lender will offer you very flexible repayment options with a choice of repayment terms. In many cases you’ll be able to opt for loans with terms of up to 15 years. In general, this will depend on the amount of the loan you take out. Most high end and large-scale equipment can cost anywhere from $25,000 all the way up to $1 million or more. As a company it’s important to know what to look for when choosing equipment at the best price, and when shopping around for equipment loans. This way your business can be sure it is getting the lowest rates and easiest terms. Many companies specialize in equipment financing, so it’s best to contact several in order to find the loan that will suit you and your company best, as well as be able to fulfill your personalized equipment needs so you can do business effectively.

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Pinless Debit Transactions

There is a better way to save money on transaction fees while providing your customers a valued service. It's called Pinless Debit. By accepting Pinless Debit transactions you can enable your customers to pay for internet transactions with their debit card without using a PIN.

BankCard Central is one of the few merchant service providers with the capability to process Pinless Debit transactions. We have integrated this ability with our Verepay Payment Gateway providing a seamless set up process for you and an uninterrupted experience for your customers.

Read more about Pinless Debit Transactions.

Quick Guide to Restaurant Marketing

The Quick Guide to Restaurant Marketing is nearly 100 pages of promotional ideas, marketing examples and tips. You can not walk away from this book without having a new and creative way to market your restaurant. It’s easy to read, easy to follow and you can start using any of the promotions immediately.

Other Quick Guides available for download:

• Restaurant Credit Card Security
  
  
• Internet Payment Security
  
  
• Lowering Credit Card Processing Rates

Merchant Cash Advance

Could you use additional capital to grow and expand your business? Did you know that you can get up to 1.5 times your monthly Visa and MasterCard processing in the form of an advance? Have you had trouble receiving funds from traditional lenders?

BankCard Central would like to enable you to grow with more inventory, equipment, advertising or even a renovation. You will not be burdened with the task of having to make payments. Instead, 15-25% of your daily batch is applied toward the advance balance. It's fast, easy and convenient.

If you are interested in obtaining funds, please contact one of our experts at 800-331-8882. All you need is to process more than $4000.00 a month in Visa and MasterCard transactions and you could have the funds in as little as 4 business days!

Find out more about a merchant cash advance.