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Home | Credit Cards Search 
Budgets Are Tight! Credit Cards
Credit Card Central

Not too long ago, it was uncommon for trade creditors to accept credit cards in the normal course of business, but that's changing rapidly in today's world. There are many issues surrounding the acceptance of credit cards that are important for credit execs to understand. Credit cards can be a powerful tool to aid in collections and as a way to help market your product, but you'll need to be educated about them when setting up a program.

Can anyone who is doing business with the US Government and taking a government purchase card explain the process?
July 21. 2010
We have been presented with an opportunity to sell a Federal Prison, but they want to pay us with a Government Purchase Card. Frankly, we do not do any credit card business. Can anyone who is doing business with the US Government and taking a government purchase card explain the process? What fees are involved with doing business in this manner? . . . keep reading
Does anyone have experience with IC Verify for processing credit card transactions?
June 7, 2010
We currently use I C Verify for credit card transactions. This is a cumbersome system and we are reviewing moving from this software based program to a web based one such as Authorize.Net. Does anyone have experience with this service? . . . keep reading
I What policies do you have in place when customers ask to pay via credit card when that basis of payment was not indicated up front.
June 3, 2010
In the industrial distribution market we serve, less than 1% of our orders are counter sales and about 10% of our overall sales are paid via credit card. Our credit cards fees are generally higher because additional interchange fees are incurred when you handle Government cards and Corporate procurement cards and we operate in a cardholder not present environment. We do address verification and the Security number on the card when provided. We try to always settle the same day of authorization/shipment to minimize interchange downgrades. We have recently encountered an increased desire on the part of our customers to pay via credit card 30, 60, or even 90 days after the Invoice Date. We welcome all requests to pay via credit card WHEN THE ORDERS ARE ORIGINALLY PLACED because we settle the day we ship and invoice and then have use of the funds 1 or 2 days later. I was hoping to see what policies other companies in our industry have in place when customers ask to pay via credit card when that basis of payment was not indicated up front. Just to cite a few examples, here are some of the situations that we have encountered: * We had a customer request to close out a small back order sale invoice because it was below his firm's dollar threshold for normal trade payment submission. * Some customers do not specify a request for Credit Card terms when placing orders over the phone and/or faxing their orders, they seek aggressive discounted unit pricing and then request to pay by credit card 30,60 or 90 days after invoice date. * One customer had a $60,000 equipment order and then asked to pay by credit card at 90 days. Thanks for any insights on this issue. . . . keep reading
Do any of you take personal credit cards?
May 17, 2010
Do any of you take personal credit cards? Or have any of you run into buyers from large companies using their personal credit card as a purchasing card? Also, they gave a "verbal" p.o. instead of generating a p.o. number. The product is shipped to the company . . . keep reading
Does anyone have experience contracting services to reduce their credit card processing fees?
May 14, 2010
Does anyone have experience contracting services to reduce their credit card processing fees? We are currently looking into the services of ep Consulting. They look at our current average rate, and if they are able to reduce it they keep part of the saving for a period of time. Any feedback will be most appreciated. . . . keep reading
Does anyone know if there is a law (or terms from a credit card company) that restricts us from limiting credit card purchases over a certain amount?
March 10, 2010
We accept credit cards as a convenient way for our customers to pay their invoices. Our CFO has asked if we can set a limit on the amount a customer can put on their credit card. More and more of our customers are using credit cards to pay their invoices for amounts as high as $30-40K. And of course we are seeing a huge increase in credit card fees we have to pay. Does anyone know if there is a law (or terms from a credit card company) that restricts us from limiting credit card purchases over a certain amount? . . . keep reading
Does anyone use the 3 Delta Credit card processing website for your credit card needs?
February 23, 2009
Does anyone use the 3 Delta Credit card processing website for your credit card needs? We are looking into this for our new software, as our old software POS Partner is going away. I am looking for pros and cons of the system should you use it! . . . keep reading
Press Release: First American Payment Systems Adds ACH to Web-based Module
January 26, 2010
The new feature adds recurring and future-dated payment scheduling. FirstFund gives additional capabilities and allows merchants to process multiple types of payments using one product. It works anywh . . . keep reading
Do you have your collectors process credit cards, or do you have another department handle this task?
September 18, 2009
Does anyone regularly take a credit card payment for net accounts? If so, do you have your collectors take and process the credit card or do you have another department handle this task? MICHELLE . . . keep reading
Watch Those Credit Card Fees
The credit card charge was declined. The invoice was for $1 million for a large order from a military account, and the bank- imposed limit was $99,999. A check from the customer saved the sale, and th . . . keep reading
SBA to the Rescue?
Since it was the banks that pushed these businesses into credit card financing to begin with, it seems unlikely that there is a bank solution, but the Federal Government is trying to create one. Ameri . . . keep reading
Unintended Consequences When Accepting Credit Cards - Some Lessons-Learned From Our Readers
According to Credit Today's recent annual benchmarking survey on credit cards, 76 percent of all trade credit departments are now accepting credit cards. Managing this process always requires care . . . keep reading
Are Credit Card Payments at Risk in Bankruptcies?
January 16, 2009
We are putting a customer on credit hold and asking them to prepay for all future orders. My question is, if they prepay us with a credit card today, since there are about three days before the bank card processor pays us, if the customer files for Chapter 11 before we get funded by the bank card processor, is the credit card payment at risk? I would think this will be an issue between our company and the bank per our standard bank card agreement, and won't be subject to the bankruptcy case, but would like to know your experiences/opinions. . . . keep reading
Annual Credit Card Benchmarking Survey: Credit Cards Increasingly Integral to B2B Collections as Online Acceptance Grows
January 5, 2009
While growth has stagnated in terms of the number of trade credit grantors accepting credit card payments, the use of credit cards within those companies appears to be growing at a modest rate. Moreov . . . keep reading
Credit Card Survey: Respondents Offer Up Advice on Web-based Credit Card Interfaces
Another question in our annual credit card benchmarking survey asked respondent if there was anything they particularly liked or don't like about their web-based credit card interface. Web-based c . . . keep reading
2008 Credit Card Survey: Advice and Lessons-learned For Those Thinking of Setting Up a Credit Card Account
One of the questions in our survey asked respondents if they had any advice for someone thinking of setting up an interface to accept credit cards, but was not sure of how to go about it. We also asked for lessons-learned. Based on the responses to this question, it is quite clear that the devil is in the detail. While the basic concept behind accepting credit cards in payment of commercial transactions is relatively straightforward, any number of peripheral issues can crop up. We've organized the great responses into the following categories:
  • Evaluating Your Options
  • Implementation
  • Process Issues
  • Unintended Consequences, and
  • Success Stories
. . .
keep reading
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Experian IQ
 This Month's Survey
This month's topic: Credit Card Usage

Click here to participate! We're examining:
  • What percentage of credit departments are currently accepting credit cards
  • What percentage of sales are paid via credit card
  • The various ways by which credit cards can be accepted (phone, web interface, etc.)
  • Which merchant accounts are most popular
  • What discount rates are being charged
  • Lessons-learned when setting up an account
  • ... and much more!
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