Credit & Debit Card Processing

We have worked with clients in a wide arrange of industries and understand that each merchant is different. We have a proven, customized solution that simplifies payments for our merchants. Merchants First customers have the ability to accept any form of payment. We process fund s quickly, securely and conveniently. We help clients reduce the total cost of processing with our interchange management and proven solutions. We also reduce the time of transaction for both your customers and your staff.

Because of our experience in the industry and dedicated team, we offer the longest-term, lowest-cost processing solutions in the industry. We’re committed to interchange management, and educate each client on the interchange rates for their particular industry. We develop custom solutions for each client. We’re committed to seeing our clients achieve results, and never increase our margin of profit on our existing customer base.

Pinless Debit Cards

You don’t have to require a PIN on all debit cards anymore. This new transaction type can be used for Emerging Markets (Bill pays like tuition, utilities and some membership dues.) The card used must be a STAR, PULSE or NYCE card. In order to accept pinless debit transactions, the bank issuer must permit this usage. By accepting a pinless debit transaction, you can save over 30% from traditional MasterCard or Visa offline debit card fees. If you choose to accept pinless debit card transactions, you must advise your customers that their transaction may be processed as a debit, credit or ATM transaction.

The Advantages of Pinless Debit Cards

Low fraud risk
You offer an alternative for cardholders who don't have a Visa or MasterCard
Save money on processing, Visa and MasterCard fees and dues do not apply
You only have one fee - a pinless debit fee from the debit network
Reduced cost of processing, as Visa and MasterCard interchange and dues do not apply

Online Reporting

One of our clients’ favorite features is our online reporting features. This free, online reporting tool gives you access to your transactions 24/7. These reports may be accessed by your personal computer, or even your phone. By enrolling in this free service, you’ll have the ability to manage your business more efficiently by:

Manage payments
Reconcile your merchant account
Research transactions
Check on funding
Investigate chargebacks

Merchants First Email Reporting

In addition to online access, our reporting tools include the option of having your reports emailed to you, and in any format you prefer. (Excel, Word, PDF.) This means that you don’t even have to log in to receive a report. Our system allows you to request a daily, weekly or monthly email so that you know the status of your account each morning. Our proprietary system allows you to sign up for the reports you need. We can also fax the reports, if you prefer.

Online & Email Reporting Features

Our online and email reporting features set us apart and allow us to make our client’s lives simpler and more efficient. Online reporting includes:

Free Reports Online & Emailed Reduce Costs

There are no setup fees, nor monthly fees to receive online and emailed reports. Plus, because they are conveniently stored online, you eliminate storage and the cost of paper statements. Our online interchange rate analysis tool allows you to see which transactions are costing more, and find a solution to lower those fees.

Cash Management for your Industry with Preferred Reports

With our online reporting features, you have 24-hour access to your account activity. Plus, you can access and build reports to meet your unique business needs. Schedule reports for certain location, and have them delivered in the method you prefer.

Secure And Easy to Use From Anywhere, Anytime

Our online reports are easy to use, and we can even provide a free demo. Plus, they may be accessed from anywhere, at anytime. You have secured access, and can share reports securely by creating unique logins and passwords for each member of a trusted team.

Make Chargebacks Easier

When you have online access to your information, you can more effectively manage your chargebacks and retrieval requests.

Gateway / Virtual Terminals

We are committed to providing easy, simple solutions for merchants. That’s why our virtual terminal solution is in so many industries across the globe. We allow customers the ability to receive one-time payments or recurring payments via a PCI-compliant virtual terminal.

Features of Merchants First Virtual Terminal

Our virtual terminal is completely customizable, and can include your logo and information catered to your customers. Your customers will have the ability to logon and perform transactions in a secure environment. Customers enjoy the option of signing up for one-time or recurring payments with their credit and debit cards.

Customers aren’t the only ones who enjoy our virtual terminals. You’ll love the ability to accept mail order transactions AND card present transactions through a card reader. We have designed our virtual terminals to integrate with Pin Pads so that online debit cards transactions may be received, and complicated software is out of the picture.

We work with many gateways and virtual terminals. Contact us to determine if a virtual terminal is right for your specific situation.

Merchants First offers a Quickbooks plug-in that integrates to your Quickbooks software. This solution saves you time and energy by eliminating the need to double enter a payment from your customers.

Integrated Solutions

Merchants First understands POS technology, and has installed over 4000 POS terminals around the globe. We specialize in integrated POS, ERP, Accounting and Order Entry systems. We know how to set up any business to receive payments through the terminals and systems they already own.

We specialize in streamlining your business and cash flow. Our custom-built technology allows us to integrate our payment processing solutions into your business management features. Tasks as simple as account reconciliation and data entry are made easier with our systems. We’re a leader in integrated systems, and deliver technical support to our clients that leave them feeling educated and empowered to grow their business through a smooth payment processing system.

To support all types of payment processing systems, we’ve formed strategic partnerships with other industry leaders. We’ve acquired the best pricing and support so that the systems work well together. We’re integration specialists and guarantee that you’ll have a distraction-free, smooth transition when you work with Merchants First.

Terminals

...info coming soon...

Contactless Payments

Wave your keychain, or your FOB across the scanner, pick up your items, and go. That’s how easy contactless payments have made life. And that’s why their usage is on the rise. Customers love them - they actually don’t even have to get their wallets out. Businesses love them because statistically, people will spend more money when they can wave their card in front of a scanner and go.

As these new products have hit the market, we’ve helped merchants enable their business to accept this growing form of payment. These payments are ideal for merchants with a high volume of cheaper products, transactions less than $25 or less find advantage of using contactless payments.

Adding contactless payments to your business may add a great advantage, and opportunity for business growth. Some industries benefitting from this new technology include:

Quick-serve restaurants or fast food franchises
Drug stores
Supermarkets
Gas stations
Movie theaters
Sports venues

And these are just a few. Any business where speed and convenience are crucial to having customers return and buy more, especially during peak hours, should consider contactless payments.

We arm merchants with the ability to accept contactless payments. We offer multiple terminal types that support cardholder-initiated, contactless transaction. Customer enjoy the choice and convenience of this checkout process while maintaining control of their card the entire time.

Chargeback Prevention

Chargebacks don’t have to be a cost of doing business. Anyone who accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express may think it’s just a part of life. However, Merchants First works with merchants to avoid these costly chargebacks and make more money.

We actively pursue chargeback tools in the industry, and then educate our merchants about how to avoid these fees. One of these ways is through our fraud-prevention have a Click-To-Score tool that is free to all of our clients. This tool helps you determine if you should accept payment from a particular customer depending on if they’re suspected for fraudulent activity.

Reducing Chargeback Fees

In the event you do receive a chargeback, we’ve have solutions that will help you save time and win the battle. Our solutions are built so that you can easily research the chargeback, as well as resolve it.

Merchants First Chargeback Advisor

We have a tool that guides you through the process of working through your chargeback. It covers the reason you received the payment, method of which you accepted the payment, and any other factors. This process gives you all of the info you need so that you have the highest likelihood of winning your battle.

Merchants First Chargeback Auto Responder

Our auto responder enables merchants with high volume chargebacks to provide responses with little to no manual intervention. This can save your staff hundreds of hours each year, as you’ll have the ability to automatically respond and defend your business.

Electronic Benefit Transfer

Merchants, especially those in the supermarket industry, need the availability to accept EBT transfers (recently changed to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)). This is the electronic system that authorizes and transfers government program funding into your account for customers who purchase eligible products (such as milk, bread, meat) with food stamps, and programs like WIC coupons.

Our processing partners have direct links into the EBT networks for all 50 states, as well as DC. We make what may seem like a complicated process very simple with our “one stop shop” approach that integrates all of your POS systems with easy payment acceptance.