rates

Merchant Account Programs Available Through Breakthrough Consulting


Discount Rates & Fees Breakthrough Consulting represents several bankcard processors, thus we can give you the best program based on your needs and type of business. Do all the research you want, but keep in mind that we can offer the lowest cost merchant account program on the Internet. Application fees are as low as $95. Call us for complete details. We can match any program you have seen on the net and save you a fortune on your processing equipment or processing software. NOTE: Be wary of processors that claim no up front fees. You probably have to sigh a 48 month lease, which is a big rip off. Our standard mail/phone order program has discount rates from 2.39% to 2.49%, depending on what you are selling. Here are your options: Program 1 (Process by Telephone)

	Discount Rate: 2.59% Transaction Fee: 50 cents Monthly Minimum Fee: $20 Statement Fee: $12 Set Up Fee: $295 (check or credit card) Equipment: NONE Funds Deposit: Into a business checking account that matches your Doing Business As (dba) name.

Program 2

		Retail Discount Rate: 1.59% plus 20 cents per transaction Mail/Phone Order Discount Rate: 2.39% plus 30 cents per transaction Monthly Minimum Fee: $20 Statement Fee: $5 Application Fee: $95 Funds Deposited: Into your local bank account, even a personal checking account. No business name registration is required. IMPORTANT: Mail order computer businesses are charged a 2.59% discount rate, due to the higher risk the bank takes on these. My inside sources tell me that if you are selling computers, one of our major competitors that charges 2% with no minimum fee will hit you with a 5% reserve account plus up to $2000 up front once your application gets to the bank processor. There is no such thing as a cheap rate for computers.

Program 3: Currently NOT available due to bank changes

		Retail Discount Rate: 1.59% plus 20 cents Mail/Phone Order Discount Rate: 2.39% plus 30 cents Monthly Minimum Fee: NONE Statement Fee: $10 Application Fee: $95 Site Inspection Fee: $50 (sorry about that, but this bank requires one) A 7 day reserve account may be required on new or mail order businesses. A copy of a driver's license is required on all accounts. IMPORTANT: This account is for those selling products with an average ticket under $500 and monthly volume under $5000. It is NOT for computer sales. A copy of a business license or a business name registration is required, along with a business checking account. NOTE: This processor is not quick in getting accounts approved!

Program 4 (For Merchants With Limited or Bad Credit)

		Retail Discount Rate: 1.69% plus 20 cents Mail/Phone Order Discount Rate: 2.69% plus 30 cents Monthly Minimum Fee: $25 Statement Fee: $10 Application Fee: $95 IMPORTANT: This account is for those merchants who have limited personal credit or who have collection accounts or chargeoffs. Open bankruptcies or judgements are still not acceptable. If you fall into this category, you would also NOT qualify for a lease, and would have to purchase the equipment.

High-Risk Accounts If you are selling pre-paid services, subscriptions, or travel related services, here is our high-risk program: Discount Rate: 3.50% plus 30 cents Statement Fee: NONE Monthly Minimum Fee: NONE Application Fee: $175 Special Processing Software: $995, or $42 per month for 36 months This bank requires that you use their special software for processing sales. It has the advanctage that it notifies you within 15 minutes via e-mail if you have a pending chargeback. Remember, regardless of the type of account you have, if you exceed 2% in chargebacks for more that 3 months, you will have your account terminated. This is a rule by Visa and Mastercard. These high-risk accounts have high chargeback rates, that's why most processors won't touch them. If you used any standard software package or an inexpensive terminal, you will not be able to comply with the requirements of this bank that issues the high-risk accounts. Consider the price of this software an investment in keeping your merchant account open.

Merchant Approval Criteria

Depending on your type of business, you may be accepted with only a business licence, ficticious name registration, corporate paperwork or just having your company name on your checking account. If you market under your own name, you don't even need a business checking account. We have several merchants that do business under their own name.

The following types of business can qualify for a merchant account:


	Start Up Businesses Home Based Computers Home Based Software Internet Service Providers Web Presence Providers Internet Stores Drop Shipped Catalog Sales Marketing Via Direct or Bulk E-Mail Non-Adult Videos and CD's Any Retail (Card Swiped) Business Any Other Business Not Falling in the Excluded Category (See Below)

	Excluded Merchant Types Due to the high risk of chargebacks and the liability of the bank in accepting these types of merchants, the following merchants fall into a high risk category, and need to be handled by a different processor. Contact our office if your business falls into any one of these categories:

	Pre-Paid Calling Cards Magazine or Newsletter Subscriptions Travel Agencies Discount Travel Certificates Discount Grocery Coupon Books Adult Websites Adult Videos or Talk Services Escort Services Collection Agencies Multi-Level Marketing Business Opportunity Programs Memberships (paid more than 30 days in advance) Lifetime Reminder Services

	Credit Criteria To accept credit cards, you need to prove to that bank that you are capable of making good on any chargebacks or refunds from customers in case of bad judgement on your selling methods or if you go out of business. Any time a card is accepted without an imprint of the card or it being passed through a card reader, the transaction is subject to a chargeback for up to 180 days in most cases. Chargebacks can occur for any of the following reasons:

	Product not received by customer Product received damaged or defective Wrong product delivered Customer feels he or she was misled as to the quality of what was received A card other than the customer's was used to make the transaction Merchant doesn't offer any warranties as promised to the customer Customer disputes the dollar amount charged and merchant does not have proof as to what the charge should have been Merchant ships goods overseas and never hears back from the customer who is now laughing at another "silly, greedy American"

	This is not an exhaustive list; there are other reasons a chargeback can occur. However, this is a little bit of education about merchant accounts comming from an expert in the field. Keep in mind that a chargeback is different from a credit. If you give someone a credit (returns, damage, etc.) this is not counted as a chargeback. If you go out of business or can't financially cover the chargeback, the bank will seek recourse against you. However, if it can't recover the money, it eats the whole loss. Remember, the processing bank keeps only about a half of a percent of the sale on a mail/phone order sale. The rest of the discount fee goes to the card issuing bank. For example, on a $1000 sale, the processing bank earns $5 in revenue (half a percent of $1000), but is responsible for paying back the $1000 if it becomes a chargeback and you can't cover it. This is one of the reasons that computer sales are so difficult to do at a cheap rate. When evaluating your ability to keep the bank from suffering a loss, our main processing bank looks for the following:

	Reasonable Personal Credit -OR- 3 Months Current Checking Account Statements AND Current Tax Return

	The checking account statements and tax return are only requested if your credit shows the following:

	Chargeoffs Collection Accounts Judgements

	If you have a bankruptcy, it must be discharged. If you have not re-established personal credit, you would need to show that you have a monthly income greater than your estimated monthly credit card volume. If you have any questions about your qualifications, call our office at 888-273-2584.


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	Copyright (c)1997, 1998 by Breakthrough Consulting PO Box 044134, Dept CBT, Racine, WI 53404 262-554-7713 (phone), 262-554-8258 (fax) Web Design by Breakthrough Consulting

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