Taking payments always seems like it would be straight forward and easy. You have a product and your customer hands over cash for that product. That should be the end.
More than half of sales have payments in the form of a credit or debit card. Those are digital transfers of money. As you may know, with digital data comes the threat of a data breach.
Because taking payments is no longer simple, business owners want to make it as streamlined and cost effective as possible. Here are 5 tips for Conducting an Internal Audit of Your Payment Systems
- Buy your product.
Experience what your customers experience. Is it easy? Are there places that will frustrate your customers enough for them to walk away?
- Review all policies and procedures.
Do your systems make sense? Are you taking unnecessary steps? Have you had issues that your employees don’t know how to handle? Being prepared with policies and procedures will help lessen the friction a customer experiences at checkout.
- Check for processing and authorization errors.
Look at descriptors, customer information, processing declines, etc. These are things than can raise the cost of accepting credit cards as well as cause a business to incur chargebacks.
- Review shipping terms and errors
Any business who has shipping as a primary method of delivery knows that little changes can mean big savings or big costs.
- Check customer service guidelines.
Look for adequate customer communication. Find out length of hold time. Discover what options the customer experiences when communicating online.
Be sure to conduct an audit on your systems annually or even biannually. This will keep transactions smooth and costs down.
Using a Certified Payments Professional (ETA CPP) when auditing your merchant account is a way for you to know that you are working with an expert in the Payments Industry. These individuals are certified through the Electronic Transaction Association (ETA).
The ETA CPP program sets the standard for professional performance in the payments industry and is a symbol of excellence. It signifies that an individual has demonstrated the knowledge and skills required to perform competently in today’s complex electronic payments environment.
Discovering whether or not your sales agent is certified is as simple as vising ETA CPP Registry and inserting the sales agent’s name (I did find that some names needed to be entered in all caps).
Electronic Merchant Services is structured so that all accounts are managed by a Certified Payments Professional. If you are looking for a new merchant account or would like to have someone help you navigate the complexities of what you currently have in place you can reach us at info@emspayments.com or 208-273-5575.