Bank of America Merchant services

[Ilovetofixcomputers]

I contacted bank of America and they had awesome rates and low low low fees. Plus I can get the FD200i reader for 42.00$ a month or buy out for600 here as the prices and rates
For pricing, your rates/fees will be as follows:

Set-up fee: $0

Processing rate:

1.48% + .20 cents – regular credit & debit cards

2.69% + .33 cents – rewards & business cards

3.49% + .33 cents – corporate, government & foreign cards

Credit card machine : $42 per month

- American Express: 2.89% + .15 cents

____________________________________________________________

NO contract



What do you guys think about this?

NO cancellation fee



-

NO monthly fee



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NO monthly minimum.



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Annual fee: $95 (billed every October)



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[Rosco]

Sqaured is free. This is going to be a waste of money! YOu keep asking the same question just in different ways. I wouldnt even take credit cards until you are more established.

 

[Amanda]

Why are you so adamant on having a reader? Seriously, you have asked the same question at least 5 different ways... are you expecting a different answer? You aren't ready to take credit cards yet... you are barely a business! Get a business plan, get square, and most importantly, get a clue and listen to the invaluable advice you have been given by people on this forum.

 

[DocGreen]

Set-up fee: $0

Processing rate:

1.48% + .20 cents – regular credit & debit cards

2.69% + .33 cents – rewards & business cards

3.49% + .33 cents – corporate, government & foreign cards

Credit card machine : $42 per month

- American Express: 2.89% + .15 cents

____________________________________________________________

NO contract

What do you guys think about this?

NO cancellation fee
-
NO monthly fee
-
NO monthly minimum.
-
Annual fee: $95 (billed every October)

So here's my question... is that for a hardwired reader, or a mobile (cellular) reader?

I had looked at BofA for merchant services since I was already using them for my business account... they told me there was a monthly fee... You might want to double check on that.

 

[Ilovetofixcomputers]

So here's my question... is that for a hardwired reader, or a mobile (cellular) reader?

I had looked at BofA for merchant services since I was already using them for my business account... they told me there was a monthly fee... You might want to double check on that.

Hard wire reader.. and the price was 95$ a year and only monthly cost would be if I leased the reader.

 

[DocGreen]

Hard wire reader.. and the price was 95$ a year and only monthly cost would be if I leased the reader.

OK here's my opinion... that reader from BofA will be great when you open your first storefront. In the meantime, you're going to want a mobile option. I get that you're dead-set on having customers come to your parent's basement and nothing we say is going to change that... but that's shouldn't be the case for ALL your customers. You should be offering in-home service, which means you'll need the ability to accept payment on the spot. You can't go to a customers house and expect them to have already gone out to the ATM and gotten a stack of $20's to pay your bill.


[edited to add...]

I get that you want to be able to scan checks... I do too. But that's mostly for peace of mind. I learned a long time ago that you will end up paying more in fees for the ability to verify checks than you will pay for the occasional bad check. Just like everything else, there's a threshold you have to cross before you're sales volume is high enough to warrant such an investment.

 

[oldtech]

Seriously, and no exaggeration when I say I would rather my business take chickens in trade than do business of any kind with BofA.

 

[Maniaman]

Like everyone else has said (in all of the threads asking about it), you're wasting your money at this point. I actually dropped my merchant account in the shop in favor of Square, and even at a higher % of each transaction I stand to save money on the deal. You're going to get stuck with a hardwired reader, in your parents basement, that will be completely useless to you if you are on-site or doing a drop-off.

If you do not have a storefront, you do not need a hardwired reader and merchant account. It doesn't matter how you phrase your question, the answer is still going to be the same.

If you are going to keep asking for advice it would be wise to listen to the advice given by the community here, as they have established businesses, and as much as you don't want to listen, they know what they are talking about. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I can't stand people that constantly ask for advice and then won't listen to any of it.

 

[HawkinsPC]

Seriously, and no exaggeration when I say I would rather my business take chickens in trade than do business of any kind with BofA.

This times a million.

I have a storefront and most of my sales are not with CCs. People in this town like to pay with cash and never want a receipt. When they want to pay by CC, I use Square on my phone or iPad, as do most shops in town. I tried scanning checks with the PayPal app, but it took 10 days to get them deposited. It was much easier opening a personal account with a DBA.

 

[mraikes]

Like others have said, accepting credit cards using anything but Square (or something similar) would be foolish for a small startup/mobile business. No cost to start using Square nor ongoing fees. Reasonable per charge fee. It really shouldn't even require any serious consideration to make that decision.

Only a few TN members process so many CC charges that the slightly higher per transaction fee that Square charges would make any significant difference in the end.

Someone mentioned scanning checks - I do that. My accounts are with USAA and their "Deposit at Home" app works very well and includes immediate availability. Use the app to upload a picture of the check, front and back, and seconds later the money is reflected in my account.

 

[DocGreen]

Someone mentioned scanning checks - I do that. My accounts are with USAA and their "Deposit at Home" app works very well and includes immediate availability. Use the app to upload a picture of the check, front and back, and seconds later the money is reflected in my account.

I don't know about the OP, but when I mentioned scanning checks, I was referring to running them through a verification service to help eliminate bad checks. I don't need them to be available instantly... my bank makes a portion available at deposit, and the remainder available next day. That's more than enough for me.

 

[altrenda]

Not to beat a dead horse, but do you have any clients lined up besides the 3 you have been mentioning?

I would be more worried about that and spending my time getting customers than spending time looking at credit card readers.

Unless you have a big family and lots of friends with broken computers.

 

[Amanda]

Seriously, and no exaggeration when I say I would rather my business take chickens in trade than do business of any kind with BofA.

This.



/randomfillertext

 

[Amanda]

Not to beat a dead horse, but do you have any clients lined up besides the 3 you have been mentioning?

I would be more worried about that and spending my time getting customers than spending time looking at credit card readers.

Unless you have a big family and lots of friends with broken computers.

This... seriously, THIS...

OP, you don't have the customer base to warrant an investment of this nature. Build your customer base through some very easy marketing strategies and once you have a decent base then look at a reader. For right now, square is MORE than enough for what you need.

 

[Ilovetofixcomputers]

This... seriously, THIS...

OP, you don't have the customer base to warrant an investment of this nature. Build your customer base through some very easy marketing strategies and once you have a decent base then look at a reader. For right now, square is MORE than enough for what you need.

ihave about 4 customers lined up this weekend... Bank Of America seems good for 95$ a year.. and jil just buy a used terminal on ebay.. im think about all of the advise but I honestly would rather have credit card cuz it goings into my account and I can pay for stuff from right there ect

 

[3ft]

ihave about 4 customers lined up this weekend... Bank Of America seems good for 95$ a year.. and jil just buy a used terminal on ebay.. im think about all of the advise but I honestly would rather have credit card cuz it goings into my account and I can pay for stuff from right there ect

Seriously man - you are 18 and just opening a mobile/parent's basement type biz with 4 customers. There are MUCH better ways to spend your money than a CC terminal that will be USELESS to you in the field. You should really take the advice of those older and wiser that have been there and done that, or your business is destined to struggle from the very get go. I do wish you luck!

Ed

 

[Ilovetofixcomputers]

Seriously man - you are 18 and just opening a mobile/parent's basement type biz with 4 customers. There are MUCH better ways to spend your money than a CC terminal that will be USELESS to you in the field. You should really take the advice of those older and wiser that have been there and done that, or your business is destined to struggle from the very get go. I do wish you luck!

Ed

Thanks for the good luck, ill need it, but ive decided against house calls because this morning I was called by a friends family mother saying that her son (my good friend) went on a house call last night was killed while fixing the computer.. so im not going to do house calls

 

[DocGreen]

Thanks for the good luck, ill need it, but ive decided against house calls because this morning I was called by a friends family mother saying that her son (my good friend) went on a house call last night was killed while fixing the computer.. so im not going to do house calls

So instead you're inviting crazies into your parent's basement?

 

[Ilovetofixcomputers]

So instead you're inviting crazies into your parent's basement?

not into the basement....

 

[DocGreen]

not into the basement....

OK now I'm really confused. All along you've been saying that you're doing business out of your parent's basement and that you will be having customers come into your basement workshop... which I assume is where you'll have your overkill card reader. So now they're not coming to the basement? Are you installing the card reader in the driveway??