When was the last time your company looked at their existing merchant services acquiring costs?  If like the majority of companies, it tends to be – ‘if it ain’t broke….’  This philosophy, whilst keeping your payment processing operational – may be costing you far more than you actually need to spend.

Crystals Merchant Services offer reduced cost card processing solutions to the UK marketplace.  Our aim is to provide you with the most competitive solution – backed by the best service possible.  Visit www.crystalsms.co.uk for further information.

Tonight I’m going to have a small wager on the Dallas Cowboys to beat the New York Giants – point spread -3.5 on the Cowboys. Not having the best of times, I’m hoping the Cowboys fortunes turn the corner, although most of the pundits on the US sites reckon they are stuffed!

Time will tell!

Time did tell – should have stuck to initial gut instinct – and the US pundits who obviously know a bit more than me! Nothing ventured – nothing gained!

This free application is causing quite a stir in the market-place – you know the annoying chap with the moustache and the irritating repetitive song – Well Compare something more worthwhile visit www.myshoppinggenie.com and download the FREE APP !

This program basically does a quick trawl of the internet to find you the cheapest option!  And you don’t have to suffer any Meerkats…..

Do you know how much you are paying for your card processing?

Regardless of the size of your operation you should carefully consider these costs. Crystals Merchant Services can analyse your existing costs and 9 times out of 10 can save you money.

In 2008 there were 75 million debit cards in use in the UK in addition to 71 million credit cards. The combined UK spend between these cards was in excess of £371 billion pounds.

Why pay the bank or your exisitng provider more than you have to?

Visit www.crystalsms.co.uk to find out more.

The Augusta Masters starts this Thursday – and I can not wait!!

The TV in the Beatt household will be commandeered as it is for every golfing major (football match, cricket test, motor race…. )

I love the Masters – and the betting that goes with it! – I like to stay clear of short priced favourites such as Tiger, and instead like the each-way place bets on players such as Jim Furyk @ 35/1, Charl Schwartzel @ 50/1, Duston Johnson @66/1 and Steve Stricker @33/1.

Fingers crossed that one of this lot steams to the front come Sunday evening. It will be interesting to see how the great Tiger Woods will perform (on the course that is – not the bedroom). One thing in Tiger’s favour is that his first tournament after his ‘episode’ is the Masters. Security will be at it’s tightest for this event, the stewards will rule the galleries with a rod of iron, and to be honest, as it’s pretty much a members viewing gallery, and those that are in the know – I can’t really see Tiger getting too much agro from the crowds.

Els and Mickleson are always going to be in the running, and I’m fairly sure Tiger will be there or there abouts. This year’s open at St. Andrews may be a different equation – if the wind blows and the rain drives, I could see Tiger struggle round the Old Course – if the sun shines then he could tear it apart. I played there in the Summer – driving wind and rain, but really enjoyed it – keep left and out of the messy stuff and all should be ok.

Enjoy the golf!!

A good performance from the mag’s to edge us closer to promotion and winning the Coca Cola Championship in style. We’re on the verge of heading straight back up at the first attempt – thankfully!

Shola came of the bench to net with a fine effort, and a first goal from the classy Jose Enrique secured three points for the toon, in a horrible wet, windy evening.

Newcastle bossed the first half, and should really have scored a couple before the break.  Andy Carroll had the best chances, but the whole team looked composed and threatening – Forest didn’t really look like scoring, and in reality Newcastle were unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty.

As the clock ticked past 70 minutes Shola took a well controlled shot, ending up at the back of the net to the delight of the 46,000 toon fans.  As the final whistle approached a well deserved goal by Jose Enrique cemented the joy for the toon faithful.  If we win on Saturday and Forest get beat we will be guaranteed automatic promotion.

Come on the toon!

From a retailer’s point of view, one of the most important considerations in running a successful sales operation is to make it the sale process as simple and straight-forward as possible for your customer. A key consideration in this process is to make it as simple, easy and flexible as possible for your customer to pay for their goods. The standard method of accepting payment now is by electronic payment card – whether debit or credit card. In-fact cheques are becoming a thing of the past, with banks looking to phase this method out in the coming years.

In order for a retailer to accept card payments, they need to set up a merchant account, along with a compatible card payment terminal. The process may appear a little daunting at first, but in essence, the whole process is relatively straight-forward and should only take a couple of weeks to set up new accounts, and less than that if you already have an existing merchant account and are just looking to move provider in order to reduce your card processing costs.

One of the considerations you will need to make involves how you wish to accept payment – is it simply for face-to-face ‘chip and pin’ transactions, are your transactions – ‘person-non’ present’ – i.e. over the phone or mail-order? Or do you wish to trade on-line and increase your market-place to as potential world-wide audience?

There are a number of companies offering merchant savings and cheap merchant services – these companies tend to be every bit, or even more competitive than traditional high-street banks. Some of these providers actually offer a fully-managed service, ensuring that you remain on the most competitive of rates, as well as providing excellent advice on terminal support.  Leading the way in the UK credit and debit card payment processing is Crystals Merchant Services – offering superb reduced cost card processing, Crystals Merchant Services can analyse your existing merchant costs and save you considerable sums of money on your monthly processing costs.  Visit www.crystalsms.co.uk for further information.  Few people actually look at their monthly processing costs, relying on their existing provider and trusting that they are on a competitive deal – this is a mistake – let Crystals Merchant Services analyse your costs and provide you with a competitive quote.

There are a number of different types of terminal available to allow you to accept payment by electronic card. A standard counter-top fixed terminal may be ideal for garages and traditional shops, but in addition to these, there are numerous portable and mobile solutions. Bluetooth or wireless radio technology allows a terminal to be taken direct to a customer – for example a diner in a restaurant can pay for a meal without leaving the table. Taking portable terminals a step further – mobile GPRS terminals can operate anywhere that they can pick up a mobile signal – a mobile network SIM card securely transmits the transaction data over the mobile phone network. These types of terminals are perfect for field-based sales people, as well as people who work remotely, such as exhibitions or trade shows.

It is simple and cost-effective to start accepting payment by electronic card, but in addition to this it is important to ensure that your company is on the most competitive rate – if you already accept payments by card – when was the last time you checked to see if you are on the most competitive rate? It is well worth getting a free competitive analysis of your existing card processing costs to see you can make savings on your existing merchant account.

Why not have a look around to see if you could save money on your card processing? You have nothing to lose and you could have everything to gain. If you find that you could save money, it is a simple process to swap providers – you get your money in the same time, you have no disruption or down-time in your processing – you just save money on your monthly charges.

Food for thought? How many times has your existing bank knocked on your door to offer you reduced cost card processing?

Andrew Beatt offers advice and consultation on UK merchant card processing solutions. If you would like further information, or to see if you are on the most competitive rate, why not visit http://www.crystalsms.co.uk It potentially could save you considerable sums.