Credit Card Processors

[ugimports]

To the FFLs that accept credit cards, I have 2 questions:

1. What Merchant Bank Do You Use?
2. How long after you capture a charge does it take for the money to show in your checking account?

I'm currently using First National Merchant Solutions and don't really have any issues with them except that I noticed that some charges take as long as 2 weeks to get into my bank account. Is this the norm?

And it isn't specific to a card type. E.g., I may have 3 Mastercard transactions on the same day and they'll show up in my bank account at different times, perhaps days apart.

I wasn't sure if this delay was something on my merchant side and others get very speedy deposits or if it has to do with the card issuing bank and everyone has the same delays I see.

By the way, the only reason I've limited this question to FFLs is that not all merchant banks accept firearm companies as clients so if I decide to switch I want to make sure the company is already servicing firearms dealers.

Thanks,

[Capt. Speirs]

Wellsfargo, less than 48 hours after batching.

[ugimports]

Wellsfargo, less than 48 hours.

They actually do your CC processing? When I asked my Wells Fargo person bout it they told me Firearms sales using their merchant bank was not allowed. Did you actually classify your business as a Firearms business?

Also, I'm starting to 2nd guess my Wells Fargo banking for the business from what I read here:

http://www.buymilsurp.com/page.html?id=19

Granted that's one guy's story, but I'd hate for my stuff to get frozen one day out of the blue.

[Capt. Speirs]

They actually do your CC processing? When I asked my Wells Fargo person bout it they told me Firearms sales using their merchant bank was not allowed. Did you actually classify your business as a Firearms business?

Also, I'm starting to 2nd guess my Wells Fargo banking for the business from what I read here:

http://www.buymilsurp.com/page.html?id=19

Granted that's one guy's story, but I'd hate for my stuff to get frozen one day out of the blue.

Sort of, they asked me what was being sold, I said "Hunting apparel, accessories, ammo, and hunting rifles and shotguns." The Wellsfargo Agent said, "Cool, my husband loves guns, when will you be open for business?" and then she said, "You will want to use Wellsfargo for your merchant services."

[FortCourageArmory]

I use Intuit through Quick Books Point Of Sale. They deposit within 48 hours of batching the transaction. Been using them for three+ years so far with no problems like you shared.

[TripleT]

UGI,

Something is wrong. No way should it take more than 48 hours unless there was a problem with an individual transaction and it should flag at the end of day if not immediately. In addition, the transactions should be deposited together as a batch per your end of day or it would be a nightmare to reconcile. I have been using First National Bank of Omaha for my firearms and other business with no problems for the past 5 years. First National Bank of Omaha is the NRA credit card provider...

[billslugg]

If you decide to change processors, be sure you do not trigger an early termination fee. Check your agreement to see what your term is and how hard it is to get out of it.

[ugimports]

I'm retarded. So I contacted my merchant account manager and he said that my deposits should be coming in 72 hours..I started to double check things and it does seem like that's happening..I know why I thought some were taking a couple weeks..... I sometimes have sales receipts pending, such as from the gun show, where the person doesn't actually pay until they pick up.. so when I'm running the deposit in quickbooks after they've actually paid it shows the date I created the receipt, not the date I actually closed it out

Basically, I'm retarded and am just getting use to my accounting software...

Although I do appreciate the suggestions and still may change processors since 24-48 hours to deposit is better then 72 .. and now that I hear Wells Fargo may be firearm friendly that would actually make things easier for me.

As for early termination fee.. I need to double check my paperwork. I asked to get that waived when I signed up because I didn't know if I'd even be around a year. Clearly I will be now, but I need to double check how I modified the terms when I signed up.

[tenpercentfirearms]

I use Westamerica Bank for my banking and CC processing. They are really good and that money is in there after a day. Batch out on Monday at about 11 PM, money is in there on Wednesday.

[Casual_Shooter]

Give Heartland Payment Systems a call. They are one of a few merchant processors who give "pass-through" rates. (or something like that). We've been happy with them.

[SDProtection]

I use Intuit through Quick Books Point Of Sale. They deposit within 48 hours of batching the transaction. Been using them for three+ years so far with no problems like you shared.

+1 for intuit. Good if you use Quickbooks. A bit of a challenge if you try getting fancy automating stuff, but doable.