Credit Card Merchant Services : Factors To Consider

Credit card merchant services are what the credit card company, bank, or credit union offers to cardholders.  If you were in the market for a new credit card, it is essential that you read all the information provided to understand exactly the services being offered since they vary.  Remember, some services are free while others come at a price and since price could be significant, you need to know.[br]

Credit card merchant services are what the credit card company, bank, or credit union offers to cardholders.  If you were in the market for a new credit card, it is essential that you read all the information provided to understand exactly the services being offered since they vary.  Remember, some services are free while others come at a price and since price could be significant, you need to know.[br]

The following are some of the credit card merchant services typically found with the better companies:

·    Credit Card Account Information – When you own a credit card, it is important that you have access to information at any given time to review activity.  With this, you could verify dates and amounts and watch for unauthorized transactions.  While the issuing company would have theft protections in place, this service would also allow you to go online and see your account information.  Additionally, you would be provided with a toll-free number so the issuing institution could be contacted directly.[br]

·    Emergency Support – One of the favorite credit card merchant services is having 24-hour emergency support, 365 days a year.  For instance, if you were on vacation in another country and your card were lost or stolen, instead of being stuck without funds, you would have a way to reach a representative of the company for assistance.

·    ATM Transactions – You would also have access to ATMs all over the world and depending on the credit card chosen this could be more than one million locations.  Because of this, you are always close to money when needed.

·    iPhone Applications – One of the newer credit card merchant services now being offered by certain issuing institutions is an iPhone application that allows you to search for ATM information.  The GPS on the iPhone would allow you to input an airport, street address, zip code, etc in more than 200 countries and in return, you would be provided with a list of the ATMs closest by.

·    Bill Pay – This is a great service, especially for people with busy lives.  Instead of waiting for the bill to arrive in the mail, you could set up an automatic payment and even preauthorize merchants to charge your credit card on a regular basis without the need to be contacted.  If preferred, you could use this service for one-time payments to be made, as well.

·    Taxes – Another one of the newer credit card merchant services is the ability to pay your taxes with the card.  Obviously, this makes tax time easier, more convenient, and less complicated.

·    Safe Shopping – You will also find that many of the better credit cards now offer safe shopping via the internet using a special code provided by the issuing company.  The purpose of credit card merchant services such as this is to provide you with protection so only authorized transactions would be approved.  With online shopping being at an all-time high, a service such as this is essential.

Again, every credit card company, bank, and credit union offers something different so your goal is to research various card options before choosing just one.  That way, you find all of the credit card merchant services important to you.  After all, along with the issuing institutions that provide these unique services, every cardholder needs a different type of service so the key is having a credit card that matches the cardholder.