nSwipe Frequently Asked Questions
| Below you will find a list Frequently Asked Questions regarding the nSwipe Reader and Wap Service. For more information on any of these topics, simply click on it. You can also print these FAQs by clicking on the "print this page" text located on the right. |
What is nSwipe?
nSwipe is a Merchant Terminal Program that uses your Nextel phone's Internet connection to authorize and transfer funds. nSwipe is fully compatible with any Condor series Nextel phone (i30 - i90), with an Nextel Online service. .Available with a pre-approved, flat-rate merchant account, with a lower price than most wireless plans, and with no setup, application, cancellation fees, this package is truly a complete solution for the businessperson in the field who wants to increase their business by accepting credit cards.
When you see companies that offer $50, $100 even $200 dollars for an account referral,where does the money come from?
Affiliate and referral commissions come from application, setup and cancellation fees. We do not pay affiliate fees or commissions, period. Our advanced mobile and PC technology brings customers to us, where we can offer them a merchant account without the overhead of paying an affiliate. Many companies have nothing more to offer than merchant services, so they must use this sales method.
Why do companies charge a cancellation fee?
Most often, a percentage of the cancellation fee is used to pay affiliate and referral commissions. Also, a cancellation fee allows the provider to raise your rates over and over, knowing the cancellation fee will keep you locked in.
Why do so many companies offer leases on their software and hardware?
This lease is really a contract. It keeps you locked in to them for the duration of the lease(12, 24, or 48 months). A $39 dollar per month lease sounds like a good deal? Do the math. Its $1872.00 over 4 years! If you are willing to pay that much for a $450 terminal, call us immediately.
Why are your monthly rates so low?
We are a software developer, not a merchant account provider. Our software represents a huge number of merchant accounts to the provider that submits the lowest rates with the most reliable and best service. That provider is TransFirst, processing over $2 billion in financial transactions and growing at a rate close to 5% per month. Our primary business is the continuing development of merging credit card technology with personal computers, PDA's and web servers. When we discovered how abusive the merchant providing industry can be, we resolved to provide low cost, reliable merchant accounts to all of our users.
I was told term commitments and cancellation fees are required by the bank. Is this true?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! According to MasterCard's ISO Guide to working with acquirers, MasterCard's ISO Guide (section 2, page 3), this one of the actions that they actively discourage as damaging and abusive: "Such practices can include hidden fees, gouging on terminal leases, bait-and-switch pricing, the promise of "guaranteed" merchant approval, Internet "spamming" (unsolicited mass e-mailings), laundering, inaccessibility for resolution of customer service issues, and contract cancellation penalties." Actions of this nature led to Federal Trade Commission action AGAINST an ISO.
Couldn’t I get a better deal through them, or another provider?
Only if you represented thousands of merchant accounts at a time. Our software is sold nationwide through companies like Mobile Planet. This gives us the ability to negotiate for rates and conditions like the big chain stores. We pass on these rates and conditions to you.
Why would I want to accept credit cards?
For any business, credit cards give your customers time to pay, and funds to pay with. They allow impulse purchasing, and credit customers tend to purchase more premium items/brands, or larger quantities. In all respects, the ability to accept credit cards increases the ability of businesspeople to make sales and profits.By enabling business to accept credit cards not only in their office, but anywhere their business takes them, and at a fraction of the traditional entry cost for terminal equipment, nSwipe is primed to work in not only into the small / home/ mobile business market, but can be implemented by large organizations with mobile sales forces, such as taxi/limousine services, pizza/food delivery, towing/roadside assistance, and messenger/delivery services.
Do you support PDA's?
Yes, we currently have Pocket Verifier Professional for Pocket PC, and Palm OS and we are developing technology for the Nokia Communicator. We are awaiting only final updates from our development platform supplier and market conditions for it’s release.
Who can use this service?
This product is perfect for all of the U.S. businesses, that perform any sales or service out of the office. From the gardener who mows your lawn, to the nationwide chain that delivers your pizza, nSwipe allows individuals and corporations to deploy inexpensive devices that multiply their sales, and increase their cash flow. From now on, whenever you take a taxi, call a locksmith, have your broken window repaired, or have your drains unclogged, you will see the opportunity this product represents.
What is a Magnetic Card Reader, and why would I want to use one?
A magnetic Card reader is a device that can attach to many PDA's and cell phones, that actually 'reads' the information off the magnetic stripe on the back of all credit cards. When you a card reader, all of the cardholder information is entered for you, making the transaction much, much faster (T9 is nice, but it can be slow). Best of all, when you use a credit card reader, the bank gives you a better discount rate. This is called the 'swiped' rate.
What is the Swiped Rate?
When you use a card reader, the bank knows that you have the credit card in your hand, have checked the cardholder's identification (you are required to do this), and the cardholder is present to give you a signature (you need to do this too). This makes for a much safer transaction, for both you and the bank. In return they offer a much better discount rate on your transaction, 1.69% instead of the standard 2.2%. You are probably asking why you cannot get this better rate if you enter the data yourself. The bank will not allow this, the reason is that unless the data encoded on the magnetic stripe is transmitted to the bank at the time of the transaction (information that does not appear on the face of the card), they cannot be absolutely certain that you have the card in hand.
What is your Pre-Approved Merchant Account?
nSwipe users are pre-approved for their Mobile Merchant Account, provided they have a U.S. based checking account (personal or business), Have no liens, judgments, or collections, and are not in the Terminated Merchant File (TMF or MATCH).
Will I be approved?
Accounts are approved with the qualifications stated above. Your account will go active once we receive your hardcopy application with signatures, voided check from the account we will be depositing into, and evidence of business (business card, permit, tax certificate, web address, or similar).
What about High Risk Businesses?
Visa requires that certain high risk businesses (casino, travel, and others), register their businesses with them. Visa will require an annual $500 registration fee. This fee is directly between you (as a merchant), and Visa. We will handle the paperwork for you, with no additional fee, but we have no control over this requirement. Some new businesses may be asked to have a small percentage (3%-10%) of their deposits held for a short time (2 to 5 days) on a rotating basis to cover chargebacks unforeseen by a new merchant.
Can I sign up without a business checking account?
Yes. The processor has agreed to allow MerchantAnywhere.com members to process with a personal bank account and can change the bank account at any time by simply faxing a voided check to MerchantAnywhere.com from the new bank account. There is a small ($15) charge to change your checking account once your account is set up.
Can I sign up without a business name?
Yes. Your registered Legal business name, will be your name as it appears on your social security card, but you can have your merchant account set up as "Your Name Enterprises" or "Your Name and Associates". Whatever name you use as your DBA Name, corporate or otherwise, make sure that your customers know that your DBA name will appear on their credit card billing statements.
I just opened (or am going to open) a checking account. Can I use my temporary checks?
NO! However, when you go to the bank to open your account (and many businesses open an account just for their credit card processing), get a letter from the bank manager, stating the account name, account number, and the bank's transit (ABA or Bank Routing) number on the Bank's letterhead. You can include that in your application instead of waiting for your imprinted checks.
What does the $24.95 and $8.99 monthly fee include?
The $24.95 covers everything except the 2.2% credit card charge and thirty cents ($0.30) per transaction charge. When you sign up for the account, it will include access to Transaction Central in order to give you access to your merchant account reports. There are NO equipment costs, NO application fees, NO set-up fees, NO down payments, NO statement fees, NO monthly minimums, NO leases, NO cancellation fees, and NO time commitment (Other processors typically charge a costly set up fee of about $300.00, a statement fee of $10.00 to $12.00, and a monthly access/gateway fee of about $30.00 dollars. When you add up all the charges, it can be very costly).
Is this real, Why do others charge $200 to $500 to set up a Merchant Account?
Traditionally, merchant account providers pay a referral fee those those that refer them. Many on the Internet, now pay as much as $250 for a referral! Application and setup fees are used to pay these fees. nSwipe is being sold nationwide. We do not pay any referral fees, ever. With thousands of packages, bringing qualified merchants to us, we were able to pre-negotiate this ZERO ENTRY COST merchant account, with a FLAT RATE!
I already have a merchant account, can I just use it for nSwipe?
In order toachieve all of the functionality within nSwipe, specialized programs and servers have been implemented at our processor. Without the support of these servers and programs, nSwipe could not offer all the features and functionality that it does. If you are currently processing with another merchant account, have significant processing volumes, and are getting a better rate than 2.2% keyed / 1.69% swiped, please call our offices.
What credit cards can I accept with this system?
Visa and MasterCard are automatically approved. MerchantAnywhere.com will also apply for (at no additional cost), American Express, and Discover merchant accounts, although everyone is not automatically approved. Amex and Discover will set their own rates with you directly, and we have no influence or control over these. In addition, Discover has recently begun to charge it's new merchants $25 upon acceptance. This is a direct charge from Discover, and we have no control over this. Discover has also informed us that they now require businesses to be at least two years old for acceptance.
Now that I have signed up, what happens?
We begin processing your application as soon as you enter it online. Since we are dealing with FDIC Insured banks, banking regulations apply, and some of the final steps cannot occur without your physical application, with pen-and-ink signature. Your account is generally completed and ready to use within two business days of the receipt of your signatures.
When do I receive my money?
In most cases, funds are available in the checking account you specified within two to three business days after your transactions are batched (reconciled). We will automatically process your batch for you every business banking day, so you can't forget!. This can save you time, and help you get your funds faster.
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