Get Out of the Dark: Know the Hidden Offshore Merchant Account Fees

<p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">When it comes to money matters, follow the golden rule: verify. The same goes with <strong>offshore merchant account fees</strong> , verify before you say yes and sign your name into any contract given to you. <br /><br />Knowing if the fees can be really tricky. There are charges that go unnoticed or are deliberately hidden to lure you into a false sense of security. Knowledge of these &ldquo;kept&rdquo; fees is an effective way to spare you the shock of a high <strong>offshore merchant account</strong> monthly statement.<br /><br /></font></p><h1><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Dare to ask</font></h1><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">When you&#39;re face to face with your offshore merchant account provider, never be afraid to throw in questions about the charges included in the contract. Don&#39;t let the meeting end if you still have bugs circling in your stomach, so to speak. Ask the four W&#39;s:<br /><br />● What are these fees?<br />● When are they going to be charged?<br />● Why are they being charged?<br />● Where are they going to be put?<br /><br />Asking will never hurt, better to have asked than knowing nothing at all. <br /><br /></font></p><h2><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Fees to watch out for</font></h2><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Though it feels scary to know, it is prudent and best to tackle and be aware of the <strong>hidden offshore merchant account fees</strong> so that you&#39;ll know what to do. Check them out and let&#39;s study them carefully.<br /><br />●Amex/Discover setup fees<br />●Annual fees<br />●Bank Setup fees<br />●Batch fees<br />●Cancellation fees<br />●Chargeback fees <br />●Customer Support fees<br />●Daily Close-out fees <br />●Gateway fees <br />●Gateway Per Item fees<br />●Licensing Fees<br />●Overlimit fees<br />●Retrieval fees <br />●Software fees <br />●Statement Fees<br />●Technical Support fees <br />●Termination fees<br />●Voice Authorization fees<br /><br /></font></p><h3><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Citing their relevance</font></h3><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Hey, let&#39;s not be judgmental about this matter. Analyzing the charges will help us to be more open-minded and assertive enough to give these charges their two cents worth. Well, they cost more than two cents but just the same, taking a closer look will be helpful.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><strike><br /></strike><em>Amex/Discover setup fees </em>are supposedly for the setting up with American Express and Discover, which are credit card issuers. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><strike><br /></strike><em>Annual fees</em><em> </em>supposedly membership fees that are charged to serve as maintenance of the account.<br />Bank setup fees are supposed to be the charges incurred when coordinating with the actual bank where the offshore merchant account will be placed.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br /><em>Cancellation fees </em>are those supposedly when there are credit card transactions into your offshore merchant account that are cancelled.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><strike><br /></strike><em>Chargeback fees </em>are supposedly the corresponding fee for every chargeback report filed by the customers. I see this as a unfair fee, you are losing a lot of money through chargebacks, then you&#39;re going to loose some more because you are sourcing money out.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><em><br />Customer support fees </em>are supposedly for round-the-clock customer relations services handling customer&#39;s inquiries.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br />Daily close-out fees are supposedly for the systems used when the daily system updates of your offshore merchant account.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><em><br />Gateway fees, </em>as the name suggests, is supposedly for the maintenance of the payment gateway. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><em><br />Gateway Per Item fees </em>are supposedly for every transaction that goes into the payment gateway.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><em><br />Licensing fees </em>are supposedly for any accreditation that will be needed to make the account legally valid.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br /><em>Overlimit fees </em>are charged when the number of transactions has reached above the limit. Simple solution, get a high volume merchant account for unlimited processing.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br /><em>Retrieval fees </em>are supposedly for retrieving credit card transactions which were initially declined due to errors in verification. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br /><em>Software fees</em> are for any other software that will be used to process payments. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><em><br />Statement fees </em>are supposedly for the printing and sending of your offshore merchant account bill.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br /><em>Technical support fees </em>are supposedly for the technical support staff that monitors the operations of the gateway and terminal.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br /><em>Termination fees</em> are supposedly for the event that you cancel your offshore merchant account before the expiration of the contract.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><em><br />Voice authorization fees </em>are supposedly for credit card authorizations made over the phone in card-not present cases. <br /><br /></font></p><h4><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Know which are really needed</font></h4><p align="justify"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">It&#39;s up to you to see the relevance of these fees. Some are taken off by merchant account providers for two reasons; increase customer loyalty and to attract potential clients. The reasons for keeping these fees vary. It may be that some of them are charged only when the need arises. Your merchant account provider should be able to let you know of the <strong>offshore merchant account fees</strong> immediately of the charge once any changes are made in the account, so that you won&#39;t be surprised when your statement comes. Always be alert and regularly tune yourself with the workings of your <strong>offshore merchant account</strong>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </font></p>