Business Innovators Radio - Terrina Taylor: Empowering Businesses with Customized Merchant Accounts

Episode Date: June 20, 2024

Terrina Taylor Shares Insider Secrets to Merchant Services and Payment ProcessingIn this episode, Dr. Tami Patzer talks with Terrina Taylor, an expert in merchant services specializing in merchant accounts and credit card processing equipment. With her extensive knowledge and experience, Terrina offers businesses a superior alternative to generic one-size-fits-all payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, and Square.Terrina’s company provides a holistic, transparent, and growth-oriented approach to Payment Processing, focusing on building long-term partnerships with clients. Today, she’ll be sharing her insights on payment processing systems, the importance of PCI-DSS compliance, and more, explaining what it all means for businesses looking to accept payments efficiently and securely.Terrina has a unique perspective, having grown up working in her family’s salon business. When the pandemic hit, she had to navigate the shift to more contactless payment options, which led her down the path of researching merchant services in-depth. Terrina now partners with over 15 different payment providers, offering customized solutions for businesses of all sizes and risk levels.If you’re a business owner frustrated with the limitations and hidden fees of generic payment processors, this episode is a must-listen. Terrina will explain the key differences between a true merchant account and the sub-merchant status offered by companies like PayPal and Stripe. She’ll also dive into the importance of PCI-DSS compliance and how it helps protect businesses from fraud and chargebacks.Additionally, Terrina shares insights on working with high-risk businesses, the components of a payment processing system, and how businesses can potentially save thousands in fees by partnering with her team. She also provides valuable tips on customer service and how to get the fastest access to your funds.Listeners will walk away with a deeper understanding of the merchant services industry and actionable strategies to improve their payment processing setup. Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar business, an online store, or operating in a high-risk industry, Terrina’s expertise can help you find the right solution to get paid efficiently and securely.To connect with Terrina and learn more, visit her website at TerrinaTaylor.com, where you can download a free ebook with 51 common questions about merchant services.You can also find her on social media, including Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.Schedule a free consultation with Terrina to assess your current merchant account and explore how her team can save you money and provide a superior customer experience.Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/terrina-taylor-empowering-businesses-with-customized-merchant-accounts

Welcome to Business Innovators Radio, featuring industry influencers and trendsetters, sharing proven strategies to help you build a better life right now. Hi, everyone. This is Dr. Tammy Pouser, and today we have a very special guest, Terena Taylor. Tarina is an expert in merchant services, specializing in merchant accounts and credit card processing equipment, With their extensive knowledge and experience, Shaffer's businesses a superior alternative to generic one-size-fits-all payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, Square, sound familiar. Terina's company provides a holistic, transparent, and growth-oriented approach to payment processing, focusing on building long-term partnerships with clients. Today, she'll be sharing her insights on payment processing. systems, the importance of PCI-DSS compliance, and more. And of course, she'll explain what that means. Welcome, Terina. Thank you for having me, Dr. Tammy. I appreciate the opportunity.

I'm interested in this topic because, as I said right before we went on the air, I actually have PayPal, Stripe, and Square, and I think there are negatives and positives to each. one of those systems. So first of all, Tarina, can you tell me a little bit about your background and how you got into the field of merchant services and payment processing? Yes. And I live in Baltimore, Maryland, and me and my mom, we own a salon. My mom has owned the salon for 35 years. I grew up in a salon, so I pretty much worked there my whole life. And in 2021, when we were coming back from the pandemic, kind of trickling in, and I started taking in some new clients, a lot of people prefer contactless payments. Before we were just, you know, pretty much all cash business.

But once we started taking credit card payments, I had to look up kind of what system I was going to use, like most businesses do. And I found that Square was the best option for me. You got the, you know, a little card reader, you put it on your phone, and you can swipe a card on there. So once I was going over some things at the end of the year, 2021, I noticed the difference in fees if it's somebody swipe their card in person or if they had their card stored in my system, the fees were different as far as that. So I started to learn more about why the fees were different. So if a person swiped their card in person, you know for a fact that the person actually handed you their card

and they were there to see you swipe their card. So that's a cart present system. As opposed to if somebody had their card stored in your system, that's a card not present because you could swipe their card anytime if you want because it's stored in your system. So the risk is higher. It's a higher risk for chargebacks in a situation where somebody might say, I didn't authorize that charge.

So that's why the fees are different. So once I learned that, I just was like, well, I need to learn more about this. And so I was just doing some research and I found a couple of company that I could partner with that would allow me to be an agent and sell their services. So we have partnerships with over 15 different providers. So anything you need to get paid, pretty much we offer those services. Oh, that's interesting because I've seen that option in Square where you can, someone can store the card or not.

And of course, when I send an invoice, I check all the little boxes and they can choose whatever they want to do. Right. But I didn't realize obviously those fees are based on the risk factors. So you mentioned that the company that you're working with now is a superior alternative to the generic payment processors. So what exactly would you say sets the services that you provide

or the company you work with apart from PayPal, PayPal Stripen Square. Well, that's another thing I learned doing my research. That's why I decided to partner with the company is because what we get with PayPal, Stripe and Square is not actually a merchant account. You're a sub-merchant underneath one master merchant account. So PayPal owns the merchant account. Stripe owns the merchant account.

Square owes the merchant account. They're putting you as a sub-merchant underneath of them. So when you get that, you're not actually getting a merchant account with a merchant ID number. So what we provide are actual merchant accounts with a merchant bank. So you have to go through an underwriting process first. And we mitigate that risk to make sure that you are who you say you are. You have to provide all your details, all your stuff of incorporation for your business. So we know the risk involved, what kind of business you are, you know, what kind of business you're doing.

And that sets us apart because if you ever seen a situation where somebody might have been using PayPal or Stripe and they get their merchant account shut down or they get their funds held because a certain amount of money, like they had a fluctuation in, you know, revenue. They might make, say, a thousand dollars one day and then the next day it jumps to $5,000. Sometimes they'll put a hold on it because they have to like go through their account and make sure, you know, there's nothing fraudulent going on. So that's why we do the underwriting up front so we know exactly what your business is.

And that's why it's a more customized approach. It's not a one-size-fits-all you can hurry up and sign up and you get a service. you have to go through an underwriting process. So that's how we set ourselves apart. I know that there are certain companies who have trouble getting any type of merchant accounts like credit repair companies and other companies like that. Do you work with those hard-to-place merchants? Yes, we do work specifically with high-risk businesses. The difference that they have to know that is that the fees will be higher.

with their services because of the risk. Like I said, so the fees fluctuate based on the risk involved with the business. High risk businesses usually do have higher fees. Oh, okay. So that's important for people who might be considering trying to find a merchant processor and they may have been turned down by PayPal or Stripe or some other system, but they could come to you and you could at least do all. all that background and try to find them a placement, but of course, the fees would be higher.

I think that's really good to know. So what are the key components involved in a payment processing system? Well, we have your payment processor. We have your, I'm sorry, I'm getting stuck on words here. Just give me a second. Let me look at my notes really quick. That's fine. Yeah, I'm listening. I was just going to say, while you're doing that, I just wanted to give you the heads up that I do want to know what PCI-D-S-S is, what that compliance is, and why it's important for businesses to apply or adhere to those standards. So that's something else I'm very interested in understanding those terminology. Let me answer that first because you see ID DSS, I had to study that for a long time because once you say it really fast, it's hard to say. But it's payment card industry data security standards.

So that's what it stands for. And it's important because that is what the payment card industry sets for security standards. So as far as fraud is concerned, they want you to be PCIDSS compliant just to make sure there's no fraudulent activity going on with your merchant account. So back to Square PayPal and Stripe, the amounts of the percentage that they charge, are they charging that on both sides of the transaction or just one side of the transaction? That's just the merchant fees. As far as the customer, the customer does not have to pay those fees because they are the cardholder. So they come from the acquiring bank.

the acquiring bank is the people who hold the cards and the merchant bank is the one who accepts the cards. And then we have interchange fees. So the interchange fees are based on what the card industry sets. So that's your visa, your master car, your American Expressure, Discover. They set interchange fees. So they are usually like 1.6 to 1.8 percent depending on the card brand, depending on how you process the payments. Like I said, if you have a card store, the fees are going to be higher.

If you key in a transaction, it's going to be higher as opposed to you swiping it, having a card in-person transaction. So, for example, Square is something I've used. When the client gets an invoice and they actually type in their card number, is that fee higher or is that a different process? since they're in control of putting the information in. That's a different process because the invoice is based on the client putting the information as opposed to you putting the information.

Okay, so that's what it is. It's about the merchant wiping the card or having or keying it in. Okay. I get it. I get it now. So can you share a story about some of some instances. since like what happens? I mean, it hasn't happened to me very often. Like, I don't think it's ever happened. A chargeback. I've had people want to refund. Is there a difference between a

refund and a chargeback? Well, refunds are different because somebody is actually coming to you, asking you to refund their money. Chargebacks is usually when someone is saying that they didn't make a purchase and they're reporting it to their card that you fraudulently took their money. Oh, okay. And so that's why merchants, they don't want you to, like, have a dispute. For example, PayPal has that resolution center where it's dispute. And I guess in that situation, if somebody disputes something, they would treat it differently than if you went directly to the merchant and just said, hey, give me back my money. And then the district gives that time. You see how like when you do try to do a dispute on PayPal, they ask you, have you got in touch with the merchant first to just resolve the matter before you came to us to do it? Because when you come to them and do it, then it's considered a chargeback. And when you just go straight to the merchant and resolve it that way, it's better for the merchant as far as fees are concerned.

Right. And then the merchant also, I imagine they keep records about how many chargebacks a merchant gets. and then under a certain point, if you get too many chargebacks, they probably would, what, close your account? Yeah, I did actually have a situation myself with that. One of my, for early on clients had opened up a merchant account. They were starting a new business and they were considered to be a high risk business. But the new business was, it was so many chargebacks. Like most of the charges that they were coming across was were chargebacks. So the chargeback ratio was so high that we did have to end up dropping that client.

So that's something that people should acknowledge that if they are in a high risk business, you know, there are odds that they may not even be able to take credit cards in the future. Are there any businesses that absolutely positively cannot become, get a merchant account? specifically with us we can't do anything with the marijuana industry yet because it's federally still illegal i mean in some states it's legal but federally it's still illegal so we cannot work with those merchants as of yet until that federal law changes until the federal law so just because something may be legal in your state if it's not federally legal then you have to go basically it has to be legal everywhere that you're doing business

Yes, I take it. Yes. So you mentioned the different percentages. How much could somebody save in fees by working with you as opposed to going with PayPal Stripe or Square? Now, that's still dependent on the business model. Now, if it's a brick and mortar in-person business and you want to do a cash discount per se, you can save up to $5,000 a month depending if you want to use that product.

Now, the cash discount is also called a surcharge. So you make it available to the person that if you want to pay cash, it's going to be a cheaper option as opposed to if you want to pay with your card, then the card fees are going to be tacked on to the payment. So that's just difference in if you have a brick and mortar. Now for like an online business who is a little higher risk, the fees still are generally cheaper than PayPal Striping Square because we do an interchange plus model. So that's the interchange fees. Like I mentioned before, the DeKar branch charge. And the plus is what our payment processor charges, which is usually around, I think, 0.3% is a very small percentage.

So we usually come in around 2.4 to 2.6%. So we still, it still is some savings involved. It's not going to be as high as a in-person brick-and-mortar business, but there's still some savings that can be made. Yeah, I noticed that with PayPal and Square, they all have a percentage, and then it'll be like plus or some amount. So that's a good little negative information. When you see a surcharge, I have seen that in restaurants, where it'll have a cash price and then the credit card. price or the credit price. But what about debit cards? I mean, technically isn't a debit card cash? Actually, no. If it has a logo in there, you can use it as a credit card. It's still a credit card.

Oh, okay. So it's just the way that you use it. So let's talk a little bit more about customer service because basically, in my experience with Square, PayPal and Stripe, if you're If there's customer service, it means you're either trying to chat or if you get a phone number, good luck finding the phone number. They like to hide it. How the customer service that you provide, how do you provide that? And what could someone expect? Could they just, do they call you, do they email you, do they chat? What are your customer service? that you provide. Well, seeing, you know, being that I do want to build a relationship with my clients, it's pretty much you can call me.

I mean, I'm not going to be available, of course, 24 hours a day. But my team, we do have a background assistant services. So in any event that something is wrong, you have the ability to call me, text me, email me, and I'm your dedicated merchant account manager. So the point is that it's for me to find out what the issue is and for me to help you as quickly as possible because I'm a small business, just like you are small business. And so I want to be able to help you run smoothly. Make sure your transaction is running smoothly.

Make sure your equipment is running smoothly so you don't have any problems getting paid. Well, that sounds good. So if you were, if somebody wants to connect with you, what's the best way to do it to find out more? You can come to my website. My website is taranatela Taylor.com. I'm on all the social medias. I'm on Instagram. I'm on Facebook.

I'm on LinkedIn. So any way you want to contact me, you can contact me. You can contact me. So as long as they know your name, Terina Taylor, and am I correct that it's T-E-R-R-I-N-A-Taylor? Yes, ma'am. Okay, that's good. So is there anything that you'd like to add before I let you go? I didn't.

I forgot to you. I didn't answer that one question about the components. We have the payment gateway. So that's like your, if you've ever heard of a payment gateway called NMI or authorized.net, which is an alternative. Yeah. So we sell that product as well. So that's a payment gateway that connects your merchant account to getting paid, pretty much that middle section. That's the gateway.

That's where the money is going to come through. Then we have the acquiring bank, and that's the process is your credit card payments. And then the issuing bank, like I mentioned before, is that's the issuing bank, like I mentioned before, the bank that the person has us issuing the credit to your merchant account. And then we have the transaction authorization. So that's going to be handled by your payment processor to authorize the payment and make sure everything goes through and runs smoothly. Okay, that brings up a question. How long does it take to get your money so that you can use it? It depends on your business. We all talk about that in the underwriting process. It depends on how much, much you want to get

You can get paid 24 hours. They have a two-day 48-hour pay as well. Usually if it's on the weekends, you have to wait the weekend to get paid to the following week. So they don't really issue money on the weekends. I know that on Square, if you want your money, like right now, you have to pay like 1% or something. Extra fee. To get it faster. But I noticed that their one to two-day system normally is over.

overnight after you've been processing for a while. Great. So I think you've answered all my questions. Is there anything else that someone might want to know so that they can take a look at working with you as a payment processor? I do. On my website, I have a free e-book that usually It has 51 questions that I've answered for that I usually come across if anybody has ever asked. I just wrote it in an e-book. It's quick. It's free. You can go on my website, sign up for it.

And it has all the answers to many of the questions that people ask before they want to start a merchant account. And then after you, you know, you sign up for you, read it and you feel like you want to move forward as a book of consultation with me. The consultation is free as well. We would like to have assess your merchant account that you have already. so we would like to get a merchant statement that you have so we can look at what fees you are paying, see how we can save you money, if we can save you money. And then we move forward from there. Okay, great. Well, I really appreciate all the information because I know there's a lot of people out there who, especially when you're an entrepreneur and you're just starting out, you pretty much do. You either do PayPal Striper Square or all three like I do because they all have different benefits. And that just made me think of another question to ask you related to international sales, because a lot of times Stripe is the one people use if they're dealing with people internationally. So do the systems you work with? Are you able to work with people globally and do currency exchanges? We can, our systems can accept payment from anywhere, but we are not.

able to work with all payment, all people globally. It's certain countries that we do work with, Canada, and there's a couple of other countries that I can't think of off the top of my head. We do. But as far as a lot of countries, there are some countries that we cannot work with. So strike definitely would be your best bet in those situations until something changes in the future maybe. But for right now, we can't work with everyone globally. So the best thing to do would be to ask if you do a lot of foreign transactions. And there are even countries around the world that nobody can do business with because of sanctions. Exactly. Yeah. So that would be a really good question to ask if you do have international concerns. And of course, everybody probably works a lot

with Canada because they're our neighbor to the north. And we all, we feel comfortable with that. Okay, so Terina, I really appreciate all your time, and I'll make sure that your website is up in the show notes, and I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Tammy. I appreciate being here and giving some value. Thanks, everyone. We have been speaking with Terena Taylor, and she can help you with your merchant services. Thank you. Go make it a beautiful day. to Business Innovators Radio. To hear all episodes featuring leading industry influencers and trendsetters, visit us online at businessinnovators.com today.