7/17 FINTECH BLOG: Surcharging Partner Program is a Much-Needed Solution for BOTH New Partners and Current Partners - Ascent Processing

A SOLUTION FOR PARTNERS POST COVID-19: AscentZeroCost

The US economy is on a roller coaster of a ride right now and there is no end in sight. As businesses adapt to the hurdles of reopening, it will take time to build the nation’s economic recovery. Some organizations are taking this time to prepare for the future, and software providers should be among them. Now is the time to prepare for the post COVID-19 economy.

Developing strategic partnerships is one solution companies can use to generate cash flow while keeping expenses down. The right partnership is one that enhances value to its clients, as well as developing new revenue streams. On that note, examine your current payment provider. Are they bringing value to your clients? Are they developing new revenue streams? Again, now is the time to reevaluate your current situation and consider adding a new Payment Partner that can address these needs.

Among the many services and solutions ASCENT Processing can offer its partners, both new and current, their new Surcharging Partner Program is a timely solution in this economy. This partnership program offers value in that it increases a partner’s revenue stream, while allowing their clients the option to provide their customers the ability to pass on their high credit card fees to the consumer, thus dramatically cutting their daily operating costs. Many Property Managers either share the cost or pass their credit card fees on to the homeowners. A significant benefit to this new Surcharging Program is it is an easy way for Property Managers to attract more homeowners to their rental program by eliminating the need to pass this fee on, thereby charging their homeowners less than their competition does.

If your company already offers this service, before you stop reading, skim down to the end to see why our compliant program is a much better solution. If you are not currently offering the ability to surcharge, let us continue to see why this is such an important solution for your clients.

A SOLUTION FOR PARTNERS POST COVID-19

The US economy is on a roller coaster of a ride right now and there is no end in sight. As businesses adapt to the hurdles of reopening, it will take time to build the nation’s economic recovery. Some organizations are taking this time to prepare for the future, and software providers should be among them. Now is the time to prepare for the post COVID-19 economy.

Developing strategic partnerships is one solution companies can use to generate cash flow while keeping expenses down. The right partnership is one that enhances value to its clients, as well as developing new revenue streams. On that note, examine your current payment provider. Are they bringing value to your clients? Are they developing new revenue streams? Again, now is the time to reevaluate your current situation and consider adding a new Payment Partner that can address these needs.

Among the many services and solutions ASCENT Processing can offer its partners, both new and current, their new Surcharging Partner Program is a timely solution in this economy. This partnership program offers value in that it increases a partner’s revenue stream, while allowing their clients the option to provide their customers the ability to pass on their high credit card fees to the consumer, thus dramatically cutting their daily operating costs. Many Property Managers either share the cost or pass their credit card fees on to the homeowners. A significant benefit to this new Surcharging Program is it is an easy way for Property Managers to attract more homeowners to their rental program by eliminating the need to pass this fee on, thereby charging their homeowners less than their competition does.

If your company already offers this service, before you stop reading, skim down to the end to see why our compliant program is a much better solution. If you are not currently offering the ability to surcharge, let us continue to see why this is such an important solution for your clients.

WHAT IS SURCHARGING?

The practice of passing on credit card fees to the consumer is one method merchants can use to cut their costs during these turbulent times. This solution allows property management companies the ability to accept credit cards without incurring the fees – they only pay for debit transactions. This program allows your clients to reduce operating expenses when every dollar matters these days. A compliant surcharge partner handles all the details of implementation, making sure your clients have a surcharging program that will not be interrupted, and thus not interrupting any deposit times of their funds. The correct processing partner also helps your client in being compliant. This is extremely important. For example, surcharging is currently prohibited in 4 states. Do you have clients with customers surcharging in these states? Do you know what these states are?

BENEFITS FOR PARTNERS’ CLIENTS

• Ability to keep more revenue.
• Allocate these savings to other parts of the business to keep growing.
• Enables struggling merchants to avoid layoffs.
• Enables merchants to lower prices that already have their credit card fees blended into it.
• Lowering prices can increase their SEO.
• To see the value this brings to your Clients’ customers, please see our AscentZeroCost product.

BENEFITS FOR NEW PARTNERS

• A new payment processor option to offer your clients, making your system more robust.
• Adding a payment provider that offers this Surcharge Program as an option.
• Offering a compliant, worry-free Surcharge solution.
• A value to market to your clients, offering an easy solution to cut their customers’ costs.
• A NEW REVENUE STREAM THAT WILL OFFER 10X MORE THAN NORMAL COMMISSIONS.

BENEFITS FOR CURRENT PARTNERS

• Easy Integration.
• Current partners already know their monthly/annual partner revenue. Now, they can easily calculate their new revenue multiplied by at least 10X more.
• A new solution to offer their customers, adding value in these times where every dollar counts.

SURCHARGING CORRECTLY OR INCORRECTLY IS THE QUESTION

With the new Covid economy here, the one thing that is certain is that nothing is certain. As more and more businesses in our sector are being scrutinized in more detail, some are seeing their funds frozen or finding out their accounts have been deactivated by other processors. It is more important than ever to ensure you are partnered with a compliant processing provider offering a turnkey solution, who are the experts – so that you do not have to be.

ASCENT can set up merchants to be compliant in their Surcharge Program to prevent any hurdles that could interrupt the partner’s clients’ day-to-day needs, such as delays in receiving their funds. Merchants do not need additional worries during these times when states are seeing increases in Covid cases, resulting in changes to their economy’s status in being able to be open, not open, or re-open and close again. This is not a good time to find out if their software is set up correctly or not. For example, some Stripe merchants have seen holds on their funds in recent weeks, or even de-activated accounts, due to higher refunds and chargebacks we have all seen during these times.

One company that offers surcharging has a small blurb in correlation to the compliancy rules of partaking in this program:

Note: before setting up a convenience fee for credit card transactions, we recommend referring to local and state legislation relating to convenience fees and surcharges for your area to ensure that you are following the correct practices. Additionally, we recommend viewing the terms of use of major credit card associations to ensure that you are in compliance.

To offer a compliant surcharge program, merchants must fulfill a number of steps. Your surcharge partner should offer solutions in each of these steps, rather than mentioning one paragraph to address the number of items to be completed before starting the program.

We are here to help every step of the way. Please fill in the form on this page for more info or reach out to partners@ascentpaymentsolutions.com for more details on how merchants can keep more revenue and be 100% compliant.

Who ASCENT Processing Is

ASCENT Processing has over 25 years in the payment processing world, specializing in the vacation rental industry. It is more than just offering better rates. We provide payment regulation expertise, innovative FinTech solutions, the highest level of security concerning data breaches, and customized chargeback and support services for the top reservation software providers and the leading property managers in the alternative lodging space.

For any Partnership / Business Development questions, as well as Surcharge questions, please contact partners@ascentpaymentsolutions.com

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