Credit Card Processing Fee – It’s like a broken record, not a Guinness Book feat, not that kind of broken record. I mean the skipping record that keeps repeating the same refrain. I guess it’s not a “broken  record.” It’s a scratched record. That simile is flawed, but I digress.

Anyway, back to the “broken” record, the question that echoes down the corridors of time: How do you get rid of credit card processing fees as a business owner? We hear it time and again. Is there a way to slay the fees dragon? Yes, Bilbo. There is.

But first, let’s just get our brains wrapped around this situation. Why do credit cards (and thus credit card fees) exist in the first place?

If I’m an endodontist, for example, and I have a cash-only patient who needs $3000 worth of root canal and crown work done but just can’t afford to pay it all at once, what are my options? What are their options? And let’s assume that credit cards aren’t a thing. What would you do? You certainly want their business; it’s not a question of no pay, no play.

Credit Card Processing Fees

So you offer to loan them the money to have this essential oral work done on credit. You set up your terms and trust that it’ll all happen according to the agreement. Easy enough. But you realize it’s a dangerous precedent to let your clientele effectively run a tab. You need cash flow. You simply can’t afford to hold that many IOUs.

Like gallant knights on horseback, credit card companies, processing companies, networking giants, and financial institutions come galloping to the rescue armed to the teeth with all their fees-based lances and maces to facilitate the simple exchange of money for molars. Our heroes!

A computer chip-embedded, shiny, plastic (or metallic if you’re elite) card becomes the payment token. And not only do you get charged a percentage to process the transaction and thus claim your money, but your client also typically winds up paying whatever interest they are charged for financing the payment. And that finance charge goes to someone BESIDES YOU.

These people are YOUR customers. If there’s going to be interest paid, you should be the one to get it.

Big Credi Card Companies

But the credit card companies are taking it. And why shouldn’t they? They’re providing the service to you and your customers. You can’t begrudge them that. They didn’t put a gun to your head. They’re doing you a favor, after all. Knights. Dragons. Galloping steeds. This is quite the tale.

The promised solution?

Tell your customers to holster their plastic. Real slow. Let’s keep our heads here. No sudden movements. Just ease that card right back into your wallet. Your (plastic) money’s no good here, friend.

You see, there is a brilliant alternative to your clients having to max out their Visa cards to pay

for your custom windows installation, cosmetic surgery, psychoanalyst sessions, or whatever other high-dollar products or services you provide them, subjecting themselves to crushing interest rates while subjecting you to aggravating and costly processing fees.

What alternative, cash? Is that the solution? Hardly. Most of your customers aren’t in a position to dole out significant portions of their savings or retirement to pay for their Lasik surgery in one lump. They’re not looking to plop down a pile of dough on the reception counter to pay for the parts and labor for a new transmission. That’s why they reach for the AMEX card in the first place.

An Unorthodox Option

So, what about financing your customer’s debt by partnering with a financial institution? That cuts out the credit card processing fees, but you still have transaction fees to the bank or lender while essentially handing your interest-paying client over to the bank.

Well, what’s left? Accepting payment in kind? “Thanks for the dental implants, Doc. Here are the six geese-a-laying and five golden rings we agreed on.” Actually, in some parts of the South, this is still considered viable.

Or maybe trade in services? “Now that I’ve got your knees and lower back all rehabbed and strong, how’s about you get started on my wheat fields? Those sprinklers aren’t going to rotate themselves!”

The answer to the question “How do you get rid of credit card processing fees” is as obvious as the nose on Adam Driver’s face. (Relax, he knows it’s, um, “prominent.”)But here it is.  Cut out the credit card processing fees by cutting out credit cards.

Be your bank

Going back to our scenario, don’t worry about selling too much on credit. You’re the credit provider. You set the terms. “What shall I make as the deposit? Should I do payment at the completion?” You get all the interest and fees and anything else you charge. They’re YOUR clients. Imagine if you could be your financial institution.

Think about how much money you pay to get paid? How much do you lose annually in transaction fees? Hundreds? Thousands? More? Remove the middlemen. You process the loan. You set the terms. Imagine the goodwill you’ll be cultivating with your customers when you can deal with them face to face, one on one in arranging to finance for your products or services.

In Conclusion

Freedom from credit card processing fees is not only possible, but it’s also far easier than you may think. It doesn’t have to be business as usual.

Woje Money’s revolutionary software and dashboard put the power of being your bank just a few mouse clicks away. You keep the merchant fees, the credit card network fees, the interest, and any fees you wish to charge. With Woje Money, you keep it in your pocket.