July 2007

How to give Tony Soprano a thinner envelope without getting whacked

by Dr. Robert J. Manna

We've all seen "The Sopranos."

When Paulie Walnuts or one of the crew makes a score, he brings a portion of it in cash in an envelope to Tony. The soldier says, "Here's your taste, Skipper," and Tony tucks it into his jacket pocket. The crew would love to hand over less, or negotiate a smaller percentage, but that's just not the way business is done in the mob.

Credit card processing companies get a taste of your credit/debit card business, too. But, you can get a better deal.

Here's the tricky thing. The fees credit card companies charge businesspeople are so complex that they can easily pull the wool over anyone's eyes. The vast majority of chiropractors don't know what percentages they are paying, and don't even read the statements when they come in. Why should they? They don't make sense unless you've been trained to read them.

So, do you want to give Tony a thinner envelope? I do, and you can, too.

Here's my story. After being ripped off of many thousands of dollars by two credit card processing companies, I got mad. Then, I met Chris Elrod, the "Robin Hood" of the credit card processing business. Chris helped me even the score. Now, not only do I pay a lot less in processing fees, but Chris and I are spreading the word so other chiropractors don't get ripped off like I did. Trust me, over 95% of doctors using a credit card terminal in their office could be paying substantially less.

Be informed

Read on for some valuable information to help you understand the business and how not to get shafted.

***  Percentages. Some doctors are paying 4.63% in California, 12% in Minnesota, and 9% in Illinois! Yikes! Let's say a doctor is running $3,000 a month through her credit card terminal. Over a year's time at 4.63%, she has forked over $1,667 of her hard earned money to the processor (a fat envelope for Tony). At 1.4%, that fee goes down to $504, a savings of $1,164!

***  Equipment purchases. Many processing companies will tell you that you need to purchase different equipment for them to accept your business, when often that is just plain false. Many agents make the bulk of their money by selling equipment (terminals, printers, etc.). To test their claim, tell them you aren't interested, and you'll see that "suddenly" your equipment can be reprogrammed to work.

***  Debit cards v credit cards. On average, 55% of the payments made through cards in your office are made by debit cards. And, you should be paying substantially less to process those debit cards compared to credit cards. If that isn't so, red flags should go up. And, if you have a pin‑pad you should be paying even less (about 1.4% or less) to process those debit cards.

***  Minimum monthly fees. This one got me. I was paying a "minimum fee" of $40 per month no matter how much money was being transacted. It gets worse. When I canceled my service with the processor, apparently they didn't cancel me. So, for two and a half years I paid that $40 "minimum fee" to these thugs. When Chris looked over my statement (remember, it was in Greek), he discovered it. You shouldn't have to pay a "minimum fee" each month!

***  Monthly fees. For patients on a monthly fee plan, you should have a feature called ACH that allows you to automatically charge the person's checking account each month. That's less time for your staff, and at 30 cents per transaction, you save a ton on fees. Plus, psychologically, it's easier than writing a check to you each month.

***  Non‑qualifying fees v qualifying. Credit cards can be classified as "qualifying" or "non‑qualifying." Some companies suck you in by advertising lower rates for processing but the "small print" is that those fees are only for "qualifying" cards. However, they will rate very few of the cards as "qualifying." A rip off technique!

***  Per transaction fees. This is an additional fee you pay per transaction, above the percentage. This fee should be no higher than 19 cents per transaction.

***  Termination fees, monthly minimums, etc. These are all bogus "junk" fees that can be waived. If a company is honest and takes care of their customers, they wouldn't have a termination fee, because, you'd never terminate them!

Knowledge is power. Unscrupulous credit card processing companies can easily pull the wool over a busy doctor's eyes. It happens every day. Get yourself educated, and save money. Give Tony a thinner envelope!

Chris Elrod has been in the credit card processing business for five years, and is dedicated to saving chiropractors money on their credit card processing fees. He is a graduate of ETA University, and has extensive training in credit card fraud and security. You are welcome to fax Chris your statement: cross out your account numbers, and even the fees you pay. Chances are, Chris will save you a bundle. You can fax your statement to 706‑413‑3222. Chris's phone number is 706‑766‑7033.