An Industry by any other name
According to the Global Industry Classification Standard, there are at least 11 business sectors, including: materials, consumer, health care, utilities and real estate, among others. These business sectors are further broken up into industry groups and at least 100 sub-industries; which are classified and assigned codes under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Whether you work in the public sector, transportation, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, apparel, gas, electric, sanitary or the service industry; whether you sell durable or non-durable goods; whether you sell in person or online, every industry is propelled by a common denominator – their bottom line.
What role do payment solutions play?
While globalization and cross-border sales are on the rise, the cost of goods are increasing, and every industry converges to develop a payment acceptance plan that grows with their business. With ever- changing new payment methods and technology, and the reduced use of cash, companies want to be ready to capture sales in an effective and cost-efficient way.
The payment acceptance landscape is constantly evolving; with new economic legislations always on the rise to support decreasing the cost of card acceptance fees for small and midsize businesses (SMBs).
Payment processors and card brands (i.e., Visa and MasterCard) also use industry codes to place businesses into various market segments, referred to as merchant categories. In an effort to develop the payment ecosystem, card brands offer enticements that cut the cost of accepting credit card transactions, if certain industry requirements are met.
The paradox businesses face is unraveling the true cost of their payment solutions and understanding why they lack the tools to evolve together with these industry changes.
Why you need to shift your focus:
Businesses tend to prefer the familiar. Organizations tend to be risk-averse. The decisions one makes as a result can limit a company’s growth opportunities, affect their costs, and impact the bottom line. One such example, is choosing your bank to handle your credit card processing. While operating a business, familiar is not necessarily better. Some banks offer payment processing services, but they do so as an adjunct to their core offering – banking. What this means for a business or organization, is outsourced customer support, white labeled third-party products, incorrect pricing and limited payment solution options. Most importantly, a misdirected understanding of your market segment and its impact on the cost of your card acceptance.
How do you solve this problem?
A company’s focus should be on merchant services and a payment solution designed for your industry, that does not cut corners or sacrifice service or security. Partnering with a payment service provider, like Cartis Payments, that will educate you on market verticals and interchange pricing programs. Ensuring that your business is properly categorized, will not only result in cost saving benefits being passed down to you, but also help you capture more customer sales by offering cardholders the opportunity to earn rewards, cash back with special industry spending promotions.