When acquiring credit card processing services for your small business, there are numerous things that need to be figured out and taken care of. One of those items is determining if you would like Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 credit card processing. Essentially, the difference between the three is that they all offer different levels of security. Level 1 has the lowest amount of security while Level 3 has the highest. Here is more information concerning this form of financial transaction.
More about Level 3 Credit Card Processing
For most credit cards out there, information from a transaction will be sent to a buying organization by means of the respective issuing bank. Level 3 processing is generally recommended for expensive purchases for high ticket items. The advantage small business merchants receive from this level of credit card processing is that the transaction fees they have to pay is significantly reduced, potentially saving you a lot over the years. To give you an idea of what details are sent to the issuing bank, Level 2 sends the sales tax, customer code and overall transaction amount. That would be considered standard, but Level 3 sends the bank all this.
- Line discount
- Item description
- Quantity
- Unit price
- Commodity code
- Item SKU or ID
- Unit of measure
- Extended price
Advantages of Getting Level 3 for Your Business
When it comes to processing credit cards transaction, three aspects are ideal. It should be efficient to use. It should offer your customers a high level of security, and it should save you some money. Many people view the downside of Level 3 as being the fact that the merchant needs to input a ton of additional information into a computer system. It can be a little time-consuming to do this directly on the card terminal, but software is available to assist in streamlining the process.
While it requires more work on your end, the savings are outstanding. Lower interchange rates are generally well worth it to provide banks with more information. Plus with all the extra details that need to be provided, merchants can keep better track of all purchases. This greatly improves efficiency.
Who Should Get Level 3?
While any business can certainly look into acquiring Level 3 credit card processing, the businesses that have the most to gain are generally those that fall into the B2B (business to business) or B2G (business to government) transactions. Companies that mainly sell their products to other businesses or to government organizations generally have high-priced, large ticket items that would be wise to keep better track of. Even if you only get a single large transaction a year, it can be well worth it to acquire this form of processing. The savings each business is able to get will vary, so it can be wise to speak with your processing provider in order to acquire more information before becoming reliant on any given system.
The information you send through Level 3 is equivalent to what would need to get on an itemized invoice. Look into getting it for your business right away.