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Industry Overview

Accepting Visa Credit Cards

Accept Visa to help drive revenue and improve customer satisfaction. Visa works with you to build your business, providing key information on getting started and accepting Visa at your business, online, and for bill payment. Becoming a Visa Merchant provides outstanding benefits - for you, and for your customers.

Customers recognize and trust the Visa brand, and enjoy the convenience of shopping with their Visa cards. That means that as a Visa Merchant, you'll realize increased revenue. And when you partner with Visa, you can participate in Visa Promotions that further drive sales and increase customer satisfaction.

Turning card acceptance into merchant sales

For more than 30 years, Visa has partnered with merchants to deliver reliable, secure, and convenient payment options. Your customers recognize and trust the Visa brand, and enjoy the convenience of shopping with their Visa cards. And with more cards than all other major payment brands combined*, Visa is a powerful tool for attracting new customers and opening doors to stronger sales.

Accepting Mastercard Credit Card

MasterCard Worldwide is Shaping the Future of Money by developing sophisticated new technologies to help you improve the way you do business with your customers. Whether you're a new business or an established enterprise, accepting MasterCard will likely have a big impact on your bottom line.

Enjoy the many benefits of accepting MasterCard, including:

Increased Sales - Consumers spend more when they're not constrained by cash on hand. You may see increased purchases of higher-margin products as well as specialty items. And customers may visit your store more often.

Customer Satisfaction - Your customers will appreciate the fact that you allow them the flexibility to pay the way they want to pay - including by credit or debit card. Happier customers are more loyal customers.

Speed of Checkout - You'll speed your customers through checkout with rapid electronic payment. No more counting change or waiting while customers write checks.

Improved Efficiency - Card transactions today are conducted electronically. These paperless payments can save you time and money by minimizing cash handling and payment reconciliation, giving you more time to do more important things - like managing and growing your business.

Safety - With lower volumes of cash, you're less vulnerable to theft and pilfering.

Currency Conversion - Electronic payments on MasterCard and Maestro-branded cards are settled in the currency in which you sell your goods and services, regardless of where the cardholder is from. If you sell in US or Canadian dollars, that's how you'll be paid.

Displaying the MasterCard Brand Mark

The bold MasterCard Brand Mark, with its bright look and visual impact, helps merchants around the world take advantage of the profitable benefits of exterior signage.

Increased traffic, increased sales.

While interior signage is valuable, research reveals that about 80% of customers rely on exterior signage to determine whether or not a merchant accepts MasterCard cards. You simply can't assume cardholders know MasterCard is accepted unless they see visible proof. So, a window or door logo is an important tool, leading to increased traffic and higher sales.

The MasterCard Logo can lead to Increased Profits!

Customers tend to spend, on average, 16% more when they pay by MasterCard instead of paying by check. Another benefit that can come from displaying the MasterCard logo is the increased profitability that comes from reducing processing fees associated with paying by check. You can experience improved cash flow with MasterCard payment versus checks because card transactions are typically settled in 24 to 72 hours.

Accepting Discover Credit Cards

When you accept Discover Network, you are opening your doors to over 50 million loyal Cardholders. In addition, you position your business to take advantage of the exceptional growth in credit card usage and the increased volume of credit card purchases. In fact, people who shop with credit cards make more frequent and larger purchases than customers who use cash.

Accepting Discover Network Cards, rated #1 in customer loyalty for six consecutive years , is good for your business and good for your customers.

Discover Network is a business unit of Discover Financial Services LLC. We support transaction processing for Discover Network Merchants, and offer related tools and services that help merchants run their business more efficiently.

Discover Network, the largest proprietary credit card network in the U.S., supports a proprietary card base of 50 million Cardholders, as well as other third party issuers of credit, signature debit, prepaid cards and commercial cards connecting with over 4 million merchant and cash access locations throughout North America and the Caribbean. The Discover Network supports transaction processing for Discover Merchants and offers related tools and services that help merchants run their business more effectively and with streamlined efficiencies.

The Discover Network markets, supports and processes a full range of credit cards and unique payment vehicles. The Discover Network is open to financial institutions that want to issue credit, debit, stored value and other payment types on our network. Both merchants and issuers can benefit from significantly growing volume on the low-cost Discover Network.

Accepting American Express Cards

American Express has millions of active Cardmembers nationwide. Some may already be your customers. They'll be happy to see you're accepting the Card, especially if they participate in one of our rewards programs.

• 24% of American Express Cardmembers used only American Express in the past month and no other major credit or charge cards.
• 32% of American Express Cardmembers use American Express for both business and personal purchases.

If you do business with other businesses, accepting the Card can cut down on administrative work and bring in payments faster.

• Lower risk. Reduce the chance of payment default; improve billing and collection.
• Faster payment. Receive revenues in as few as 3 days (not the standard 45) with invoice and check.
• Profitable customers. 49% of American Express Small Business or Corporate Cardmembers have spent $10,000 or more on a single occasion using an American Express Business or Corporate Card.

Cardmembers tend to be the kind of customer retailers appreciate.

• Higher retail spending. American Express Cardmembers spent, on average, $159 on their last purchase occasion using American Express.
• Loyal customers. 28% of American Express Cardmembers used only American Express in the past month and no other major credit or charge cards.
• Purchasing power. American Express Cardmembers' average household income is $97,000.

Accepting the Card can help your quick service restaurant attract new customers, market more successfully, and save money on everyday services.

• Loyal customers: 62% of American Express Cardmembers agree that a merchant's acceptance of different types of payment methods indicates whether or not the merchant is customer service oriented.
• Growing Demand: Fewer than half of American Express Cardmembers are unlikely to use their Card for purchases under $25

Cardmembers have a long history of travel and entertainment spending.

• Loyal customers. 17% of Cardmembers who dine in restaurants carry American Express but do not carry any other major credit or charge cards.
• Frequent diners. During the past three months, Cardmembers who dine in restaurants made 1.5 times as many fine dining purchases as non-American Express Cardmembers.

Many Cardmembers prefer to use their Card for online purchases.

• Profitable customers. American Express Cardmembers spent, on average, $1,102 on mail order purchases using an American Express Card in the past 6 months.
• Profitable customers. American Express Cardmembers spent, on average, $2,349 on retail Internet purchases using an American Express Card in the past 6 months.
• Higher spend. American Express Cardmembers spent 2.6 times as much on retail Internet purchases in the past 6 months using an American Express Card as Non-Cardmembers spent on retail Internet purchases in the past 6 months using Visa or MasterCard.
• Avid Internet shoppers. 17% of American Express Cardmembers' time on-line is spent shopping.