Guides
Card processing guides
Plain-English guides to card fees, statements, equipment and software.
Fees and pricing programs
- Rates, explained
Where the 3 percent actually goes, and why flat-rate and tiered pricing hide the only part of your rate that is negotiable.
- Cash discount
Cash discount in Seattle and Tacoma is now run as dual pricing: both prices posted, the customer chooses, and you keep 100 percent.
- Interchange plus
Clear card pricing passes through the card networks' wholesale cost plus one visible markup. See real examples and get a free rate review locally.
- Free credit card processing
“Free” credit card processing is real: a dual pricing or surcharge program moves the card fee off your bottom line, so you keep far more of every sale.
- WA dual-pricing savings
Across 36 Washington statements from shops on dual pricing or surcharge, the average business kept over $1,000 a month. See what drives it and get yours.
- Lower your fees
The real levers that lower what you pay to accept cards: your effective rate, interchange-plus, dual pricing or surcharging, ACH on big tickets, junk fees.
- FAQ
Plain answers about dual pricing, surcharging, card rates, free equipment, switching payment companies and local Seattle-Tacoma help.
- Glossary
Interchange, surcharges, dual pricing, ACH, chargebacks and more, explained in plain English for business owners by Northwest Payment Brokers.
Your statement and your processor
- Read your statement
A 10-minute guide to your card processing statement, with a worked example: find your real effective rate and the seven fees built to stay hidden.
- EPX & Edge on your statement
EPX is a card processing platform. Edge is a cash discount program sold on it. What each means when it appears on your statement, and the lines worth reading.
- Switch credit card processors
Switching payment providers is easier than owners think. Run the new account in parallel and flip when it works. Contracts, fees and what carries over.
- PCI compliance
What PCI compliance is, why a non-compliance fee appears on your statement and how to finish the process without the headache.
- Credit card processing company
Choosing a credit card processing company? We're the Federal Way broker that makes providers compete for you: free statement review, real bids, local support.
Equipment and software
- Processing software
Credit card processing software is where the payment runs: virtual terminal, gateway, invoicing and POS. We set the right one up on a negotiated account.
- Terminals
Credit card terminals for business: Valor, Dejavoo, PAX and Ingenico, placed free and configured for checkout. Local Seattle and Tacoma setup and support.
- Mobile payments
ProCharge, PayAnywhere and SwipeSimple for field work, pop-ups and phone orders. Local Seattle and Tacoma brokers set up mobile card payments.
- Virtual terminal
Virtual terminal for business: take card payments from any browser. Phone orders, invoices with autopay and recurring billing, at negotiated keyed rates.
- Invoicing
Send invoices by text or email and get paid fast. Hyfin shows card and ACH prices, syncs with QuickBooks and follows up on late payments.
- QuickBooks
Keep QuickBooks and change what card payments cost. eProcessing and Biller Genie connect negotiated rates with automatic posting and reconciliation.
- Gift cards
Factor4 and E-Gift Solutions programs offer physical and digital gift cards, loyalty and balance migration. Local Seattle and Tacoma setup.
- ACH & eCheck
Accept lower-cost bank payments with Paya and Vericheck ACH. Add recurring billing and check conversion with local Seattle and Tacoma setup.
Funding and financing
- Working capital
What working capital is, and how fixed-term loans, revenue-based advances, equipment financing and nonprofit microloans trade off.
- Customer financing
Stop losing big-ticket sales to sticker shock. Your customer applies at the counter, pays over time, and you get paid in full up front.
Referral partners
- Referral partner program
Refer a business to Northwest Payment Brokers and get paid when they activate. Built for bookkeepers, accountants and people owners trust locally.
- Become a partner
Join the Northwest Payment Brokers referral program and earn recurring income for introducing businesses that overpay on card processing.
- Refer a business
Refer a business that is overpaying on card payments. We handle the free rate review and setup, and you get paid when their account goes live.