Get Success with Every Transaction-Time Share Merchant Services
With the resale
market gaining popularity, and with a lot of exposure from media, the
concept of sharing a vacation, which was probably unheard of in the
past, over the recent years expansion of owners market has helped
vacation ownership more affordable by property owners selling their
timeshares to many families, and over seventy percent of timeshare
vacationing is ruling the holidaying space, with advertisement and
proper web promotion, there are more happy families enjoying their
vacation, being lighter in their wallet too.
Concept of
Timeshare
When one or more
person owns a property and is willing to rent it out for a holiday
season, is the best way to utilize the property by the other owners
for vacationing which could otherwise be an expensive affair on
hotels and resorts. When one buys a holiday home and does not use it
for a time period, that is when the owners use it for enjoying the
most on a budget travel.
Why is a
Merchant Account Necessary for Timeshare Advertisers, resale?
The moment when a
payment comes through for the stay in the timeshare property by the
client, the money is parked in a temporary account, which is the
merchant service providers POS terminal, before it gets into the
property owner’s bank account. This intermediary service comes with
a nominal fee charged by the service provider which could come from
the swipe of a debit, credit cards, e-checks, mobile app payments,
e-wallets through a payment gateway.
A merchant
account is an inevitable part of the payments processing for selling,
reselling, advertising their timeshare property. Since there is a
need to advertise their timeshare services online to reach customers
who are in different geographical locations, a merchant account is
extremely essential. Setting up an e-commerce website for customers
to make online payments for booking the timeshare services has eased
the payment process, replacing the traditional way of payments.
Is Timeshare a
High-Risk Business?
Due to the
seasonal nature of the business and dispute laden business, banks
often reject credit to Timeshares, advertising, resale companies and
classify it in the high-risk category, also:
the volume
of transactions is high, which is done over the phone, online, and
are considered Card not present by banks
there are
high chances of cancellation and refunds opted by customers
there a
number of customer disputes due to the very nature of service
expected by the customers
most of the
bookings are made online well in advance and the time difference
between the actual occupancy and payment comes in as a hindrance to
the business
Different
Types of Merchant Services
The retail space
is growing and so is the requirement of merchant services for
timeshare advertisement, resale, and marketing services. Let us
understand the merchant account services which such companies
require:
Credit Card
Processing- Online services from a friendly Merchant account for
the high-risk business is very essential for the success of the
timeshare resale companies, a fully integrated terminal service on a
virtual mode, and software enabling a complete digitized database of
customers is essential, for all modes of service including :
The rates of the
services provided by the merchant account should be competitive in
the industry and the setup and installation usually come free of
cost.
ACH/Electronic
Check Processing- a paperless transaction which is fast, safe and
has ease of processing all the transactions electronically instead of
a physical check, has the funds moved from customer’s account to
the merchant account smoothly, which is more faster than the physical
check being presented for transfer, and also the hassle of check
return, signature, and check return fees which are totally eliminated
and a saving for a retail timeshare reseller. The paperwork is
reduced to a great extent, there is a check guarantee and the service
a streamlined for easy and does the job similar to a POS once a debit
or credit card is used.
Merchant
Capital Advances-MCA- this is an alternate source of funding the
business which is as common as banks and traditional money lenders. A
small portion of the sale gets into the into the repayment of the MCA
availed, hence it does not affect the profit margin of the timeshare
company, whether it is a newly started business or an established
company, being in the high-risk business due to the nature of service
offered, as the occupancy rates, the seasonal nature of the business
makes it difficult for the companies to get the timely funding from
banks. The MCA can be used for:
the required
amount of capital to grow the business, which is in a high demand
mode form vacationers across the globe,
Convert the
future MasterCard/Visa/Discover/Amex card sales into the immediate
short-term capital with simple opting the cash on demand option with
the merchant service,
make an
additional value-add, investments to grow the business net worth,
make
improvements in the timeshare property, refurbish,
inventory
can be purchased availing the merchant cash advance
Mobile
Apps/Card Swipes- Instead of using high-cost virtual terminals
your very own mobile app is the future ready services which many
timeshare resellers offer their customers, merchant service providers
also offer this completely electronic mode, with android application.
Mobile transactions are processed in a similar way, like that of an
online debit card transaction, using the CVV number on the magnetic
stripe of the debit cards.
A great option
for this high-risk service setup is to choose offshore merchant
service providers, in case the domestic merchant account comes in
with high operational cost, with local currency acceptance making it
difficult for customers from other countries. The offshore service
providers offer:
very
reasonable rates for their services
there are a
number of service providers to choose from
currencies
from everywhere are accepted
there is no
tax on being a corporate, as it is an offshore service availed
quality of
service is on par with domestic service providers
Whether your
company is newly established, startup, or have been shut down by
other processors there are many user-friendly merchant services
providers who are ready to offer the best service feature for:
facilitating
online account set up, application process,
accept all
types of major cards like MasterCard/Visa/Discover/Amex
cater to
having multiple underwriting banks
process a
high volume of transactions
Good
interface, payment gateway, and virtual terminal.
