Playing Your Cards Right
Lower Transaction Fees, Quality of Service Lead Businesses to Choose Coastal for Merchant Services.

Cash is king…
or, it used to be. Today, credit and debit card transactions continue to rise year after year.   For a consumer, the ability to pay with a card is certainly viewed as a convenience, and with more and more places accepting cards as payment, it's only getting easier. Once reserved for larger purchases, plastic is the ever-growing payment of choice for small items, from movie tickets to chewing gum.

For businesses, however, it can be a double-edged sword. While accepting card payments is a way to boost sales, it also adds another cost to your balance sheet.  Whether dealing in retail or business-to-business, companies that want to grow have to accept cards in order to keep and attract customers, particularly if they want to sell online. As the volume of card usage has increased, the average amount spent per purchase has steadily declined.  Add to that the fact that card processing fees have also increased, and for many businesses that means your costs of accepting cards may be rising faster than the revenue they generate.

Fortunately for our business members, relief is available. Answering the call to help dampen the effects of rising transaction costs, Coastal recently added Merchant Services to our mix of financial solutions provided to our businesses members.  One key area that sets Coastal's program apart is that we customize pricing to best suit your needs, and has no contract and no cancelation fees.  Most banks and commercial processors charge a flat rate, and force businesses to pay fees that may be unnecessarily high for the service they're getting.  Another distinction is the level of service Coastal is capable of providing.

One company, Carpenter Industries of Concord, NC, was among the first to begin using our service.  The company manufactures Ford restoration products – parts that are no longer in production, but are essential to classic car aficionados who rebuild and maintain older cars, trucks and tractors.  Because the company has both wholesale and retail customers, they've seen an uptick in the number of customers using cards as payment.  Business Development Officer Tim McWhirter helped them switch to Coastal for Merchant Services, which will save the company $36,000 this year alone.

While Carpenter Industries realized quite a bit of cost savings, they are only part of a larger success story. The businesses that recently switched over to Coastal from an established processor relationship have seen a range of savings, but for any business to save even a few thousand dollars, it's a big deal. That savings can free up capital to purchase another piece of equipment, keep prices down to stay competitive, or add an employee benefit.  At the very least, for you sole proprietors, it's more money in your own pocket.

The program is about more than just providing a cost savings. Most of our Merchant Services clients are actually smaller businesses that are accepting card payments for the first time, and Coastal is committed to providing the same high level of service that our members have come to expect.

Business owner Molly Tilman of Apex, NC found that out firsthand. Her company, The Industrial Cottage, makes and sells handcrafted baby bedding for high-end boutiques. While getting ready to leave town for her first major trade show in Las Vegas, she realized that her card processing terminal had not arrived.  Upon calling Coastal, it was discovered that the equipment company had misplaced a fax, holding up her account activation. Facing a three-week delay and the risk of not being able to do business at the trade show where she was launching her new product, Molly asked Business Solutions Officer Brian Terwilliger for help. 

"Brian drove out to my business, filled out all of the paperwork, and worked with the equipment company to expedite my order," said Molly. "As soon as it arrived, he drove to my house and delivered it personally, in time for me to take it with me to the trade show.  The service was so great, that we've since switched all of our personal accounts to Coastal, too."

Being able to accept cards has helped bring in new business, and helped run more effectively, too.

"The cost savings will be nice once I start getting more volume, but for me cash flow is everything right now," adds Molly.  "If I can accept cards, I can get paid before I even ship.  With checks, I wait 30 days for a good customer, and longer for others. With credit card payments, I can get paid in two."

It's that dedication to service, and a commitment to savings, that has Coastal's business solutions team confident they'll make a difference for businesses across the state.

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