Arts & Craft Fair Credit Card Processing

As with any type of business, each has its own challenges in regard to credit card processing. Perhaps one of the most challenging is in regard to providing appropriate solutions for the Arts & Crafts community.

Obviously, as a vendor, you are more than likely managing a seasonal business. Whether serving spring or summer festivals, art fairs, or perhaps the holiday season, the last thing you want is to have to pay processing fees for months you don’t work. It’s for this very reason that we offer short term seasonal contracts.

And since the last thing you want to do is to turn away a sale because you don’t accept credit cards, you’ll need to be prepared for any venue, and remote situation. Is internet access available, GPRS or CMDA wireless signals, or for that matter, electricity?

At 1st National Processing, we’ve been proudly serving the Arts & Crafts community for over 20 years, so we know the challenges. In fact, we have a whole sub-section on our site dedicated to your business at www.1nbcard.com/artisan.

We hope you find the following information useful. And, for more information, please visit our Merchants Guide to Mobile Processing Solutions, and our Merchants Guide to Credit Card Processing Practices.

Wireless credit card machines are simply the “bees-knees.” Many have built-in printers, long-life batteries, and since they have a built-in card reader with the device linked live to the processor, you can quality for the absolute best processing rates available. The downside is that the machines cost more than an average terminal, and much like a cell phone, there are monthly wireless charges to consider. Since wireless devices also support Store & Forward you can swipe cards, print receipts, even if you don’t have a wireless signal at the venue (visit www.mobilepaymentsystems.com for more info on Store & Forward).

Store & Forward devices don’t have to be wireless though, in fact there are many portable devices that are actually quite reasonable. If you can do without the wireless solution, you can still swipe the card, print a receipt and many are battery powered as well. When you get home, or back to your hotel, just plug your terminal into a phone line and it will upload all the transactions!

A new trend in the credit card processing industry is by taking advantage of a tool you already have… your cell phone. 1st National Processing has a myriad of cell phone solutions, each is free for those signing up for a merchant account, but some are just downright FREE even if you aren’t a 1st National Processing customer. For example, if you already have a Blackberry, and an Authorize.Net account, just download the application and that’s it. For more information about our cell phone solutions, visit www.mobilemerchantpro.com brought to you by 1st National Processing.

Finally, there’s the old reliable solution known as the manual imprinter, also commonly referred to as “The Knuckle Buster.” You simply place an imprinter slip in the device with the credit card, and get an imprint that you can process later. At about $30 these make a terrific backup solution should you need it. Add an inexpensive or free mobile phone solution, and you’ll be ready for pretty much anything!

For more information about our seasonal contracts, and variety of equipment solutions, please give us call at 866.499.5722 or visit our site at www.1nbcard.com/artisan