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Costs like interchange can be limited by including addi- • 29 percent of businesses in the survey sought fund-
tional transaction information beyond what is required ing via business credit cards in 2022; 4.67 percent said
for consumer transactions. This "Level 3" data is the high- they used credit cards to kick-start their businesses.
est-level card data; it includes the maximum amount of • Quick access to funds was the motivation for nearly a
information about a transaction and triggers much lower quarter (22.8 percent) of companies surveyed.
interchange than transactions initiated using consumer
cards. It's an easy fix – one that ISOs and agents should be • Among those that used credit cards, one in four (25.4
selling businesses on. percent) did so because they couldn’t procure tradi-
tional financing options.
Time for businesses to give up their check habits
• Those that used business credit cards typically
Anyone who has followed me through the years knows charged between $160,000 and $250,000 (39.7 percent).
that I've been a check maven. In the 1990s, I even had a • Most businesses (88.61 percent) had at least three
newsletter and organized conferences on checks. credit cards.
• Of those that started their businesses with their own
I believe checks will endure. And there will be firms that credit cards; about one in three (34.3 percent) had
offer check services, like Cross Check, which leverage
technologies like mobile deposit and check guarantee ser- three new cards; 45.71 percent secured a total of four
cards; and 8.6 percent had five or more credit cards.
vices to expedite availability of funds and protect against
fraudsters. But times have changed, corporate attitudes to- • Better than half of businesses (54.2 percent) said they
ward checks should change too. paid off their monthly balances.
• An overwhelming majority (91.4 percent) said they
Forbes magazine published statistics and trends in busi- would recommend that others use credit cards when
ness credit cards, gleaned from a 2023 survey by Forbes embarking on new business ventures
Advisors. Here are insights to bear in mind when selling
businesses on paying with credit cards: Patti Murphy, self-described payments maven of the fourth estate, is
senior editor at the Green Sheet. She also co-hosts the Merchant Sales
Podcast, and is president of ProScribes Ink.

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