Punchey Launches To Support Small Businesses Doing Bigger Transactions
June 18, 2013
Low-cost payment solution offers flexible rates optimized for businesses with $50+ orders; powerful CRM, marketing tools help small businesses grow.
Punchey Inc., the company that makes it easy and cost-effective for small businesses to accept larger transactions via mobile or desktop, today announces its launch out of private beta. The company's new hardware and software give small businesses access to powerful customer relationship management tools, as well as rates optimized for businesses with orders of $50 and more, to turn payments into marketing and revenue-boosting opportunities.
"The new guard of payments companies have empowered businesses to accept credit cards in a simple, seamless way, but their rates are designed with only a small subset of businesses in mind. Small businesses handling larger payments, like mechanics and lawyers, are getting squeezed -- having to pay the same rates as coffee shops and food trucks," said Punchey CEO and founder Nathaniel Stevens. "Punchey is giving the rate breaks to these small businesses so they can be competitive, and the tools to make use of that data so they can grow."
Punchey's flexible fee structure enables businesses to benefit from new government rate caps on credit card companies. As the only mobile payments company in its class to offer pass through pricing -- a form of credit card processing pricing in which the actual cost of processing (interchange fees and assessments) is passed directly to businesses, as opposed to a flat fee -- Punchey in particular benefits businesses doing larger transactions.
Whereas other payment companies typically charge a 2.75% flat fee, Punchey charges a rate of 0.75% (plus Interchange) -- making the payment solution ideal for any transaction of $50 and over. (For example, a $100 debit transaction would cost $1.24 with Punchey and $2.75 with Square.)
To use Punchey, businesses simply slide a customer's credit card through Punchey's mobile card reader -- which plugs into the phone jack of an iPhone, Android or tablet -- and enter their email and phone number, enabling them to send a digital receipt and request a review. Punchey's mobile card readers, which come in seven different colors, feature a rubber mold that securely hugs any phone or case type, ensuring a higher successful read rate than other card readers on the market. At launch, the mobile readers ($19.95 value) will be free of charge for the first 1,000 new Punchey customers.
To support small business growth, Punchey pays companies in 1-2 business days and requires no contracts or monthly fees. Punchey also includes reporting and marketing tools that are tailored to small businesses and designed to turn transactions into relationships that yield repeat business, reviews and referrals. Free features include:
- 24/7 customer service featuring live phone support
- Lowest rate guaranteed by Durbin Amendment (part of Dodd Frank)
- CRM tools including reputation management, reviews and email marketing
- Customer data with social profiles
- Processing for all major credit cards
- Processing for mobile payments
- Browser-based processing
- PCI Compliant Processing
"We handle payments of $500 and over on average, and being able to accept payments wherever I go, at a rate that makes sense for our transaction sizes, has been invaluable," said Nick Fazah, Managing Partner at East Coast Divers, a Boston-based dive shop specializing in Scuba and Freediving. "Working with Punchey saves us money every month on transaction fees and adds value every time we stay in touch with a customer using Punchey's simple customer relationship tools. Not only have the services they've provided worked seamlessly, their customer service has also been exceptional. Compared to the other merchant service companies we've experienced, these guys really know how to help a small business."
Over the course of its 10-month private beta, which launched in August 2012, Punchey has worked with 500 businesses across the U.S. and carried over 50,000 payments -- including those from contractors, lawyers and a minor league hockey team, among many others -- who collectively processed more than $25MM, saving them a projected total of $200,000 in payment fees.
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