One of the more unknown credit card processing options available to merchants is "Multi Merchant Processing". Multi Merchant Processing allows several businesses to share a single credit card terminal. The major advantage of a multi merchant setup is that barbers, attorneys, or independent consultants my work out of a single shared space but share the same credit card terminal.
An easy example is a hair salon, which could get a machine that serves up to twenty different merchants. So each stylist inside the terminal would function entirely as a separate business.
Aside from the cost savings by splitting the terminal between merchants sharing the unit, multi-merchant setups are also advantageous because each party has his or her own merchant identification number. Therefore each business or contractor would receive funds deposited directly to the individual’s bank account. Having a separate identification number allows each individual more autonomy to control their own pricing. However, each individual is responsible for handling any fee’s or chargebacks.
Using multi-merchant terminal might seem difficult, yet they are very straightforward. Each merchant initiates a transaction by logging in with an identification number or name and simply completing the transaction as normal.
These systems are also fairly robust, so PIN debit, gift card, and EBT transactions could be setup to be accepted by one merchant, but not the other. Everything is customizable from one account to another all within a single credit card terminal.
Not all payment terminals are capable of supporting multiple merchants fortunately multi merchant terminals aren’t any more expensive than normal ones. Especially if you can split the cost.
