Retail Costco Credit Card Merchant Account

By
Personal Finance Specialist

Many small business owners turn to a retail Costco credit card merchant account when the time comes to purchase supplies in bulk. Costco also offers credit card processing services to merchants.

Costco

Costco offers a variety of products for lower costs than if the products were purchased at a regular retail store. Oftentimes Costco sells products in bulk, including:

  • Food items
  • Furniture
  • Office supplies
  • Jewelry

There is a fee to access the stores, with annual memberships starting at $50.

Costco Merchant Credit Cards

Costco partners with American Express to offer the True Earnings for Business credit card. This card can be used anywhere American Express is accepted. Additional benefits with this card include:

  • Five percent cash-back rebate on gas purchases
  • Three percent cash-back rebate on restaurant purchases
  • Two percent cash-back rebate on travel-related purchases
  • One percent cash-back rebate on other purchases
  • No annual fee
Card Processing

Cardholders are also granted access to the small business department of American Express.

Credit Card Processing Accounts

Small business owners who would like to offer customers the chance to pay for merchandise and services with a credit card usually turn to a program like Costco's for credit card processing services. Although there is a fee associated with each transaction, research repeatedly finds that customers are more likely to spend higher amounts of money when utilizing a credit card as opposed to paying by cash or check. This means that the nominal fees charged for the credit card processing may be worth it in the long run.

Charges vary for credit card processing depending on the needs of your business:

  • Retail merchants currently pay 1.64% of the purchase price in addition to a per-usage fee of twenty cents.
  • Telephone merchants currently pay 1.99% of the purchase price in addition to a per-usage fee of twenty-seven cents,
  • Internet merchants currently pay the same amount as telephone merchants, as well as merchants who sell products through the mail.

There are additional fees associated with the retail Costco credit card merchant account, but the fees vary according to the level of membership held by the business owner. For example, monthly statement fees and application fees are waived for Executive Members while Business Members pay these fees. Merchants who require credit card processing equipment can receive discounts on these products through Costco.

Retail Costco Credit Card Merchant Account Alternatives

Costco is only one of the many companies that offer both business credit cards and merchant credit card processing services.

Business Credit Cards

Every major credit card issuer offers business cards, some of which come with valuable rewards programs or extra services tailored to small business owners. If you do a good amount of shopping at Costco for your business needs, you may want to consider applying for the Costco card. If Costco is merely one of the many retailers you utilize for your business needs, then be sure to do some comparison shopping to see if you can find a card with a lower interest rate or quicker rewards accumulation.

You can compare business cards at BankRate.com or any other comparison website.

Merchant Credit Card Accounts

  • PayPal offers merchant services with no monthly fees or set-up fees. The per-transaction costs are relatively low, and many merchants like the fact that PayPal is a recognized name among consumers. Customers may be more apt to go forth with a credit card transaction if the credit card processing company is a household name.
  • ProPay offers credit card processing services similar to both Costco and PayPal with per-transaction fees that are affordable to businesses.
  • ClickBank offers credit card processing services which are appropriate for businesses that do not do a high volume of credit card transactions. There are no monthly fees for ClickBank, but the per-transaction fees can be higher than other processing companies.

Be sure to check out the many other products and services offered through Costco for your business needs.