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Payment processing shouldn’t be a road block for SMBs

We live in a time in which making a payment gets more technologically advanced by the hour. Customer preferences for varied payment methods, guaranteed security, and loyalty programs increasingly demand sophisticated payment methods that strain SMBs. Currently, payment processing software and technologies heavily favor large enterprises who can afford to keep up with the latest and greatest payment services and capabilities. When shopping from well-established businesses like Starbucks or McDonald’s, customers get the choice to pay in numerous ways, like mobile payments, loyalty cards, gift cards, etc. Fun emerging technologies that are often unfortunately out of the reach of smaller businesses due to the pricing of such systems. Tidal Commerce, headed by CEO Drew Sementa, has focused on creating holistic payment solutions for SMBs (which include plans for credit and debit card processing) that offer advanced functionality for a fraction of the price of solutions aimed at the big guys.

Drew Sementa, CEO of Tidal Commerce

“We’re offering the small and medium businesses the data and functionality that is only available to the large businesses,” explained Sementa to PaymentWeek. “Many companies don’t realize the payment issues they need to consider when starting off and there are a number of hurdles they need to jump over. Our solutions are aimed at these businesses who are ready to scale, making that growth transition easier.” What separates Tidal Commerce from the pack is it prefers to offer all solutions in a value package rather than breaking them into fluctuant rate services, as well as their focus on customer care. Jill Synoga, senior director of accounting at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, has been using Tidal Commerce for over 10 years. “One of the reasons that we switched to them and have not left is their customer service. It is so nice to be able to call when we have a problem and know that we will be able to talk to a person which was not the case with previous processors. They have always gone out of their way to help us save money and explain statement charges that are hard to understand,” she said in a testimonial. “Competitors stick to offering plans that start low and become expensive.They play the game where they claim they can save you money, only to raise rates later. Businesses are normally locked into long contracts with really large cancellation fees if they want to leave,” explains Mark Spirek, co-founder, and CTO of Tidal Commerce to PaymentWeek, adding, “we’re committed to transparency in our pricing. We don’t have any cancellation fees because we know our products, service, and support keeps our merchants happily processing every month.” As SMBs increasingly need to offer technologically advanced payment solutions, hopefully, the industry will continue offering innovative solutions at prices that allow small and medium businesses to stay competitive.

Techli

Edward is the founder and CEO of Techli.com. He is a writer, U.S. Army veteran, serial entrepreneur and chronic early adopter. Having worked for startups in Silicon Valley and Chicago, he founded, grew and successfully exited his own previous startup and loves telling the stories of innovators. Email: Edward.Domain@techli.com | @EdwardDomain