The same $100 sale, run through different processors, can cost anywhere from 16% to 67% more depending on which one you pick and whether the sale happens in person or online. Most business owners choose a processor once, early on, and never revisit that decision, even as their sales mix shifts or their volume grows […]
7 Credit Card Processing Fee Hikes Hitting Small Businesses in 2026: And How to Protect Your Margin Card network fee changes don’t usually make headlines the way a Fed rate decision does, but they hit small business margins just as directly, often more quietly, and more persistently. 2026 has brought a genuine wave of fee
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Most business owners can quote their processing rate from memory, 2.6%, 2.9%, whatever the sign-up page advertised. Far fewer can tell you their actual effective rate, the number you get when you divide total fees paid by total card volume processed over a full month. That gap matters, because industry data consistently shows small businesses
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Merchant Cash Advance vs. 4 Other Fast Financing Options: Which One Is Actually the Best Fit? A merchant cash advance is one of several fast-moving financing options available to business owners today, but it’s rarely the only one worth considering. Understanding how it actually compares to the other fast options on the table, rather than
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7 Industries Where Merchant Cash Advances Are Most Commonly Used: And Why Merchant cash advance financing began with a fairly narrow base, restaurants and retail businesses with high card transaction volume and predictable, if tight, cash flow cycles. That base has expanded significantly over the past several years, as underwriting has become faster and more
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A merchant cash advance is a genuinely strong fit for specific situations, and a poor fit for others. Understanding which is which, before you apply, not after, is the difference between using this kind of funding as intended and ending up in a situation that’s harder to manage than the one you started with. Here
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A merchant cash advance can close a genuine cash flow gap quickly, but the speed that makes it useful is also exactly why it’s easy to sign something without fully understanding it. The questions below aren’t about whether MCA financing is right for your business in general, that depends on your specific situation, which our
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Trump Huddles With Big Tech CEOs on AI Policy Today: Why Every Small Business Should Care President Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and CEOs from several major technology companies were set to meet today to discuss artificial intelligence policy, according to reporting circulating this morning. Specific agenda details and outcomes weren’t yet public as of
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In AI-focused remarks delivered in Oakland, California, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said artificial intelligence could ultimately prove disinflationary, but was direct about the near-term picture, noting she expects continued inflation problems “in coming months” driven specifically by the AI infrastructure buildout itself, and separately by the pass-through of higher oil prices and supply chain
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Oil Prices Just Reversed Course Overnight: Why Geopolitical Whiplash Is the New Normal for Business Costs Just days after we covered Asian markets rallying as Iran diplomacy appeared to progress, that optimism reversed sharply. Reports indicate President Trump rebuffed a proposed Iran peace deal, sending oil prices higher and dragging the Nasdaq and S&P 500
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