By George Mayo, co-founder of Swiped. Published October 26, 2026.
Switching credit card processors means moving your card acceptance to a new merchant account without interrupting sales. Done in the right order it takes one slow day at the counter and no lost transactions.
The fear is downtime. The reality is that the cutover is the shortest step. Most of the work is paperwork and checking the exit terms on the account you are leaving.
Step 1: What do you need from your current statement?
One full recent statement with total volume, total fees and the fee detail pages. From it you get your effective rate, your card mix and the list of fixed fees you are paying today.
Step 2: What does a rate review tell you?
Your effective rate today, the lines that are avoidable, and the same volume priced two ways: on the cash discount program, where the fee moves to the posted price, and on a standard account with a stated markup. You choose with both numbers in front of you.
Step 3: What should you check in your current agreement?
The term, the early termination fee, any equipment lease that survives the agreement, and how much notice the processor requires. If the exit cost is high, we show you whether the savings cover it and how fast.
Step 4: Will your software and hardware still work?
Usually. Booking, invoicing and e-commerce software that runs on common gateways can process on the new account. Many terminals can be reprogrammed. Anything that cannot is quoted before you decide, not discovered after.
- Tell us what software takes payments today and which gateway it uses
- List every terminal and POS station, with the model
- Flag anything integrated, such as online ordering or a booking tool
Step 5: How does the cutover day go?
We pick a slow day. The new account is live and tested with a real card and a cash sale before the old one is closed. Signage and receipt templates go in the same visit, and staff get a short walkthrough. We stay reachable through the first weekend.
Step 6: What happens on the first statement?
We review it with you line by line against the quote and fix anything that does not match. That review is part of the setup, not an upsell.
About The Author
George Mayo co-founded Swiped and owns NJ POS Systems. He has worked in merchant services since 1994, when he and Mario Parisi founded Merchant Services Inc, which they built for twenty years and sold in 2014. He still reviews statements and quotes himself. More about the founders.
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