Advia Credit Union Merchant Services & Payment Processing

Payment Processing Built for Local Businesses

Credit and debit cards account for more than 80% of in-store purchase volume in the United States. Businesses that limit payment options to cash and checks lose sales to competitors who accept cards. But processing fees from national payment processors eat into margins, particularly for small businesses operating on tight budgets. Advia Credit Union merchant services address this by offering rates below the industry average, with no long-term contracts and no early termination fees.

Advia Credit Union Starter Merchant Plan

The Starter plan works for businesses with low or unpredictable sales volumes. There is no monthly fee. The flat rate of 2.6% plus $0.10 per transaction applies to all card types, which simplifies forecasting. A food truck operator in Kalamazoo processing $3,000 in monthly card sales would pay approximately $81 in processing fees under this plan.

Starter merchants receive a mobile card reader at no cost. The reader connects via Bluetooth to any iOS or Android device and accepts chip, swipe and contactless payments. Settlements batch automatically at the end of each business day, with funds deposited into the merchant's Advia Credit Union business checking account by the next business morning.

Advia Credit Union Growth Merchant Plan

The Growth plan suits businesses processing between $5,000 and $25,000 per month. The $25 monthly fee unlocks a lower transaction rate of 2.3% plus $0.10 per transaction. At $15,000 in monthly sales, the Growth plan saves approximately $45 per month compared to the Starter rate, more than covering the monthly fee.

Growth merchants gain access to a countertop POS terminal with a built-in receipt printer, an e-commerce payment gateway and a virtual terminal for processing phone and mail orders. The e-commerce gateway integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento and custom-built websites through a documented API. Recurring billing lets service businesses charge monthly subscriptions or membership fees automatically. The payment gateway supports tokenization, which stores encrypted card data for repeat customers without the merchant handling raw card numbers.

Advia Credit Union Volume Merchant Plan

The Volume plan is designed for businesses processing more than $25,000 per month. Instead of a flat percentage, this plan uses interchange-plus pricing. The merchant pays the actual interchange rate set by the card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express) plus a fixed markup of 0.25% and $0.08 per transaction. The $49 monthly fee covers the merchant account, reporting dashboard, PCI compliance program and dedicated account management.

Interchange-plus pricing is the most transparent model in payment processing because the merchant sees the exact cost of each transaction broken down into network fees and processor margin. A restaurant processing $60,000 per month typically saves $200 to $400 compared to flat-rate pricing at this volume. Volume merchants also qualify for same-day funding on batches submitted before 2:00 PM Eastern, which improves daily cash flow and reduces the gap between sales and available funds.

POS Equipment and Terminal Options

Advia Credit Union provides hardware suited to different business environments. Countertop terminals with Ethernet connectivity and built-in printers serve fixed retail and restaurant locations. Wireless terminals with cellular data connections handle tableside payments, curbside pickup and pop-up shops. Mobile card readers pair with smartphones and tablets for service providers, delivery drivers and market vendors.

All terminals accept EMV chip cards, magnetic stripe cards, NFC contactless payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay) and PIN debit. Terminal software updates deploy automatically overnight. Equipment can be purchased outright or leased monthly. Purchased terminals belong to the merchant and can be reprogrammed if the merchant changes processors. Leased equipment is returned at the end of the lease term or when the merchant upgrades.

Reporting and Analytics

Every Advia Credit Union merchant account includes access to an online reporting dashboard. The dashboard displays real-time transaction activity, daily batch totals, chargeback status, refund history and settlement details. Reports can be filtered by date range, card brand, transaction type and terminal location for multi-site businesses.

Monthly statements itemize every fee charged, making it straightforward to reconcile processing costs against revenue. CSV and PDF exports feed into accounting software for end-of-month close procedures. Businesses that maintain an Advia Credit Union Business Plus Checking account can view merchant deposits alongside other account activity within the credit union's online banking platform, consolidating financial data into a single interface.

PCI Compliance and Security

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards require every business that accepts card payments to meet specific security benchmarks. Advia Credit Union's merchant services include a PCI compliance program that guides businesses through the annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire and provides vulnerability scanning for businesses with e-commerce sites. Failure to maintain PCI compliance can result in fines from card networks and increased liability in the event of a data breach. The compliance program is included at no additional cost on all three merchant plans.

Point-to-point encryption on Advia Credit Union terminals means card data is encrypted at the moment of swipe, dip or tap. Encrypted data travels to the payment processor without the merchant's system ever storing or transmitting readable card numbers. This reduces the merchant's PCI scope and limits exposure in the unlikely event of a system compromise. The U.S. Department of the Treasury maintains resources on payment system security standards that apply to businesses accepting electronic payments.