You've built your website, or opened your shop and are now ready to accept payments. What next?  Now comes the seemingly daunting task of choosing a credit card processor (also called a merchant account provider). The majority of businesses accept credit cards. Unfortunately, the majority of them are paying more than they could be on their credit card processing. Here are 5 quick steps to take to make sure your business is not getting ripped off, brought to you by FeeFighters.com, a comparison shopping site to lower costs on your credit card processing:

1) Get Educated-Know exactly what you're looking for in terms of a particular POS system or gateway before you speak to a processor. That way you will sound like you know what you are talking about, avoid processors who are unfamiliar with your setup, and prevent processors from pulling a fast one.

2) Avoid Merchant Account Cancellation Fees- Never agree to a cancellation fee. The majority of processors have the flexibility to waive this fee in order to get new business. Early termination charges give processors little reason to give good customer service and often mean processors can raise rates without worrying about customers leaving.

3) Ask for Interchange Plus- While there are many pricing structures to choose from, interchange plus is the most transparent option for businesses choosing a credit card processor. With most structures, processors can charge a variable markup above interchange (the fee that Visa/MC set), leaving the business owner with little control over their credit card processing bill. Interchange plus means that business owners pay a fixed markup over interchange for each transaction, no matter what kind of transaction occurs. That way, processors don't arbitrarily mark up transactions such as rewards card or business card transactions.

4) Comparison Shop- Interchange plus pricing makes it easy to compare processors' offers on an apples-to-apples basis.  Let processors know you are shopping around and they will be more competitive. Compare at least three to five different offers before selecting one. Use FeeFighters.com to easily compare multiple processors at once.

5) Never Rent or Lease Equipment- For the most part credit card processing equipment is quite cheap now.  Those little black terminals that you see in small retail stores usually cost $100 - $300 and a full-fledged POS system is a little more than a desktop computer, less than $2000.  If you own your own equipment there is less chance for processors to sneak in extra profit by padding your lease payments and it also makes it easier to switch if something goes wrong in the relationship.