Anything better than Worldpay?

[Lucan Unlordly]

When we started using Worldpay for secure online payments we were paying an annual fee and a percentage on each sale. This was over 15 years ago and we've been happy with the service.

Now I don't know if it's me taking my eye off the ball, but it appears we are now paying an annual fee, monthly subscription and a percentage on each sale. Is this typical of all providers?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I still use WP just like you as I have to question if the work involved in looking and changing supplier is a profitable exercise or just time lost where I could be developing new business to take card payments on

 

[pentel]

We were with worldpay. They seemed to increase the fees and add additional costs until we complained, at which point they sometimes back tracked, only to do the same again a few months later.

We then moved to square, no changes to costs over the last 4 years.

 

[Ozzy]

I was one of Worldpay's first partners when I run a web design company in the late 1990's, small brilliant team and provided a brilliant service. Things changed over the years and to where they are now, I genuinely wouldn't recommend them. They just aren't the company they used to be.

It is really easy to switch providers @JEREMY HAWKE, just need to be sure when your current contract comes to an end. UKBF has one, and any day now two, partnerships for UKBF members for card payment services. If you take a lot of card payments getting a better deal on card payments can add thousands to your bottom line, back in the day switching provider added an extra £11k to my annual net profit when I used to do hundreds of card payments a day.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Have you called them and re negotiated?

Are you a member of a business group that offers better value e.g. no annual fees etc?

We then moved to square, no changes to costs over the last 4 years.

... and they are cheaper than a proper merchant account?

 

[antropy]

Is this typical of all providers?

All providers try to ramp up their prices. Best to keep shopping around like you have to with insurance.

Paul.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

You could always have a chat here:

UK Business Forums

www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk

 

[Branded_Pads]

We used World Pay back in 2008 and all the way up until around 2015 when we switched to Square.

To be honest I never particularly liked World Pay but at the time there weren't many independent options for credit card processing and I recall it being incredibly difficult for a new Company to get providers onboard.

For me the major issues with World Pay were the lack of communication if there was ever a chargeback/dispute. As the seller we felt there was almost no protection. In addition to this they charged their transaction fees at the end of each month - which could mount up considerably.

We've now been using Square for nearly 10 years and I have to say they are absolutely fantastic. So simple to setup, the support is brilliant, you can send invoices, offer partial payment, integrate their processing into the backend of your e-commerce site seamlessly. A huge plus for me was that their fees are deducted with each transaction so you're never hit with huge bills at the end of the month.

I couldn't tell you if they're cheaper per transaction than World Pay as that was never paramount on my list, but they are head and shoulders above World Pay in my opinion and I couldn't recommend them enough. In the 9 years we've been using them I honestly cannot recall one single issue we've had - and as we're an internet based company and 95% of our orders are paid online via credit card, I'd say that's pretty good.

They're definitely worth considering if you haven't already.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Whilst it is negotiable, Square's standard pricing is 1.75%. A proper merchant account should be under 0.5%. Even with other/hidden costs, it should well below 1%, on average.

If your turnover is only a few grand a month, I can understand not wanting to save a few hundred quid a year, but, if tens of thousands a month, you are giving away profit!

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

Have you called them and re negotiated?

Are you a member of a business group that offers better value e.g. no annual fees etc?


... and they are cheaper than a proper merchant account?

Not yet. I have to email for an account review of some kind which I'll do asap.

No not a member of a business group. I'm reluctant to change the way I've worked for years as I have one eye on retirement.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

For me the major issues with World Pay were the lack of communication if there was ever a chargeback/dispute. As the seller we felt there was almost no protection.

Been there, but only once in 15 years. Although it was a customer error, he'd actioned a chargeback from us, an identical sum for a purchase from another company, it took for us to accept the chargeback and invoice him again. All for £40!

In addition to this they charged their transaction fees at the end of each month - which could mount up considerably.

They've just changed this..........

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

In addition to this they charged their transaction fees at the end of each month - which could mount up considerably

Having big transaction fees should be a reflection of good sales, not a poor rate/agreement.

 

[ecommerce84]

I was one of Worldpay's first partners when I run a web design company in the late 1990's, small brilliant team and provided a brilliant service.

I can’t go that far back, but remember setting up an account with them in early 2003 and there was a setup fee of around £400 if I remember rightly - I was only just 18 and the business had barely made £400 in the few months it had been running so felt like a major investment at the time.

I was upgrading from only offering PayPal so it felt like I was a ‘proper’ business all of a sudden and it must have given that impression that setup fee was paid off in about a week in extra sales. There weren’t many options back then for small businesses selling online, not like it is now!

I always have a hit of nostalgia whenever I see Worldpay mentioned!

 

[cjd]

Whilst it is negotiable, Square's standard pricing is 1.75%. A proper merchant account should be under 0.5%. Even with other/hidden costs, it should well below 1%, on average.

If your turnover is only a few grand a month, I can understand not wanting to save a few hundred quid a year, but, if tens of thousands a month, you are giving away profit!

I'd be interested in hearing about merchants offering below 1% fees

 

[pentel]

A proper merchant account should be under 0.5%. Even with other/hidden costs, it should well below 1%, on average.

Worldpay were charging us a total in excess of 2.5% when we moved. Most of our sales are customer not present and we mostly work with businesses so quite a few business credit cards, both of which were charged extra.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

I'd be interested in hearing about merchants offering below 1% fees

Worldpay, for a start!

It would be interesting if the UKBF partner could chirp in, for a comment.

BTW, in my lowest turnover card using business (couple grand a year), I have just signed up for a service that is 1.1% and £0.07 (no other costs), with a mobile card machine (no printer) purchased for £16! Thats over 0.5% lower than some other providers mentioned here!

Colin, if you are paying more than 1% for your card transactions, I would be shocked.

Worldpay were charging us a total in excess of 2.5%

They used to have a PAYG Square/SumUp style service, which was a flat fee like that, but if you had a proper merchant account, you were being ripped off!

 

[pentel]

They used to have a PAYG Square/SumUp style service, which was a flat fee like that, but if you had a proper merchant account, you were being ripped off!

It wasnt a flat fee, it was a fixed fee per month plus lots of extras. When we had little turnover the % could be very high. on good month it got as low as 2.5%. After a lot of haggling we negotiated a flat % but then they added extras on a reular basis.

So yes, we were being ripped off, hence why we moved.

BTW, in my lowest turnover card using business (couple grand a year), I have just signed up for a service that is 1.1% and £0.07 (no other costs), with a mobile card machine (no printer) purchased for £16! Thats over 0.5% lower than some other providers mentioned here!

Does this include cardholder not present?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

So yes, we were being ripped off, hence why we moved.

One of the benefits of being part of a business group/organisation is taking advantage of the member deals. Merchant accounts are why I joined a big group, which removed the monthly account fee, signing up fee and a couple other costs, saving hundreds/more a year!

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

BTW, I always recommend, if your turnover is less than £1-1.5k a month, a merchant account probably will cost you more than PAYG services.

 

[cjd]

Worldpay, for a start!

Nope.

Colin, if you are paying more than 1% for your card transactions, I would be shocked.

Then you'd be shocked! So if you know of a merchant with <1% for card holder not present, high volume, mostly business card transactions, I'd love to hear it.

 

[hikiwari]

@Lucan Unlordly We overpay with PayPal and have been looking to move.

Worldpay offered us Pay as you Go 1.36% + 20p on a 30 day rolling contract.
or
£19.95 pm gateway cost for 350 free transactions per month, next day settlement and on a 30 day rolling contract. Debit card transactions over the 350 are 0.54%. Over the phone transactions included.

 

[pentel]

Worldpay offered us Pay as you Go 1.36% + 20p on a 30 day rolling contract.
or
£19.95 pm gateway cost for 350 free transactions per month, next day settlement and on a 30 day rolling contract. Debit card transactions over the 350 are 0.54%. Over the phone transactions included.

Watch out for fee creep and added extras

 

[hikiwari]

Watch out for fee creep and added extras

Yes, you said earlier that you had experienced this. What were the "added extras" @pentel ?

 

[pentel]

Yes, you said earlier that you had experienced this. What were the "added extras" @pentel

They just seem to make them up as they go.
We had added PCI compliance fee, minimum monthly charges, additional charges for different cards to name but a few.
These were all after negotiating a flat rate %.

 

[hikiwari]

They just seem to make them up as they go.
We had added PCI compliance fee, minimum monthly charges, additional charges for different cards to name but a few.
These were all after negotiating a flat rate %.

All these standard additional charges would have been mentioned in your original contract @pentel .

 

[HFE Signs]

With all merchant providers you should be asking for a rates review every 12 months

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Worldpay told me try every 6 months and, as sales.were.increasing, I got a.little something!

 

[pentel]

All these standard additional charges would have been mentioned in your original contract @pentel .

Not really. We negotiated an all inclusive fee and were only charged this all inclusive fee for a few years.

Then things got added,

We renegotiated an all inclusive fee again and again things got added. Rinse and repeat.

 

[cjd]

Fyi

26 UK Payment Processing Companies & Merchant Accounts (2024)

Compare merchant service providers, merchant accounts, acquirers, payment gateways, payment processors and payment facilitators for UK SMEs.

www.merchantsavvy.co.uk

 

[DefinitelyMaybeUK]

We moved last year from Worldpay to Elavon, having originally started 18 years back on Natwest Streamline before they were consumed by Worldpay. We've never had an annual fee with worldpay, just the monthly pcidss amounts in recent years, but the fees did get excessive and we're saving something like 40% having moved over. The fee charts in the link above for worldpay may look favourable, but don't include the hidden extras, like 0.841% "eCommerce : Sale" fee and 1-1.25% "Inter-regional : Sale" fees which are in addition to the normal card type fees - these add a significant amount to anyone selling worldwide online and aren't charged (yet!) by Elavon.