Credit Card Machines?

[Feldon]

I'm in the middle of purchasing an existing shop, should go through end of Feb or early Mar and its been around 10 years since I last owned a shop and had to deal with credit card machines and i'm guessing a lot of new players have come onto the market.

I'm going to be opening a bank account with Lloyds, as it has a branch very near to my shop and i will also be able to take advantage of 18 months free banking, this might be the best starting point for me but should I consider other options for card processing? I have had experience with PaymentSense and do not wish to deal with them again, so please no suggestions for this company.

 

[IanC6571]

I would suggest that you join the FSB and you will get Free Banking, full stop and they have a deal on merchant service. There will be another opinion along shortly. Good luck with your new venture

 

[Feldon]

Thanks for your reply Ian, i've had a look at FSB and not really interested in their free banking as it is with Co-op banking and without a local branch i would need to bank at Post Office (i use to be a Sub-Postmaster) and i would rather not use P.O for my business banking. However i can see there are plenty of other benefits of joining an organisation like the FSB or Your Business Community, i notice one uses WorldPay and the other Cardnet.

I have today applied for a Lloyds business bank account and know they partner with Cardnet and i have had experience with WorldPay Zinc the little brother of WorldPay and had excellent service with them.

I'm coming down to either using WorldPay or Cardnet, am i likely to get significant savings by applying for these via FSB or such like.

I will ring both tomorrow to get an idea of fees, has anyone got any good or bad reviews of either of these two card providers? I'm looking at approx. £175K per annum turnover for card transactions so hopefully will be able to secure a good rate.

 

[Trader82]

Hi Feldon,

You could try Totalwebsolutions, reasonably priced, great service.

 

[Feldon]

They would appear to specialise in web based businesses, this is for a bricks and mortar shop. I would also prefer to deal with a well known supplier.

 

[Trader82]

Deleted thread

 

[LMDServicesUK]

FSB only work with WorldPay, Cardnet is a subsidiary of Lloyds but is actually operated on their behalf by FDMS.

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

They would appear to specialise in web based businesses, this is for a bricks and mortar shop. I would also prefer to deal with a well known supplier.

Hi Feldon,

We are indeed an online payment provider but we have links into several leading acquiring banks who provide merchant services (including physical chip&pin terminals). As a trusted and accredited partner we are able to get merchants preferential rates and terms that they wouldn't ordinarily see when approaching these acquirers directly.

Happy to arrange a quote with one of our direct banking contacts if you are still in the market. Feel free to drop me a PM with your details and I will gladly call you for discussion.

Thanks,

Simon

( thanks to EK Bookkeeping Services for the recommendation )

 

[Page]

I have recently moved from ?? to world pay

World pay are impressive - but not perfect

I wish I had known the difference they would make

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Hi Feldon,

at Your Business Community, we have a deal with Lloyds Cardnet where you will get a better rate via us than going direct (also beating many other suppliers)!

 

[PDQ Hire]

Worldpay still have the largest market share out of all the merchants roughly 70% The feedback is pretty good. FDMS come well recommended who also partner with AIB and Cardnet.

There is a common misconception that you need to get your Merchant Account from the bank your business account is with. This is totally untrue. You can be banked with bank X and have your merchant account with bank y. There is no extra cost, there is no penalty imposed. This means that you can shop around for the most suitable service to your needs.

You will have many companies promising you cheaper rates, but check other factors such as the authorisation fees, maintenance fee's relevant to the account, PCI Fees etc. Best recommendation shop around and get at least 2-3 quotes. If you already have an existing card terminal and are switching accounts some companies may be able to reconfigure this for you (saving you having to enter a new credit card terminal rental)

You will inevitably find an ISO may well be able to offer you lower rates than the traditional banks. What you also need to bare in mind is the ongoing service you receive, take Global Payments for example, and the fact their systems have gone down numerous times in the past 18 months which can cause a massive headache to business owners (their support is also based in Manila which has received criticism)

I work for a credit card terminal provider - so we're effectively the middle man. Customers come to us for their hardware/software solutions. (Wireless Terminal Solutions) Unlike most companies, we are accredited to work with all the banks. If you want some impartial advice drop me a line.

 

[Feldon]

After meeting WorldPay and getting a quote i will be going with Lloyds Cardnet, better rates and WorldPay wanted 4p authorisation fee per transaction, Lloyds either wanted 0p or 1p depending what plan i went for, both Cardnet rates are were better than WorldPay.

 

[PDQ Hire]

We've always heard good things about Cardnet.
I would also check what the cancellation fee for the account is (in the event you needed to cancel the agreement for any reason, and what the term of contract is) Also clarify if there is a maintenance fee on the account (not all merchants apply this fee)
If you need a competitive price on a card terminal please let me know. We offer agreements from 12months - 36 months. You will generally find Cardnet use a third party for supplying credit card machines to their customers.