How To Guide : UK Merchant Accounts

[SimplyMyLove]

Excellent guide! Wish I had read it earlier last year.

 

[JasmineWade]

When discussing payments, the phrase “payment processor” tends to be used arbitrarily and mostly incorrectly. It's most often used by business owners interchangeably in reference to the merchant account provider, the gateway, or both (especially because the merchant account and gateway are often provided together). In technical terms, this is an incorrect usage of the term. However, it’s used this way so commonly and freely that there is in fact a street/layperson definition and a technical industry definition which is quite different.
In industry terms, the payment processor is the services that a payment gateway sends transaction requests to. The payment processor then handles the transaction request and sends the authorization and settlement files from Visa and MasterCard and distributes them across the network to the various payment gateways and merchant account providers. The payment processor also handles other aspects of the transaction such as the handling of chargeback requests and settlement. In short: Payment processor is a generalized term to refer to a company that processes Visa and MasterCard payments.

 

[Payatrader]

Very good explaination but it doesn't cover the role of ISO's /PSPs i.e. the many independant service providers other than the big banks and acquirers. Many of these organisations offer extremely competitive rates as they live of smaller margins and/or offer more tailored solutions. For example: Brit Pay, Payacardservices.com, Payment Sense, Yes Pay, Sage, Yorkshire Payments etc.

 

[Helpsme]

Nice although needs updating as online merchant accounts are now no more expensive than traditional chip and pin solutions (well should be!!) We are an independent ISO and have access to several Acquirers and platform Providers so can shop around for the best deal for your business at no obligation to you the merchant.

 

[ElliotStephens90]

Fantastic guide!

 

[Ian CRA]

i can recommend pay point and EKM powershop. 20 years exp has been good and im still with them.

 

[Tony Tomlinson]

I have found that merchant bank applications can be lengthy and with MOTO (mail order telephone order) merchants a lot the acquiring banks require you to jump through hoops, some don't work with certain industry, it's all down to risk really.

For those who have a small business, home business or similar I would recommend WorldPay Zinc, it doesn't have the long and detailed application process, doesn't take weeks to setup and also offers a pay as you go option, no monthly fees just a fee per transaction.

Perfect for small businesses who don't feel they need to partner with an acquiring bank directly. I have both in place currently, I use WorldPay Zinc for my as a consultant as a sole trader and my bank for my limited company.

 

[bigbuzzbelfast]

I recently set up an account with Nochex for a certain industry that not even PayPal would touch we know that Paypal will allow sex toys, but not adult movies, or adult type magazines like "score" etc etc. I found it so so easy and I put the guys through their paces and they were great www.nochex.com is where you will find them

The one I find most hard to get a merchant account for my clients for is Adult Movies DVD's. It seems to me that the merchant companies tend to put extremely high everything onto this type of account if you are lucky enough to get one. High set up fees' high processing fees, and talk about jumping through hoops they make you try to jump over the moon.

The adult movie industry is not what it used to be (But I still get requests from clients not a lot of them mind you about this type of account) thanks to many malware infected Tube Type sites many many studios have closed. The adult Movie industry is deemed "High Risk" and I have only one word to say to that "B*****KS" the gambling industry is a more high risk, to me buying anything online nowadays is a risk.

So if anybody on here can help with a merchant account for this type of business I'd like to hear from you BUT NOT if you deem it high risk and have stupid out of reach fees attached to it.

 

[RBS]

Does a person with bad credit history has any chance of getting merchant account for brand new fresh company/online store?

 

[bigbuzzbelfast]

Does a person with bad credit history has any chance of getting merchant account for brand new fresh company/online store?

Now the mega professionals on here are going to come online and tell you most likely not.

The good news is it can be done, the bad news is if you do get a merchant account then you will most likely be paying through the nose to have this facility.

This then would make you ask what's the point, as it will make it harder for you to make any money.

It could also depend on how much the bad credit was for and how long ago this bad credit was created.

 

[Bluebayremovals]

I have a very small removal company and when I provide quotes to customers, i would like them to pay a deposit by clicking on the link which takes them to a secure payment page or something , whats the most cost effective way of getting this done.

I just have a personal bank account,, I did try paypal but they wanted £70 for an actual card reader (which i dont actually need )so will give them a miss

 

[Tony Tomlinson]

I have a very small removal company and when I provide quotes to customers, i would like them to pay a deposit by clicking on the link which takes them to a secure payment page or something , whats the most cost effective way of getting this done.

I just have a personal bank account,, I did try paypal but they wanted £70 for an actual card reader (which i dont actually need )so will give them a miss

Id try Stripe for that. Easy to set up a payment button and the payout I think is weekly.

 

[bigbuzzbelfast]

I have a very small removal company and when I provide quotes to customers, i would like them to pay a deposit by clicking on the link which takes them to a secure payment page or something , whats the most cost effective way of getting this done.

I just have a personal bank account,, I did try paypal but they wanted £70 for an actual card reader (which i dont actually need )so will give them a miss

You don't need a card machine to take a small payment on a webpage a Paypal account with a link to the payment should help you just fine. If this is any trouble for you contact me privately on here and I am sure I can sort that for you in no time that is of course if you have a paypal account.

 

[Web Hosting UK]

Some interesting information there probably for future use, thanks!

 

[Simple Smartphone Shop]

I am surprised Stripe hasn't been mentioned here, it saves a lot of hassle and is likely to be cheaper than all the merchant accounts out there.

Their are now POS devices as well and sign up and set up is near immediate for online businesses.

There are also Mollie and Adyen, although the latter isn't suitable for startups because they invoice a minimum of a hundred quid per month.

You can even setup Amazon Pay too so your customers can pay on your site via their Amazon account.

PayPal will be the go-to for many and certainly has a very low barrier to entry but I'm wary of relying on it for business due to the many horror stories easily found online.

 

[kulture]

This is a 10 year old thread. I am closing it

 

[ניסים חיון]

As stated above, introduction fees can be significantly lowered by using FSB. The situation may have changed in recent years, but when we received our merchant accounts in the past, we did not encounter a requirement to introduce a business. The use of FSB can lower the start-up costs and simplify the introduction process, which can be a significant advantage especially for small or start-up businesses. It is important to follow the developments in the field and make sure that the requirements are updated and correct according to changes in the market and regulations.

I see it's been years but good information is always good