Sml Business Card PaymentProcessing

A question about : Sml Business Card PaymentProcessing

Not sure where to post this. Thought there was a small business moneysaving section but there isn't. There should be!

Anyone know of cheapest reliable company to offer merchant/card processing services to small businesses?

My old man losing loads of custom because he doesn't accept cards.

He's a bit of a luddite(!) too so a company with simple to use equipment would be good.

Best answers:

• Hubby has just been looking round for a better deal as charges have just changed.
  He is still waiting for a couple of banks to come back to him but so far the best is with Elavon (used to be Alliance & Leicester who sold to Elavon).
  The rental for the PDQ machine is Ј15.50 + VAT per month.
  1.8% charge for credit card transactions
  22p charge for each debit card transaction
  with a minimum transaction charge of Ј20 per month (that is the bit that's just changed - the minimum charge).
  Hubby says this deal of 22p for debit card transactions is pretty good compared with Barclays who charge 1.95%, so a Ј100 debit card transaction with Elavon costs him 22p but with Barclays the same transaction would cost Ј1.95!
  Equipment seems to be fairly similar wherever you go.
  Best bet is to ring round all the banks and merchant service providers and see what deals they can offer your dad.
• Hi Flashnazia, you're right - we have a Small Business & Charities Board - I'll move this thread over there for you
  Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email abuse@moneysavingexpert.com.
• Take a look at this thread as its been discussed at length and has some good posts :
  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=731507
• It looks as though I will have to ring around in order to compare them all! What a pain!
  Does anyone have any tips on what I should ask them? Percentage on credit and debit card transactions is a given along with rental of terminal but what else should I look for when comparing?
  Anyone know if it's cheaper to buy the terminal?
  What about when the phone line is used to authorise some transactions? Do they usually charge the dreaded 0870 (rip off!) numbers?
  Sorry for all the questions but my dad's business is in dire straights and trying to help him out!
• If you are a member of the fed of small businesses, they have some good deals for merchant accounts and terminals. The clients we have who are members found that the FSB schemes were the cheapest. Have a look at www.fsb.org.uk for details whether you are a member or not. If you aren't a member, the saving will probably pay your annual membership fee and you'll get all the other benefits as well, like tax investigation insurance, employment and law helplines, and cheaper deals on business banking, etc.
• [QUOTE=flashnazia;9235889]
  Anyone know if it's cheaper to buy the terminal?
  What about when the phone line is used to authorise some transactions? Do they usually charge the dreaded 0870 (rip off!) numbers?
  QUOTE]
  Hubby has never been able to purchase his terminals. As far as he knows they are all rental. The company suggest you add the terminal to your business insurance and puts the value in the region of Ј350 - Ј500 (depending on company).
  Hubby's have always been 0800 numbers for authorisation of transactions. Same for updates to the terminal. That's something you could clarify when speaking to them.
  Just compare the deals. Some have a lower monthly minimum transaction charge but higher individual transaction charges. You need to work out which is best for dad's type of transactions.
• Don't rule out a Virtual Terminal with someone like Paypal, as it saves you having to bother with the enormous faff of merchant accounts.
• How are you getting on with this Flashnazia?
  You might try Streamline Merchant Services (NatWest). Hubby has had an offer from them, they have negotiated a deal with tourism members in the area where we live which covers his business. They have a slightly lower monthly rental, slightly lower % charge on credit cards and NO minimum monthly service charge so saving him quite a bit of money on the months he doesn't use it (3 to 4 winter months).
  Might be worth enquiring if they have any deals in your area or just try a bit of negotiating!
• Hi
  Thanks for the replies. We ended up going with Federation of Small Businesses'. If you are a member you can use Streamline and get some other support extras thrown in.
• Streamline through FSB - brilliant. No problems and their support has been excellent. We did get FSB rates so very pleased.
• There is also CardSave they have good service and low costs as they operate as part of a large group businesses. They also use streamline.
• But their support isn't with Streamline, try and call Cardsave for support at the weekends. CLOSED.
• Right search this forum and this question gets answered on weekly.
• As a user at home most merchant services will not accept you. When they ask is this a home or business premises say business always. They dont take you serious when you say a home address.