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What to look for when choosing a merchant services provider

This guide will help you when choosing a new merchant services provider.  Nowadays it is so important to ensure that your service provider can meet your requirements. A lot of providers have hidden fees or provide a reduced quality of service to support low, introductory card processing fees. As they say: there is no such thing as a free lunch!

Who holds your money and how quickly will you receive it

One of the most important questions to ask your provider is who holds your funds. Be sure that your provider is using a financial institution that you know, ensuring your money is safe. Some providers take up to 5 working days to settle funds, so be sure to check how quickly you will receive your money.

Transparent pricing

Cost is a crucial factor in choosing your new provider so pay close attention to the terms and conditions you are agreeing to. Many providers offer low, introductory, card processing rates but hide or inflate fees elsewhere. This means you end up paying a lot more than you think. Look for a provider that offers transparent, simple to understand pricing. Some common hidden fees include:

• Statement fees
• Authorisation fees
• Premium helpdesk numbers
• Broadband/digital connectivity fees
• Technical support fees
• Paper roll supply contracts
• Insurance products 

Support

It is important to check that your provider can support your business needs and does not charge extra for telephone or technical support. Check with your provider that they can provide 7 day support, a non premium call helpdesk (including from mobile phones) and if they have offices in the UK. A lot of providers have no physical presence in the market. This means you will have no one to support you should you need someone on site or pay a significant premium for an on-site engineer visit. 

Product offer

As your business grows and your requirements change, make sure that your provider can support you with a range of card terminals, online payments and the ability to take payments over the phone. It is also important to check that your provider can support additional payment functionally including:

• Contactless payments
• Apple Pay (NFC)
• Gratuity (Tips)
• Cash back
• Pre-Auths  

Did you know: 

• A number of providers sign their customers into supply contracts for paper rolls. Be very careful when singing up with these providers as very quickly you will end up spending more on paper rolls per month than on terminal rentals and merchant service fees. 
• Contactless payment is now one of the fastest growing payment methods in Ireland. Make sure your chosen provider can support contactless payments. 

Summary

PaymentPlus is proud to provide the most transparent pricing in the market and local service being an Irish company. We work with Barclaycard, one of the worlds leading payment providers, who have a transparent fee structure and work with their customers to make sure that their services exceed expectations. Contact us should you have any questions for us: [email protected]co.uk. We’re happy to help!