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Hot to obtain a chip & pin machine?

Hi,

I run a small business selling kitchen appliances online. I am wanting offer more payment options, such as over the phone, on location etc (I work from a warehouse but we often get people who want to collect).

I have a Lloyds business account, how do I get one? I do need one asap as Paypal charge a massive 3.5% then take another 10% of all money for insurance returning it after 90 days rolling so day 1 returned day 91, day 2 returned day 92 etc (I get no interest nothing).

Many Thanks

Comments

  • savagej
    savagej Posts: 1,158 Forumite
    The Federation of Small Businesses would be a good place to start, you can find them through Google.

    They have information on accepting cards and on GPRS chip and PIN handsets so you can take it anywhere.
  • bev309
    bev309 Posts: 186 Forumite
    Type chip & pin machines into google - it brings up a list of companies you can get them from.
  • Mikeyorks
    Mikeyorks Posts: 10,378 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You need a 'merchant acquirer'. They provide the machine and do the interfacing between that and the target bank accounts. Lots out there ..... but you'll need to profile costs : traffic ...... and decide if they're a better bet to PayPal, if your card traffic is light.
    If you want to test the depth of the water .........don't use both feet !
  • cottager
    cottager Posts: 934 Forumite
    No experience of using them ourselves, but have seen a few people mentioning
    http://www.acceptcards.co.uk/ as a reasonable option.

    Your own bank should also be able to arrange this facility, but may not be the most cost-effective option and you're certainly not obliged to use whoever they would use/put you with. Shop around.
    ~cottager
  • hippey
    hippey Posts: 849 Forumite
    LloydsTSB has CardNet, their own card acceptance business, worth speaking to your business manager. Most other banks have similar services and you don't have to stick with your own bank.

    The online services are hit and miss and it's worth asking people who are in a similar business to yours to see what they do. I have personally used HSBC in the past and they were very good. Fees vary and although you can buy your own equipment you will be responsible for updating the software which can prove expensive and time consuming.

    You also risk fraud and chargebacks if you don't keep it upto date.
    These are my thoughts and no one else's, so like any public forum advice - check it out before entering into contracts or spending your hard earned cash!

    I don't know everything, however I do try to point people in the right direction but at the end of the day you can only ever help yourself!
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