Business Accounts and Chip & PIN/EFTPOS

MrTomato

Hi,

My mum is about to open a small business. It is all sorted, she now just needs to get a business bank account open and she also wants to be able to take debit and credit cards.

She does have a poor credit history, with a default about 4 years ago and a missed payment at the end of last year. Will this make it a lot harder for her to get an account? Or could anyone recommend a bank that wouldn't be too strict with opening a business account?

And lastly, she wants to accept cards in the shop. I know banks charge a fixed fee for taking debit cards, and a percentage for credit cards, but, does anyone know how much the monthly fee/rent of the terminal/joining fees that may apply are likely to be?

The bank's sites don't seem to have pricing laid out on their sites, meaning you need to call up.

armistice

The default and single missed payment wont effect a business account application. Try your own bank first (the one you have a current account with), don't apply on-line or by form, make an appointment with a business manager they can overide any credit issues there and then.

Card account vary, ask the business manager when you meet but expect at least £25+ per month

lew99

Definitely shop around on this. By all means best place to start is your own bank, but don't just take what they offer, ask around. You don't need to have your merchant account with the same bank as you working account (although often they do fit together).

Be warned that most banks love to charge a lot of fees for this, and also they will treat you as taking out a loan - they will assess an amount for this business that they treat as lending, to cover their risk of chargebacks (when customers claim that they didn't make a transaction on their card).

Also important to ask what is the timing of the funds being credited to your account. Can be variations in how many days before you actually see the money - important for cash flow.

naijapower

With rgds to chargeback, is it fair and correct to say retailers are protected and the banks take the risk whenever a dispute occurs.
Was under the impression that retailers bear some of the risk.
One thing, i know is that for a face to face transaction where chip and pin is used all ok, the retalier cannot lose in event of a dispute