Cheque guarantee cards

smartiedriver_2

Card acquiring isn't as expensive as you might think, especially if you don't accept 'cardholder not present' transactions. In fact, the per-transaction fee (for debit cards at least) is cheaper than the 74p-ish it costs to process a cheque.

oldoakey

Have you thought about transax.

I have never used them but as I understand it when you get a cheque you just give them a quick ring with the customers details and they will then give you a code number and this then guarantees the payment. They will want some payment for this service but don't they all. I have no idea as to how much but i dont think its a lot and you can ring from your mobile phone from the show stand.

I would then build this cost into your prices so that the customer is unaware that they are actually paying a subsidy for your protection.

On the other hand you can get a credit card and debit card processing you will more than likely increase your sales because of offering to take the majority of cards out there. NB I would advise you avoid American express as they want around 4% off the card payment.

The normal rate you should pay is usually around 2.5% plus a monthly fee of £10 to £20 which includes the hire of your terminal which when you add it up is not a lot for possibly many more customers and profit. And as stated before you could possibly increase your prices to cover this extra overhead.