Getting a Card Payment machine

Skinnylatte

I've been turned down 4 times now for a card machine, reason - new business!
It's so difficult trying to start a business, the bank wouldn't lend me any money, and now I have to turn work way as the customer wants to pay by card and I have no machine.
Has any-one else had this problem? and how do you over come it?

Colin2511

HI,

I have not been turned down for a machine, so, cannot help on that bit...but

Have you joined the FSB (Federeation Small Businesses?), we got our streamline / sagepay deal through them, (it was cheaper as we were members)...as this is the small business "club", they should be more sympathetic to new businessses?

Fingers crossed it helps

paddyrg

How about telling clients who want to pay by card that they can paypal to pay you? At least they get to use cards, even if you lose a slightly higher slice of it?

w211

Give Adelante a call and see if they can help - www.adelante.co.uk

I use their TaxiPay service, where you download an app to your phone (iPhone/Android/Blackberry/Windows Mobile), and you enter the customer's card details on it and it is sent over by 3G/GPRS.

I get paid direct into my bank account, a week in arrears the following Wednesday, and they just deduct a 6.5% processing fee. No minimum usage fee either, and it will accept all UK debit cards, Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

However, the program is intended for the Taxi and Private Hire industry - I had to send them a copy of my operator's licence, though I'm sure they can do something for your situation.

motorguy

w211 wrote: »

Give Adelante a call and see if they can help - www.adelante.co.uk

I use their TaxiPay service, where you download an app to your phone (iPhone/Android/Blackberry/Windows Mobile), and you enter the customer's card details on it and it is sent over by 3G/GPRS.

I get paid direct into my bank account, a week in arrears the following Wednesday, and they just deduct a 6.5% processing fee. No minimum usage fee either, and it will accept all UK debit cards, Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

However, the program is intended for the Taxi and Private Hire industry - I had to send them a copy of my operator's licence, though I'm sure they can do something for your situation.

6.5% is woefully expensive, especially as a debit card transaction costs 35p :eek:

w211

pgilc1 wrote: »

6.5% is woefully expensive, especially as a debit card transaction costs 35p :eek:

Yes I know, but I don't have to have the hassle of setting up a merchant account, renting a chip and pin machine, having a minimum transaction amount to take in every month, or maybe having the same problem as the OP, being turned down for a card machine!

All I had to do was to send them a copy of my operator's licence, my bank account details, and they give me a user account number and password, and I download their app, and away I go!

Most people pay in cash anyway, few pay by card, so having a merchant account, I don't think is justifiable, besides I just add the 6.5% onto the fare anyway.

paddyrg

Actually for a taxi operator, it sounds like a decent deal. You'll never be turning over the kind of volume on cards to make a machine and merchant account worthwhile (most people pay cash, after all), and where cabs do accept cards (more common in Asia, for instance) they usually charge a cards premium of 10%+, so you can even turn a modest profit on the difference.

And best of all - corporate customers can use corporate credit cards, and so be generous with tips, and find it MUCH more convenient to use a card rather than reclaiming cash (and who cares if the company gets hit for an extra 10%, eh?)

OverRover

CardSave are usually pretty good for setting up new businesses - have you tried them? They seem to get a bit of bad press due to stipulations in the contracts but as long as you read and agree to them then there should be no quarrel.

Catherine_Johnson_2

sophie.christie wrote: »

I've been turned down 4 times now for a card machine, reason - new business!
It's so difficult trying to start a business, the bank wouldn't lend me any money, and now I have to turn work way as the customer wants to pay by card and I have no machine.
Has any-one else had this problem? and how do you over come it?

What type of business are you in? I'm assuming it's a service rather than selling a product? If so, why not simply ask your client to do a bank transfer. For most smaller amounts (up to about £1500 I think now), it's almost instantaneous and not really a hassle for the client.

We used to have a Streamline account but shut it recently because of the ever increasing monthly cost and the percentage they take out of every transaction. Quite simply, it wasn't worth it for a smaller business.

BryanSmallBiz

Where there's a will, there can be a way. Presumably by 'card' you mean 'credit card' - offer a generous discount for cash / bank transfer. Or use PayPal.

Skinnylatte

Thanks for all your help, I did eventually get accepted and it trebled my turnover, so worth persevering!