Credit card machines

drummone

Seems like the market is being dominated by a few large companies. So frustrating that I have to hire a terminal and pay fees for each transaction. Plus this PCI compliance fee. I have to upgrade the terminal every 3 years or so and when I say can I keep the old machine they say no, its out of date even though there is nothing wrong with it. It like being forced to constantly upgrade your phone to the latest tariff. The operate in such a secretive way. They ask who you are with and if it turns out you are a provider of one of their umbrella companies, they will not quote. They also won't quote unless you provide your current bill. There is no comparison website for card fees. Martin Lewis needs to bust these guys apart and create some power to the consumer, ie. small businesses! Rant over...!

Sandtree

Martin badges himself as a consumer champion and so doesnt look at commercial issues like merchant credit card fees.

It is unlikely that a comparison table would ever be possible given they are commercially negotiated rates, even the like of iZettle which was designed to be simple, no hidden fees etc, say they'll negotiate once turnover hits £10k/month

Grumpy_chap

OP - how do your fees compare to the portable type system such as SUM UP?  If the online service via a phone app is more competitive, maybe change provider.  The SUM UP system also includes a card reader, so customers don't really know any different.  They even do versions that print a receipt.

MattMattMattUK

drummone said:

Seems like the market is being dominated by a few large companies. So frustrating that I have to hire a terminal and pay fees for each transaction. Plus this PCI compliance fee. I have to upgrade the terminal every 3 years or so and when I say can I keep the old machine they say no, its out of date even though there is nothing wrong with it. It like being forced to constantly upgrade your phone to the latest tariff. The operate in such a secretive way. They ask who you are with and if it turns out you are a provider of one of their umbrella companies, they will not quote. They also won't quote unless you provide your current bill. There is no comparison website for card fees. Martin Lewis needs to bust these guys apart and create some power to the consumer, ie. small businesses! Rant over...!

There are plenty of smaller operators and in most cases the terminals can be had for a small amount if you need an in person terminal, if you have a fully fledged POS system you can integrate via software and do not even need a terminal. The fees are usually very reasonable, why do you expect them to process the transactions for free?

The PCI compliance fee is government mandated, however plenty of providers roll this into your ongoing fee and it costs very little.

They do not operate in a "secretive way", they operate fully openly and in compliance with the rules in a heavily regulated environment, they can not be secretive, pretty much everything is laid out in a very prescriptive way.

bris

It's all about turnover, the proper merchants, like the OPs are much cheaper in the long run if the turnover is high enough.

If the turnover is low then a SumUp type merchant is better because there is no monthly fees but % is higher.

Of course only the OP know their turnover and will of course done their due diligence so they already should know who the best merchant out there for them is.