| Summary Acquiring banks form an integral part of taking Electronic payments. The Acquiring bank provides that merchant service that allows you to take card payments via the web or traditional PDQ machine. The Electronic payments Tool models the costs of acquiring in a generic way in order to give indicative costs of this service. You can use the links below, in conjunction with your existing banking arrangements, to determine the likely costs of this service. |
As previously mentioned, the Acquiring banks are an essential element of taking Electronic payments. If you wish to take card payments directly you will need to apply for a Merchant Service with an Acquiring Bank.
The Electronic payments tool does not advise you directly about which acquiring banks to use as this is a decision that is determined more by your current banking arrangements than individual price or service differences between providers. Acquiring services tend to be offered by the UK banks as an additional service that runs alongside a suite of other services offered by the bank concerned. The banks look on the merchant acquiring service that they sell as one revenue stream of many.
For instance, a low rate for taking card payments may reflect that your bank is generating revenues from you in other respects – a loan interest would be an example. Rates for card processing are for this reason, highly variable and should be considered alongside all your other banking charges. Furthermore, because of complex rules governing the way acquiring banks assess risk (of allowing different businesses to take cards) it is difficult for the online payments tool to model or predict exactly what the costs might be.
Please click the following link to register for the free to use Electronic payments comparison tool. As the tool can’t be used to predict your exact acquiring costs, we have used a set of assumed values that you can change after you have spoken to your business bank about its likely rates. The typical rates we have used, produced in conjunction with the banking industry are:
| Setup Fee: | £200 |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee: | £10 |
| Debit: | £0.35 per transaction |
| Amex: | 3.0% |
| Diners: | 3.0% |
| MasterCard & Visa: | 2.5% |
| Bond: | £1000 |
You may also find that the following list of Acquiring banks useful in progressing your enquiries, either with your own business bank or with a new provider if your bank cannot satisfy a particular need:
UK providers
- Alliance & Leicester
- American Express Merchant Services
- Bank of Scotland
- Barclaycard Merchant Services
- DinersClub
- HSBCi
- Lloyds TSB cardnet
- Royal Bank of Scotland & NatWest Bank
- Ulster Bank
Overseas providers
- euroConex – Euro zone transactions
- Paymentech – US and Canadian transactions
Specific card type resources
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