Save money on card payments

Industry data suggests seven out of ten of all businesses pay unnecessary fees on their card payments. Tom Faithful from AIM Associate Supplier Unyfi explains how merchant services work and how to save on them.

Merchant Services

The term merchant services is a wide-ranging description for the various card payment services built for businesses, including face to face payment processing, online payment processing and the hardware for taking payments itself. It is typically charged as a percentage of the transaction for different card types, alongside a pence per transaction authorisation fee. Museums take many transactions with a low average transaction value (ATV) across a wide range of card types, so ensuring the overall cost of taking payments is kept low is key.

What makes up the charge?

1. The Interchange fee – This is the fee the card issuer (NatWest, Lloyds, Santander etc.) charge for accepting an electronic payment. It’s set by the bank and cannot be adjusted.
2. The Scheme fee – This is the fee the “scheme” charges, typically VISA or Mastercard, but you may see AMEX or Diners. The scheme fee varies based on the type of card (VISA debit, MasterCard Credit or VISA Commercial debit etc.) Again, these fees are set by
   VISA/Mastercard/AMEX and cannot be adjusted.
3. The Acquiring bank’s margin – The acquiring bank accommodates the payment being processed (Worldpay, First Data, Barclaycard, AIB) and makes up a large portion of the total cost. This is the area in which most museums are being overcharged and where companies like Unyfi can procure worthwhile savings.

The above only expands on one aspect of the cost of processing card payments – as you can see, the process is not straightforward. Indeed 95% of merchants do not understand their monthly statements.

It is essential for any business to manage these costs and processes, not least as cash becomes more and more redundant. The majority of acquiring banks will not declare their margins and increase their charges annually throughout the lifetime of the contract. So, unless you are diligent, price increases can be missed.

At Unyfi we pride ourselves on the transparency and ongoing support we provide to our clients. Unlike going directly to a bank, where you only have one option, Unyfi conduct a comprehensive market comparison, ensuring the most cost effective and suitable solution for your needs. We ensure our bank’s margin is declared at the quotation stage, and provide a full, transparent analysis of current costs vs future costings. This margin is also fixed for the duration of the contract, mitigating annual price increases.

Unyfi are guaranteeing AIM members savings of 15% on merchant service costs – talk to their expert advisors for industry specific help and a no obligation comparison quote. Click here to visit the Unyfi website or call Tom on 0330 223 2093.