Evaluate Account Providers

There are hundreds of banks that can issue credit and debit cards in the UK. However, there are a limited number of high street banks that offer you a Credit Card Merchant Account which gives you the ability to accept card payments. This is because an acquiring bank has a duty to underwrite any guarantees offered by it’s retailers.

Owing to the limited number of acquiring banks, this market has largely remained uncompetitive. This means the large high street banks who offer this service usually charge high set up fees and transaction charges. They rely of the fact that customers will not shop around but will typically just trust their business bank. Shopping around can reduce set-up fees and ongoing transaction charges significantly.

The reality is that it does not matter which bank you obtain your merchant account from, the money taken on credit or debit card will still be settled into your existing business bank account. The acquirer is both invisible and unimportant to your customers.  This means you should look hard at the charges your bank is proposing or, if you already have an account, the ongoing transaction fees they impose.

The things to look at are:-

Account Set-Up Charge
Terminal Rental Charge
Personal Credit Card Transaction Charge (typically a percentage)
Business or Corporate Credit Card Transaction Charge Card (Typically a higher percentage)
Debit Card Transaction Charge (normally a fixed fee)

Adelante process hundreds of millions of pounds through our various credit and debit card processing systems. As a result we work with the banks to provide the very best merchant account pricing to our customers. If you are setting up an account or already have an account and want to review the ongoing costs contact Adelante to find out how much money we can save you or alternatively complete the online request for more information about Credit Card Merchant Accounts.