Card reader & App payment system

[Glimpse]

That's exactly why I would never discount it if they paid by card.

[markw]

Having used iZettle for long enough to look at realistic charges against my old provider I can happily say we are saving a lot of money on merchant charges/rental. Getting rid of my old provider proved to be a difficult and expensive process. They always seem to get you on various "fees" that you seem to be committed to paying for an extra month + you have to send the card machine back in pristine condition - or they charge you a few hundred for the privilege of replacing something you have rented from them for 5 years ( charge of a new terminal).
1.5% fee on payments taken through terminal seems very reasonable. Customers like it and apart from 1 customers card being declined because they thought it was being used fraudulently, all has been good. In fact I seem to have had less hassle as requests to call the helpline on the old system seemed to be fairly frequent.

[misterdiy]

The story from your merchant services provider seems very familiar. The wording seems exactly the same as mine was (Cardsave) and if you miss the ntoice period by 1 day the contract rolls over for another year! What has really angered me is the PCI DSS fees which are mounting up alarmingly. A mandatory scan (£35 + VAT) an annual admin fee (£29.99 + VAT) non-compliance fees ( because they mixed up the terminal and internet accounts) at £9.99 per month plus VAT. When phoning up to sort it out I had premium rate fees as well. It is not as if I can actually do anything to the website to get access to customers payment details either. Consequently it makes iZettle and PayPal headline charges seem very reasonable.

[markw]

You take on these Merchant providers assuming you have a good deal little realising that in fact you are committing to a couple of providers - The terminal rental company and the processing provider. You have to time your exit carefully for both and if I were cynical I would say that the way they set up contracts deliberately makes exiting difficult and almost inevitably expensive. I am afraid I have very little faith in these big card providers- small businesses are just food for their greedy ways. Big business employ enough legal expertise to manage the pitfalls. We may carefully go through contracts from these providers but I doubt that we catch the exit pitfalls.
They are sadly a necessity in todays world so the "seemingly" easy approach of the new contract free providers comes as a breath of fresh air. I haven't yet had a problem but wonder how easy it will be when I have someone claim they haven't used my business and the card company "call back" a payment? it happens - I had an elderly customer who forgot that I had done some framing for him. in my experience things like this are handed back to you, the money withdrawn until you can prove the payment was made legitimately. (if you take cards keep good records).

The advice is always ask how easy it is to exit.

[Graysalchemy]

Some good points there mark. As a commercial framer who always produced invoices for everything I used to get a delivery not signed when ever anything was picked up or delivered. Once you have a delivery note with a signature and a corresponding invoice it is pretty good proof of supply. I know one guy who also photographs his customers with their frames for instagram, again more evidence.

[Jamesnkr]

it happens - I had an elderly customer who forgot that I had done some framing for him. in my experience things like this are handed back to you

Which is an all-to-frequent irritation. Such costs, though, need to be factored into your overheads as they are a cost of having the convenience of having a card machine taking your 'cash' for you.

[markw]

Not sure how you factor in a cost that's indeterminable and if you have done your paperwork properly redeemable. The mucking around has a cost, but one that I would put down to admin.
Don't serve forgetful old men..... Well the gentleman concerned did it to me twice. In fairness, over the 25+years that I've taken card payments ive only had this sort of problem a few times and have always got it sorted out fairly quickly. My point was that iZettle and Paypal etc seem a little more remote than the big card processors. but perhaps that will turn out to be a good thing.

I have contacted iZettle recently to complain about the battery life on my reader. They emailed back same day to say they were sorry that I seemed to have a faulty unit and that they were sending a replacement. so all good so far. maybe my feeling that they were remote is unfounded.

[pramsay13]

I thought the battery life wasn't great on my iZettle reader but then I discovered there was a switch on the side so I can turn it off when I'm not using it.
It only takes a few seconds to boot up again and find my phone so even if I have it switched off when someone comes in I can still use it comfortably.

[Jonathan]

I know this is a fairly old thread, but it still seems relevant.

Has anyone been using the WorldPay Zinc? A big player who is now trying to compete with iZettle and PayPal. They are also trying the hard sell on me!

[pramsay13]

I haven't but I would be comfortable using them if the finances worked out. Previously there was a monthly fee plus transaction fee so I would only consider them if this has changed as I don't use the card enough to justify a monthly payment.

[Graysalchemy]

I use zinc. Easy enough and I seam to get paid relatively quick. However my reader seems to run out of battery a lot. I don't use it often though but when I do it seems to be flat. I suppose I should have sent it back.

[neiljustframes]

Ive been using one called sum-up for the last few months, good rates and payment within a few days, worth looking at.

[simoonez]

I was using a mobile based Payleven machine. It was awful. It would refuse every other card, it would disconnect halfway through, it would switch itself off
We're on a fixed terminal through lloyds bank now, it was a nightmare to get setup but it's a dream machine in use. Charges are less than that of Payleven, but I've not really done the research through other services.