Frequently Asked Questions.

Is it worth my business accepting credit & debit cards?
Yes, in today’s economic environment most consumers and an increasing percentage of businesses expect to be able to use plastic to pay for their goods and services and if your business is unable to do so your likely to lose out on many business opportunities.

What are the advantages of accepting credit & debit cards?
Accepting cards can open up many new sales opportunities, for example telephone, mail order, Internet. It also encourages impulse buying when a customer may not have cash to make an immediate purchase without the opportunity to use a card. There are also accounting benefits as the amount of cash you need to hold will be reduced & cash-flow is improved & book-keeping becomes simpler.

How do I obtain a facility to accept credit & debit cards?
You will need to set up a merchant account, which Seymour Direct can organise for you. In a few cases in-depth financial information is also required such as historical and/or forecasted turnover plus copies of guarantees and/or warranties etc.

A current business bank account is also needed for the acquiring bank (the bank that process the transaction in the background) to transfer payments made by your customers to you.

Seymour Direct will also organise the equipment needed for you to accept card payments. These machines can be rented from as little as £10.45 plus VAT per month for a static machine or from £16.95 should you require a portable machine as used by restaurants. There are many other options available and discussing your requirements early with Seymour Direct will prevent you from needless time wasting.

How much will it cost me to accept card payments?
Different banks will apply different charges for your transactions in the form of a percentage of the value of the transaction of credit card payments and a flat rate fee for debit card payments and most will charge more for a cardholder not present (CNP) transaction as there is a higher risk of fraud. The amounts charged can vary considerably from one bank to another but speaking to Seymour Direct will ensure that you get the best possible deal available for your business.

Is there much of a risk in accepting card payments?
Whilst there is an element of risk in accepting card payments, the banks are constantly developing the security issues - most recently the major improvement being through the introduction of CHIP & PIN which makes it extremely difficult for fraudsters to use credit & debit cards without knowing a 4 digit PIN (Personal Identification No.) and also puts more of an onus on the cardholder to ensure their PIN is kept confidential. However by adhering to the guidelines and making sure your staff are fully trained, problems of fraudulent transactions can be kept to a minimum for both the merchant and the cardholder.