How to switch your merchant services

If you accept card payments into your small business, you could be overpaying for your merchant services.

If you have one or more chip and pin machines, you could be paying too much for:

• Your terminal rental charges
• The percentage of each card transaction you pay as a fee
• Your minimum monthly service charge
• Card authorisation fees
• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) non-compliance fees,

How can we save you money?

Every small business with chip and pin machines has to pay terminal rental charges, a percentage of every transaction paid for by credit card and a 'pence per transaction' charge for every transaction paid for by debit cards.

But in addition to these mandatory charges, many consumers find that they're being charged extra fees that can be easily missed on their over-complicated merchant service bills.

To help you find the full list of charges you're paying, all we need is a copy of a recent merchant service statement. Our experts will then come back to you with a detailed and fully personalised quote, explaining all your current charges and how we can cut them.

Using your statement, we can even tell you how much you would have saved on our proposed rates, giving you a clear and tangible idea of the savings you could make.

Do I need to open my merchant services account with my business banking partner?

It's a common misconception that small businesses need to take their chip and pin services via their business banking partner. If you bank with HSBC for example, you do not have to open a merchant service account with them. Instead, you can open a separate merchant services account with any other acquiring bank.

Most banks rely on their business customers simply opening merchant service accounts through them and can easily overcharge. However, by comparing a range of banks and third party providers, you could make significant savings on your merchant service bills.

How do I switch my merchant services?

Switching your merchant services is quick and hassle-free - we'll take care of all the paperwork for you. All you need to do is:

1. Call our merchant services experts on 0800 970 0077. We'll ask you to fax or email us a copy of your latest merchant service statement
2. We'll give you a free, no-obligation quote
3. If you're happy with your new rates, we'll sign you up to your new merchant services contract
4. We'll send you some straight-forward documents to sign
5. Return the signed documents to us
6. You'll receive your new PDQ machines very soon - most likely within 3 - 5 days

One of the advantages of using Make It Cheaper to switch your Merchant Services is that your new chip and pin machines should be up and running within just one week - whereas most High Street banks require 4 - 6 weeks to set up their merchant accounts.

To get the ball rolling, call Make It Cheaper on 0800 970 0077 and speak to a merchant services specialist. Alternatively, fill out our call back form.