This week saw Yorkshire based payments broker acceptcards®, launch their latest partner collaboration with banking revolutionary Metro Bank, to deliver an exciting industry first in-store payment proposition.
The length of time it takes for a business to get up and running is a critical factor in determining how successful it will be. Imagine a world where you can visit your bank at 6pm on a Monday evening, without an appointment and walk away with a new business bank account, a debit card, access to online banking and a ready to use multi-channel card payment solution.
Well, thanks to a collaboration between Yorkshire based payments specialist acceptcards® and banking revolutionary Metro Bank, from the 19th March 2018 this service is now available to UK businesses for the first time ever.
Metro Bank have offered on-the-spot current account opening for some time now and it has, unsurprisingly, proven to be a huge success. The introduction of a complementary ready to go merchant services solution is the cherry on the cake for today’s convenience hungry entrepreneur.
Craig Donaldson, CEO at Metro Bank said: “Business owners are time-pressured enough and often have ever-growing to do lists. We don’t want them to be held back by anything, but the limits of their ambition. By joining forces with acceptcards®, we’re making things even more convenient and streamlined for our customers, meaning they can get up, running and trading in a matter of hours, rather than days – if not weeks.”
Founded and operated by payment industry experts, acceptcards® was set up in 2005 to offer a specialist point of contact for all aspects of card acceptance. From their office in Halifax, West Yorkshire, they assist businesses all over the UK to find the best payment solutions for their individual needs. Although business owners can, and do, contact them direct, the majority of enquiries arrive via an established network of professional referral partners such as accountants, trade associations and non-acquiring banks.
Richard Bradley, CEO at acceptcards® commented: “Our focus has always been on finding new and innovative ways for our partners to support their customers’ payment needs. Having worked with Metro Bank for some time now, we knew that a highly convenient, in-store payment solution would sit perfectly with their revolutionary approach to serving business customers.”
Using their extensive industry knowledge and expertise, acceptcards® considered various options from a wide range of payment service providers, before selecting the right one for Metro Bank and their customers. The multi-channel payment solution provides customers with the ability to take face-to-face payments through a contactless-enabled chip and PIN card reader, over the telephone using a secure virtual terminal or the via internet using payment buttons and e-payment requests.
The service is completely pay-as-you go with no fixed term contracts. All Visa and MasterCard transactions are charged at a simple flat rate of 1.75%, access to telephone and online payments is free of charge and for those wishing to take face to face payments via a card reader, the devices can be purchased for a £99 (+vat) or rented for £6.50 (+vat) per month.
The solution is branded acceptcards® and it will be their highly-experienced team delivering first line support, however, the clever technology that’s powering this particular solution is supplied by their long-term partner, PayaCardServices.
Bill Thomson, MD at PayaCardServices stated: “We are thrilled to be working with acceptcards and Metro Bank, providing the technology which enables instant decisions and onboarding capability that allows businesses to start accepting card payments immediately. Our multichannel proposition allows customers to take cards in ways which suit their business needs, with all transactional information available online and in one place.”
Metro Bank has begun a phased rollout of the acceptcards® pay as you go service across 10 of its stores and expects to offer the service across its entire store network by the end of the year.
If you are a Metro Bank business customer who would like to apply for the solution but you are not close to a store that is offering the service yet, please get in touch with acceptcards® via the contact page or using the details provided below.
