Accepting credit and debit cards

Try getting some figures from

- i'm not a user of theirs other than as an end-customer, but i've had no problems with any site carrying out their transactions using it.

Don't use HSBC, or any of the high street banks. Worldpay, Protx and SecPay are probably the most common (and best) payment gateway providers for small businesses. Take a look at their websites and compare costs.

Not all provders have a maintenance charge, and some make it optional. Protx, for example, give the choice of lower transaction fees with a maintenance charge, or no maintenance charge but higher transaction fees. Other providers have similar selections. Depending on your usage, you may be better off with a maintenance charge or paying just transaction fees - you need to do the maths and make some comparisons before deciding.

Mark

Cheers. Checked out worldpay and protx. They appear though to require a merchant account. Is that not what i'm paying hsbc for? When i speak to hsbc they say the fees are for the merchant account? Anymore suggestions. Cheers

Worldpay don't require you to have a separate merchant account - they'll do an all-in-one bundle which includes it as part of the cost.

For larger volumes, it will be cheaper to get your merchant account directly from your own bank, even if you use a different gateway provider (which I'd still recommend, due to the shonkyness of those provided by HSBC et al - the advantage of Worldpay, Protx etc is that they are dedicated Internet payment providers and hence understand the needs of Internet customers much better. Check a few online shops, and you'll see Worldpay, Protx and Secpay payment screens much more often than you'll see one fom HSBC). But for most entry-level sellers, you'll usually get the best deal by going fo an all-in-one package.

Mark