Pricing frequently asked questions
What’s a Headline Rate?
The Headline Rate is the standard fee applied to all transactions. This rate includes our costs of processing a transaction plus the Secure Domestic Consumer Interchange Fee set by Mastercard and Visa. We’ve included an example of this below based on a £40 transaction:
What’s a Card Scheme Fee?
These are also known as Assessment Fees and are paid on behalf of you, by us, to Mastercard and Visa. These fees are based on the Card Scheme, for example Debit Mastercard (DMC), and where it’s issued – UK, Europe (other than UK) or internationally issued cards. They also charge fees for ecommerce and mail order/telephone order (MOTO) transactions on their cards.
What’s an Interchange Fee?
Interchange Fees are set by Mastercard and Visa and are dependent on the card type and the method of accepting the transaction. This fee is paid by us, the card processor, to the relevant card issuers to cover their associated costs.
What’s an Additional Transaction Fee (ATF)?
Transactions not classified as Secure Domestic Consumer incur larger Interchange Fees and therefore cost more to process, like those taken on internationally issued or corporate cards. If we process one of these transaction types on your behalf, the relevant rate listed in the ATF Table will be charged in addition to the Headline Rate.
Why is my Electronic Authorisation Fee changing?
We charge a fee for processing authorisations made via your point of sale. These are charged regardless of card type and reflect our costs for processing authorisations. The efficient and timely processing of authorisations is an integral part of our service and we’ve recently invested in this platform to improve our service and benefit our customers.
What is a Pre-Authorisation Fee (PAF)?
Where you select to perform a Pre-Authorisation, a fee of 0.02% (minimum 1p) of the authorisation value will be applied in addition to the service charges applied to the transaction.
What are Processing Integrity Fees (PIF) and Unknow Finality Fee (UFF)?
An authorisation marked as a Final Authorisations that doesn’t meet the above criteria, for example, you don’t send your transactions to us within four days, will attract a Processing Integrity Fee (PIF) of 0.28% (minimum 3.3p) of the transaction value; this is in addition to the service charge applied to the transaction. Similarly, transactions not flagged as Final Authorisation that fall into the qualifying criteria overleaf will attract a 1.1 pence UFF.
It’s your responsibility to ensure you select the correct type of authorisation for the transaction you’re carrying out. Failure to define an authorisation as either a Final Authorisation or a Pre-Authorisation could result in charges being levied by MasterCard, for which you’ll be liable.
If you use your own equipment or use a Payment Service Provider (PSP) to process your transactions, you’re responsible for ensuring that all transactions contain this information. If you’re unsure whether you are flowing the data, or if you know you have not done so already, please upgrade your systems as soon as possible. You will need to refer to your provider to update your equipment.
Can I cancel my card processing facility with you if I’m not happy with these changes?
You can cancel your facility with us by calling us on 0345 604 0285* or email us at [email protected] before these changes come into effect. We won’t charge any additional fees to close your facility apart from any outstanding fees up to the date of closure. However, please consider any agreements you have with another company that may provide you with additional services related to your card processing facility, for example, a card processing terminal. Fees may be payable to them to end the agreement you have with them.
*We’re open for card processing enquiries between 9am - 6pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. If you have a speech or hearing
impairment, you can call us using the Relay Service by dialling 18001 followed by 0345 604 0285. Calls may be recorded. To help us continually improve on our service and in the interests of security, we may monitor and/or record your telephone calls with us. Any recordings remain our sole property.