The questions merchants actually ask.

A bank-style account that receives the money from your card sales first, before it moves into your normal business current account. It sits between the card networks and your bank, and may be bundled with a terminal or checkout, or kept separate.

An acquirer is licensed by the card schemes to settle transactions and carries the underwriting risk. A gateway securely passes transaction data to the acquirer. A PSP (payment service provider) packages a gateway, and sometimes acquiring, into a single product. One company can perform several of these roles.

A Merchant Identification number — a unique ID for your business in the acquirer’s systems. It links your transactions, settlements and disputes to you. A business can have several, for example one per site or trading channel.

Yes. A virtual terminal lets you key in card details on a secure page for phone or mail-order payments, and payment links send a one-off hosted payment page by text or email. Both suit invoices, deposits and phone orders.

Yes. Modern contactless terminals accept Apple Pay and Google Pay just like a contactless card, and most hosted checkouts can show them as one-tap options on mobile.

Usually, yes. Providers will look more closely at your plans, and some may start you on slower settlement or hold a small reserve until you’ve built up a history. We’ll tell you what to expect before you apply.

Providers must run Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) checks. These confirm who owns and runs the business, which bank account will receive settlements, and what you sell. It’s an industry-wide regulatory requirement — and the main factor in how quickly you can go live.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard sets rules for handling card data. Most smaller merchants comply by completing an annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) and using compliant terminals or hosted checkouts, so raw card numbers stay off their systems. The less card data you handle, the fewer obligations you have. Lapsed compliance can trigger provider fees, so keep it current.

3DS2 is the authentication step in online card payments, where a customer may confirm a purchase in their banking app. It shifts fraud liability on authenticated transactions to the card issuer and is generally required for most UK and EU online payments under Strong Customer Authentication rules. Good setups only challenge risky payments.

Providers typically expect clear products and prices, terms and conditions, a refund and returns policy, a privacy policy, contact details and HTTPS across the site. We’ll check these with you before applying.

A chargeback is when a cardholder’s bank reverses a payment while it investigates a dispute. To defend it, you provide evidence the transaction was legitimate — receipts, proof of delivery, communications and authorisation records. Clear refund policies and fraud checks are the cheapest way to reduce chargebacks.

It’s how long cleared funds take to reach your bank after a sale: one business day for T+1, three for T+3. Authorisation takes about a second, but bank transfers take days. Timing depends on the acquirer, the card scheme and your account terms.

A percentage of your takings held back by the provider for a set period, to cover potential refunds or chargebacks. It’s more common for new businesses, online sellers and those taking payment well before delivery. It should be disclosed up front, along with how and when it’s released.

Interchange is a wholesale fee set by the card networks and paid to the cardholder’s bank — no provider can waive it. Scheme fees go to Visa and Mastercard, and the acquirer adds its own margin. Interchange++ itemises all three so you can see the cost and the markup separately. Blended pricing combines them into one rate, which is simpler but less transparent.

Blended pricing applies one flat rate to all card types. Interchange-plus passes through the actual interchange and scheme fees and adds a fixed, visible margin. Blended is more predictable; interchange-plus is more transparent and can be cheaper depending on your card mix.

A small per-transaction charge for checking a card is valid and has funds, separate from the percentage rate. It applies even to low-value payments and can make a headline rate look cheaper than the true cost.

Check the minimum term and auto-renewal, whether terminal rental is separate and how long it lasts, minimum monthly charges, PCI non-compliance fees and early-exit charges. These often add more cost than the headline rate, so terminal terms deserve the same scrutiny as transaction rates.

Sometimes. Amex is often priced and enabled separately from Visa and Mastercard. International and commercial cards usually carry higher interchange, so share your typical card mix when asking for a quote.

It depends on your terms. Sometimes waiting for the notice window is cheapest; sometimes the savings outweigh an exit fee. Send us your statement and agreement and we’ll work out which applies to you.