Every day, Australians make 6 million card transactions, which are handled by more than 760,000 EFTPOS terminals – and it can feel like you have just as many options when it comes to EFTPOS providers.
Should you go with your bank? Or a new tech company? Or a local payments expert like Smartpay?
It feels overwhelming, but it does not need to be. All you need to do is focus on what is important to your business.
How to work out what EFTPOS features matter to your business.
If you are not clear on what matters to your business, you can look at what others think.
When Canstar surveyed Australian retailers about merchant services, they found retailer satisfaction was driven by: –
21% Customer Service,20% Fees/Charges, 20% Speed of Service/Transaction, 15% Reliability,13% Online Reporting, 11% Device Functionality.
Why Customer Service Is So Important
Payments are the lifeblood of any business. That is why merchants rate customer service importance so highly.
When looking at an EFTPOS provider, you might consider:
Do they offer 24/7 support?
Can you call an expert or are you stuck with a chatbot?
Is the customer team based in Australia or overseas?
Smartpay provides an easy plug and play set up with remote software updates to make your life hassle free.
Fees and Charges
Two out of three Australian merchants believe they could get a better deal on EFTPOS fees by shopping around – but less than one in four will switch their current provider.
Why is that?
Probably because there are so many different fee structures for Merchant Services out there, and this can make comparing options confusing.
All-inclusive monthly plans (like what the banks’ offer) will have you paying for transactions you do not use, while interchange plus will have you scratching your head with all the different charges for different cards.
Smartpay’s Simple Flat Rate is a straight-forward and transparent option that offers simplified competitive rates and is easy to compare.
You can instead choose to wipe out all Merchant Fees by passing the costs on to customers with Smart Charge.
You might be surprised, but most customers do not mind paying a surcharge when it is done right.
If you are like most businesses, you want to get paid quickly.
If you trade during the weekend, check the provider settles weekend trading too, so the money is in your account on Monday.
Also check if a provider verifies you and your business before they set you up. If they do not verify you properly at sign up, they could withhold your funds later to check details they should have been confirmed earlier.
Future- Proofing your payment solution.
Unless you are a pop-up shop, you want an EFTPOS provider who is thinking about the future.
You want to know they will be here for you today with reliable hardware, and there for you tomorrow with smart innovations.
You might ask:
• How simple is this solution to set up?
• How easy is it for my staff to use?
• Who maintains the security software?
• How can I connect to the network? Fixed line, Wi-Fi or mobile?
• How easy is it to upgrade terminals?
• Can we integrate with a POS system like Vend?
• Can we accept Chinese mobile payments like Alipay or WeChat Pay?
Future proof your business with a terminal that works the way you demand.
Smartpay does not just sell EFTPOS solutions, we develop and maintain our own payment hardware and software too.
That allows us to focus on the innovations that matter to Australian businesses, like Alipay and WeChat or POS Integrations, and make this available sooner.
