How to accept Credit Cards without the monthly charges

If you’re running a small business you’re already seeing the need to start accepting card payments and you’ve probably looked into it but was frightened off by the banks and their charges.

In this post I’ll talk you through how your business can accept card payments online, over the phone or in person all without the monthly bank charges.

This is not a complete list of options or a comparison of services. What I’m listing here are the options I’ve personally looked at for myself and my clients and what I’ve ended up using.

First, the easiest way to collect payment online is through PayPal. Signing up for a PayPal account is free and simple to use. Once up and running you can send and request money from people or they can send you money using your email address. To get the most out of it for your business you’ll need to upgrade your personal account to a business account through the settings here https://www.paypal.com/myaccount/settings/. Once upgraded your business will be able to send out invoices and take payments through your website.

An alternative to PayPal is Stripe. Stripe in an online payment gateway and although you can process payments through their website it’s really meant to be connected to other platforms. Free accounting platforms like Wave and ZipBooks allow you to send out invoices and get paid online, processing the payment through Stripe or PayPal.

If you need a physical terminal in your business then there are multiple options available that are not tied to the banks and monthly charges. From my own dealings the one I recommend is SumUp. There are 2 options with SumUp, you can get a terminal and use the app on your phone or tablet or there is a standalone 3G terminal that works over the mobile network and has no need for an additional app. Both process most cards and can handle contactless and Apple and Android pay. To get a discount on prices use the following referral link http://fbuy.me/lcPZB.

Recommendation

My recommendation for any small business looking to accepted card and online payments is to:

1. Sign up with PayPal and get a business account
2. Create a Stripe account (to be used within other software or process over the phone payment)
3. If needed get a SumUp terminal

If you have any questions or suggestion please contact me.