Paymentsense are one of the world’s fastest growing merchant services providers and they’ve recently passed the 30,000 customer benchmark here in the UK. Merchant services providers are the companies which allow your business to take credit and debit card payments from customers online, in person, and over the phone.
This is a hugely competitive sector with new challengers launching frequently each of which offers their own array of card payment machines, online payment gateways, tariffs, and transaction fees.
In this article reviewing the Paymentsense service, we share with you:
- Who are Paymentsense and what is their history?
- Which cards do Paymentsense process for their merchants?
- The three Paymentsense physical card payment machines
- How to take payments online, over the phone, and by email with Paymentsense
- Three EPOS systems which work with the Paymentsense platform
- Paymentsense’s tariffs and approach to pricing
- How Paymentsense will guide you through PCI DSS compliance over the phone
- When their customer services teams are available to speak with
- The mixed reviews about Paymentsense online and the reasons behind them, and
- Whether you should consider Paymentsense as your potential merchant services provider?
Who is Paymentsense?
Paymentsense is the UK trading division of First Data, one of North America’s largest online sales processes. Paymentsense work with 30,000 merchants in the UK and their main focus is on the provision of ecommerce payment solutions and countertop solutions.
Although there is not currently much of an internal focus in the business on the development of mobile payment software, they have had the foresight to leave their platform sufficiently open for third parties to create bespoke apps which add to the functionality of their platform.
Which cards do Paymentsense accept?
Paymentsense accept American Express, Maestro, MasterCard, and Visa. Their card payment machines are also contactless-payment ready and are provided with the ability to take Google Pay and Apple Pay out of the box.
Paymentsense’s card payment machines
Paymentsense have a choice of three different card payment machines for their customers to use for face to face transactions. Each of the Paymentsense card payment machines can be connected to whatever point of sale system you’re using via the cloud to provide your business with a company-wide integrated payments solution.
Paymentsense Countertop card payment machine
Ideal for companies with a fixed point of payment (like a retail store or a café), the Paymentsense Countertop card payment machine connects to either your broadband or phone line enabling you to process payments within seconds.
Link to Paymentsense Countertop card payment machine.
Paymentsense Portable card payment machine
Allowing to take payments from where your customers are sitting or standing up to 100m away from the base station, the Paymentsense Portable card payment machine allows you to take payment quicker from customers and achieve a faster turnaround of tables or a quicker experience at the bar.
Link to Paymentsense Portable card payment machine.
Paymentsense Mobile card payment machine
Connecting direct to Paymentsense’s network via GPRS, the PaymentSense Mobile card payment machine is the ideal solution for tradespeople, consultants, and business people who do business away from their office or retail premises. The unit features a large battery allowing all day operation between charges.
Link to Paymentsense Mobile card payment machine.
Paymentsense and online, phone, and email payment acceptance
Paymentsense offer three different payment gateways allowing clients to take payments over the phone, online, and via email.
Its online payment gateway gives clients the ability to accept payments online via their internet site. You can customise your payment page to match the branding, colour, fonts, and layout of your site or you can integrate it into over 40 different shopping cart system. You can take payment in multiple currencies and the system provides full fraud protection and security checks.
Many companies, especially in the B2B sector chasing up overdue payments, rely on the ability to take card payments over the phone to collect late payments and to improve their cash flow. This is also possible on the Paymentsense platform with the virtual terminal service.
Paymentsense EPOS system
Paymentsense have partnered with Epos Now and iPOS to provide EPOS services to its clients.
The Epos Now system (£1,199 outright purchase or £47 a month) is used by 10,000s of hospitality and retail businesses in the UK and it gives clients the ability to sell, edit, or add any type of product and to track stocking levels. The Epos Now system also features an app store allowing connectivity to apps like QuickBooks and Sage.
The ShopTill-e system allows for integration of both retail and online sales channels (including Amazon and eBay) for product catalogues (and associated data), stock control, gift vouchers, discounts, promotions, order fulfilments, exchanges, and returns.
Paymentsense’s tariffs
Paymentsense don’t publish tariffs for their face to face payment services in common with many other merchant services providers. The thinking behind this approach is that each customer will get their own individual deal however you can skew this to your advantage by having three to four quotes ready from other suppliers which you can invite Paymentsense to compete against.
They do publish indicative tariffs for their payment gateways services though. For companies expecting to process up to £250,000 a year or less of credit and debit card payments, they charge £8.30 a month. If you expect to do £250,000 to £1.2m a year, the charge is £12.45 a month with amounts above that attracting a £16.60 a month charge. Expect to haggle over transaction fees during your negotiations though.
Paymentsense security compliance
PaymentSense offer their merchants the opportunity to achieve PCI DSS compliance over the phone. A security expert will help you complete the necessary paperwork and also help you understand the importance of compliance as part of their PCI Phone Validation service.
Paymentsense customer support
Paymentsense offer 24/7 support to its account holders by phone and they offer an extensive knowledge based help centre to clients wanting to find solutions to any issues they’re having before they get in touch with customer services representatives.
Can I borrow money from Paymentsense based on my card turnover?
Paymentsense does not currently offer merchant cash advances to its clients.
Paymentsense’s reviews
With a Trustpilot rating of 4.5 out of 5 from over 5,500 reviews. 79% rate Paymentsense’s performance as five out of five and the company finishes 17th in the league table of 25 different card processing services.
There is a lot of ire towards Paymentsense online for various different reasons though. Some companies have complained about being persuaded to take out a 5-year contract with very high exit fees if they want to leave the contract early.
There have been complaints about unexpected charges appearing on statements including PCI compliance fees, terminal replacement fees, and statement fees as well.
However, these exit fees will have been included in the terms and conditions and it’s vitally important that whatever products or service you’re procuring anything for your business, that you thoroughly understand the terms and conditions before you agree to them.
Before signing with any company, Paymentsense included, be as sure as you can be about the likely level of charges you’ll be paying on an ongoing basis.
You should always be wary signing any contract for more than 12 months because a lot can change during that time and, if you’re locked in with a supplier for much longer than that, you may miss out on better deals which might appear in the future. In addition, a longer contract with a supplier reduces your negotiating power with them if you’re trying to persuade them to drop prices or compensate you for failings in their level of service.
Is Paymentsense the right merchant services provider for your company?
Paymentsense’s range of services compare favourably to its competitors even if there is not a great deal of transparency on the company’s transaction charges and other fees.
Some of the reviews posted about them on TrustPilot, Review Centre, and CardPaymentOptions may also give potential customers cause for concern. The customers who like PaymentSense really like them and the customers who genuinely detest PaymentSense genuinely detest them. While not wanting to underplay the validity of any complaints made against the company on any online review platform, passions can become inflamed during the middle of a dispute.
Many of the very negative comments appear to have been made before a final resolution to that client’s issue has been agreed and we don’t know whether a customer’s opinion has become a positive opinion following resolution.
All business owners, whether signing up for merchant services or waste collection, should, as a matter of duty, negotiate the best terms possible on price, length of contract, and dispute resolution. As we mentioned earlier in this piece, why commit your business to 5 years with a supplier when a bit of haggling could secure you pretty much the same terms with a 12 month tie in? You may also wish to employ a solicitor to read the T&Cs to flag any worrying terms on your behalf.
Is Paymentsense the right merchant services provider for your company? There isn’t enough information to say “yes” but given their size, financial strength, and investment in their infrastructure, there’s enough there not to rule them out of contention either.
If you want help to find the right merchant services provider for your business, please leave your details with us at the top of the page. One of our merchant services account managers will get in touch with you to find out as much about you and your company so that we can find the most suitable suppliers and packages for you. Our aim is to provide you with three to four competitive quotes so that you have all the information you need to make the right decision.
Our service costs you nothing and there is no obligation on you to sign up to the services of any merchant account provider whose package we recommend for your consideration.