With over 40,000 UK customers and a team of 90 local payment consultants, Payzone’s merchant account services are very much focused on the British small-to-medium-sized business market. They’re about to go through a major rebranding exercise but, at time of writing, they are still offering payment solutions to business under their own brand.
In this article, we’ll share you with:
- The history of Payzone and why you might already know the name
- The cards accepted by Payzone
- The three terminals offered to clients for payment processing
- How to accept online, phone, and email payments via Payzone
- Payzone’s impressive EPOS system
- Security compliance and Payzone
- What you can expect from their customer services department
- Reviews of Payzone on the internet, and
- How to decide whether Payzone is the right merchant services account company for you.
Who is Payzone?
Payzone has been a familiar name on British High Streets and in corner shops for the last 25 years as a place where consumers could make payments towards their utility bills and, if they were on prepayment metres, top up their energy keys.
What’s not as well known is that there were actually two parts to Payzone’s business – the payment services division and the merchant services division. The merchant services division allows businesses to take credit and debit card payments from their customers by phone, in person, or online.
Payzone sold its payment services division to the Post Office in 2018. In order to avoid a clash of brands with the Post Office, the company renamed itself Takepayments in January 2020. At time of writing, Takepayments will start to rebrand the Payzone merchant services division over the coming 12 to 24 months.
Which cards do Payzone accept?
Payzone accepts all major credit and debit cards, including MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Maestro. All of their physical equipment supports contactless payments from Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay.
Taking contactless payment is now a real competitive advantage for businesses as more than 100 million transactions a year under £30 are processed using this method, according to the UK Cards Association. It’s always unwise not to allow customers to use the method of payment they want to use, after all.
Next day settlement is offered on sales transacted through PayZone’s countertop, mobile, and portable card payment services assuming the payment is processed by Barclaycard (otherwise settlement takes three to four working days). This means that all the previous card payments you took on the previous working day will be paid into your business current account on the following day (except for Saturday and Sunday transactions which are both paid on Monday).
Payzone’s card payment machines
There are currently three options for businesses wishing to take credit and debit card payments from customers in person.
Payzone countertop card payment machine
Ideal for reception points, high street stores, and corner shops, the Payzone countertop card payment machine is the recommended device for companies whose customers pay at a fixed location within their premises. The countertop machine is also recommended for beauty parlours, hairdressers, takeaways, cafes, and retail stores.
The device connects to both broadband and PSTN phone lines and includes the latest card security, quick printing of customer receipts, and the ability to provide customers with cashback.
Link to Payzone countertop card payment machine.
Payzone mobile card payment machine
The Payzone mobile card payment machine connects to the 3G network allowing you to take payment wherever you can get a signal – they’re ideal for tradesmen, couriers, mobile caterers, taxi drivers, and businesspeople who mainly meet their clients away from the office.
Link to Payzone mobile card payment machine.
Payzone portable card payment machine
The Payzone portable card payment machine is ideal for companies which want to be able to take card payments where their customers are seated rather than asking them to come to a fixed point in their premises. The types of businesses which use portable card payment machines the most are cafes, pubs, bars, and restaurants.
The Payzone portable card payment machine connects to its base unit within a 50m radius by Bluetooth. When not in use, the handset should be placed in its own charging base unit (supplied) so that it can take payments from customers during the time your business is open.
Link to Payzone portable card payment machine.
Payzone and online, phone, and email payment acceptance
Payzone’s online payment gateway gives your business the option to accept payments from a web store or an app. Their gateway is compatible with over 50 different UK shopping cart platforms and it’s supplied with a user-friendly Merchant Management System.
You can fully customise the feel and look of the branding of your online store and there is a specific Developer Zone containing an encyclopaedia of information about integrating the gateway with your online store. If you need more help, developer support is also offered by the company.
Payzone’s virtual terminal gives you the ability to take payments over the phone – ideal for mail order businesses where a certain level of transactions are closed and completed over the phone. Rather than asking your client to make payment by BACS, you can simply collect the customer’s card details on the phone and process payment there and then.
Payzone accepts payment in 17 currencies with secure payment protection via its online Merchant Management System.
Payzone’s Pay by Link service allows you to generate an email containing an embedded link which allows a customer to make card payment via an online secure portal. You’re notified straight away when a client makes a payment and your client can settle in multiple currencies. Built into the Pay by Link service is IP address checking, AVS, 3D security, and CV2 checks.
Payzone EPOS system
Payzone offers a range of customisable EPOS systems from £65 – no deposit or upfront payments are required and included within the monthly fee is the rental for your card machine.
The Payzone EPOS system allows you to:
- manage staff performance, pay, and rotas,
- easily see sales performance, stock levels, and customer trends,
- build your own company-specific information dashboards and reports for instant access to business-critical information, and
- view real-time sales data
You’re able to control your stock levels through the system, monitor staff performance levels against your company’s internal key performance indicators, and access detailed and insightful reports on auditing, accounting, banking, staff, customers, stocks, and sales.
The right EPOS within your business helps you understand which products and which staff members are performing well. You always make better business decisions with accurate and up-to-date information and the Payzone EPOS system seems to provide the level of granular reporting and user friendliness you would expect from a modern system.
Payzone’s tariffs
Payzone’s minimum contractual term is 12 months – there is no joining fee or exit fee however there is very little information available on its website about monthly tariffs and transaction charges.
It may be that Payzone, like many other merchant services providers, prefers to do deals on a customer by customer basis so, if you do decide to contact them for a quote, it may be a good idea to have 2-3 quotes from their competitors to encourage them to reduce prices from their initial offer.
Payzone merchant cash advances
Payzone do not currently offer merchant cash advances to its clients.
Payzone security compliance
Payzone offer all customers direct contact with their team of specialists to ensure PCI compliance – help is available to their newest customers to help them get up and running as quickly as possible.
Payzone customer support
Payzone’s customer services team are available to speak with you on weekdays between 8am and 7pm, on Saturdays between 9am and 5pm, and on Sundays between 9am and 1pm. They’re also open on Bank Holiday Mondays between 9am and 5pm.
Payzone’s reviews
Payzone are rated as excellent on Trustpilot scoring 4.5 out of 5 from over 6,900 reviews. 83% of respondents rate the company’s performance as five out of five and the company finishes 14th in the league table of 25 different card processing services.
Is Payzone the right merchant services provider for your company?
Payzone are a highly experienced company with a strong management team and a commitment to looking after their customers well – their positive feedback on Trustpilot demonstrates just how well they do this.
We have a couple of issues though.
First, while their range of handsets are reliable and sturdily built, we are disappointed that its mobile card reader does not offer Wi-Fi connectivity in addition to 3G connectivity. In areas of the country with poor reception, there is a higher likelihood that a transaction will not be able to be processed and an ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network would be helpful. Most of Payzone’s competitors’ similar products do allow both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity in addition to 3G or 4G connectivity.
Second, their Pay by Link service is also useful but, in its current form, it’s
not as useful as some competitors’ offerings which allow you to create an
invoice with an embedded link. The Pay by Link service offered by Payzone is
literally just an email with a link in it – because your invoice is not
connected to the email, we worry that it might not have the push required for
many customers to prompt them to settle up.
If the ability to take payments anywhere regardless of mobile signal is important or you want to be able to issue invoices from your merchant services app rather than just an email reminder, it might be better to look elsewhere. If not, it could certainly be worth a call just as long as you have quotes from other merchant services providers you can encourage them to compete against.
If you want help choosing the right merchant services provider for your company, please fill in the form at the top of this page. We’ll get in touch and find out more about you so that we can find the 3-4 merchant services providers offering the range of products and support that you need at the best possible prices. We don’t charge for our service and there’s no obligation to accept any of the quotes we find for you.