Many SMEs (small and medium enterprises) use debit and credit card processing, but there are many out there that have not yet managed to take that step. Out of those who don’t use debit card machines, some of them may tell you that the merchant fees are too high, or they are worried about fraud or something else along the same lines. The truth of the matter is that you will always be able to find an excuse NOT to do something if you are not fully considering your SME’s future.

If ever there was a time to start accepting debit cards and credit cards then this is it. Over the last decade it appears that the UK has started to enjoy a boost in spending using debit cards, all this despite the gloom of the recession.

What are the consumers spending their money on?

According to recent studies by the Daily Mail, UK consumers are spending more money on leisure activities including eating out, drinking and holidays. The Daily Mail and Payments Council estimate that the average person’s disposable income for leisure has doubled from 9% in 1999 to 18% in 2009.

Most SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) will realise now that there is a huge demand for debit card machines, and since Chip and PIN technology emerged retailers without the appropriate card machines have lost out on vital business. The debit card is going to become the payment choice of the population very quickly and it’s happening already.

Chip and PIN technology is as common now as cheque books were twenty years ago. Now however there is a whole new breed of criminals out there on the prowl and they are prepared to steal just about anything from anyone. Gone are the days where a criminal only had to forge a signature however, now they are required to work a little harder; but they have risen to the challenge.

We’re going to talk about the ways in which Chip and PIN machines at point of sale can be more efficient at combating fraud in your place of business. If you are considering installing Chip and PIN machines in your business then you will need to know just how secure they really are.

There is no chance of completely future proofing your business, but there are ways in which you can keep on top of new trends in the retail market and make sure your business is prepared to make the necessary changes required for its development.

Take the Chip and PIN machine for example. For those businesses that were already established before this technology came along, they didn’t have these debit card machines installed and they had to update their cash terminals etc. This couldn’t have been easy for them, and if they chose a credit payment processing company that didn’t provide good offers on the installation of new payment processing equipment then they would have to buy debit card machines before they could even begin to accept debit cards.
You don’t want this to happen to you, so try and make sure that you set aside the funds to protect against this sort of thing.

There are a number of compliance requirements for using a Chip and PIN machine and there are also a number of things you can do to enhance your customer’s use of your Chip and PIN machine. The following are a few tips and steps to take once you have your new debit card terminal(s) installed on your business premises.

• Always put the card into the machine, even if you suspect that it isn’t a Chip and PIN debit card. It’s always best to be sure, and the majority of Chip and PIN Machines will tell you if a signature is required; although there are not many cards that require this anymore.

These days you no longer have to take cash out with you, and that is a simple fact. With contactless technology you can go to your local shop first thing in the morning and buy your newspaper for less than a pound with your debit card. You can also go for a night out with friends without having to take a single penny with you; all you need is your debit card.

Soon there will be no more cheque guarantee cards and that is a fact. This can cause enormous repercussions to the retail industry because there will be no systems in place to verify cheques. This means that bouncing cheques will not be covered, and those businesses that need to accept them will inevitable lose money. Fraudsters are sure to want to take advantage of the phasing out of the cheque guarantee card, so SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) better take advantage of the other payment processing methods available to them and decide which is the lesser of two evils: pay the price of a bounced cheque, or pay the merchant service fee associated with payment processing costs.

Now it appears that the banks are due to make even more money from the credit payment processing business. As if they weren’t making enough from individual merchant accounts, now the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are selling their extremely lucrative WorldPay.

What is WorldPay?

WorldPay are among the ten largest merchant credit card services providers in the US at the moment, so you can imagine that their business is very big business. They offer their services to all business, including small to medium sized businesses, and they have an impressive record of achievement.

There are many reasons to keep a close eye on what is going on in the retail world if you are a retailer yourself, but perhaps one of the more important ones at the moment is payment processing and the different forms available to your customers, not least because there is a striking difference in the merchant fees you pay for the privilege of accepting these payment methods.