New terms on card-machine deals 

Card machine providers are now required to give retailers pricing comparisons and alerts when their contracts are up for renewal. 

This year, the Payment Services Regulator (PSR) introduced rules to improve the service retailers receive from 14 card reader providers: Worldpay, SumUp, Stripe, PayPal, Lloyds, First Data, Elavon, Barclays, Adyen, Chase, EVO, First Merchant Processing, GPUK and Square. 

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The latest part of the restrictions implemented in July were designed to help retailers “get the best deal possible” at the end of their contracts. Providers must offer summary boxes containing pricing information. This can also be used next to an online quotation tool, allowing stores to compare different providers. The firms must also provide alerts prompting retailers to shop around. 

When it was introduced in January, the PSR’s restrictions also capped the maximum duration of terminal leasing and rental contracts to 18 months. However, one senior payments expert, who asked not to be named, warned of rising card terminal prices to offset the smaller contracts: “The average contract used to be three-to-four years. Now the PSR restrictions have had time to be embedded, some of the 14 providers might increase the monthly price to make up for the shorter contract. 

“It is more expensive, but it’s worth remembering that it might balance out due to the reduction in length.”