After finding that the UK card acquiring market was not working for businesses with a turnover of £50 million, you might have expected that the Payment Systems Regulatory would have come out with some pretty heavy remedies. While apparently simple, however, these remedies should strike at the heart of the problems, as previously discussed:
- Summary boxes containing key, bespoke information on price and non-price factors must be sent/displayed individually to each merchant for use in connection with...
- New online quotation tools, which acquirers must provide to help merchants compare all available offerings.
- Trigger messages must also be sent/displayed to prompt merchants to shop around, timed to coincide with the expiry of minimum contract terms or, where contracts are indefinite, provided at least once every 30 calendar days.
- Lease/hire contracts for point-of-sale (POS) terminals must be limited to an initial term of 18 months, after which they should be terminable on a maximum of one-month's notice.
The regulator has directed 14 firms to implement the changes to POS terminal contracts from January 2023, and the remedies for summary boxes and trigger messages from July 2023.
The independent sales organisations (ISOs) of those firms must also ensure they are compliant with the requirements.
The PSR will monitor compliance and the impact of the remedies to determine whether any further action is required.
I've advised merchants of all sizes and card acquirers, ISOs and payment facilitators; and these initiatives should aid the work required to search for the right acquiring service and organise a switch.
If you need assistance, please let me know.
