Press release -
Post Office launches new card payment service for SMEs
- New card payments service for small businesses – for online, in-store and on the move
- Over 40 per cent of small businesses visit the Post Office every week
Today the Post Office has launched a new card payment service to help sole traders and small businesses accept card payments from their customers.
With an unrivalled network of around 11,700 branches, the Post Office serves almost half of the UK’s small businesses every week, but many of these four million small businesses could be missing out on an extra 20% of revenue because they are not offering the ability to pay by debit or credit card.
In partnership with
, a leading global provider of payment processing, the Post Office Card Payments service will offer small businesses a range of ways to take secure card payments made in-store, online, via mail or telephone order, or on the move – just by visiting their local Post Office.
New WorldPay research has revealed that 87% of customers are likely to spend more money per transaction when paying with a debit or credit card, as opposed to cash. And in the last year, one in five (20%) UK consumers has had to abandon a purchase due to a small business or sole trader not accepting cards or because they weren’t carrying enough cash to pay*. Now small business owners will be able to easily sign up to take cards so they never miss a sale again.
Making card payments more widely available than ever before, the new service offers card machines for in-store payments or those made via mail or telephone order, and online payment pages for websites. There is also a Pay As You Go option for sole traders and mobile businesses, like hairdressers or beauty therapists, who can sign up to take secure Chip and PIN card payments, anywhere, anytime, with
.
The decline of traditional payment options like cheques and cash means small businesses are increasingly expected to take all major card types and accept international currencies when trading online.
Alan Smith, Head of Payments at the Post Office said: “The Post Office welcomes over 40 per cent of small businesses through our doors each week and we’re confident this new service will make doing business easier for them, which is a big priority for Post Office. More and more shoppers are paying by card and these new services mean that we can help more small businesses offer this flexibility to their customers.”
Dave Hobday, Managing Director of Streamline at WorldPay confirmed, “Of the c.3m small and medium sized businesses in the UK who could take card payments, today only 1m do – which means over 2m are missing out on access to the most reliable payment solutions available to grow their business**. By calling and speaking to a UK-based Post Office agent or signing up online, these businesses can now start taking cards any which way they need to, more quickly and easily than ever before.”
Businesses can pick up a leaflet at their local Post Office branch and apply online at www.postoffice.co.uk/cardpayments or by calling the dedicated team on 0800 240 4442***.
* WorldPay commissioned research of consumer attitudes to payments in 2013. 5176 online interviews were conducted with UK consumers (18+ year olds) during April 2013. Respondents were sampled from a range of regions across the UK. Research was conducted by Loudhouse, an independent research agency based in London.
** Based on SME card penetration survey, First Annapolis data.
*** Freephone from landlines.
About the Post Office:
The Post Office already provides 170 different services and products spanning financial services including savings, insurance, loans, mortgages and credit cards. It also offers telephony; foreign currency; travel insurance and mail services. The Post Office has been serving communities in the UK for over 300 years and is currently one of the fastest growing Financial Services Company in the UK.
The Post Office, now independent of Royal Mail, has an unrivalled national network of around 11,500 branches across the UK, more than all the banks and building societies combined, and sits at the heart of many communities across the country. It serves around 20 million customers a week and half of all small businesses. 99.7% of people live within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet with 93.1% within a mile.
About WorldPay:
is a leading global provider of payment and risk services, giving businesses the ability to accept credit and debit card payments face to face, by phone or online – regardless of size.
WorldPay handles nearly half of all card transactions in the UK, processing over 8.4 billion transactions every year. Unifying seven leading retail payment solutions, it offers services across the entire payment value chain, including acquiring, gateway, alternative payments, risk management, and mobile payments. Our online payment gateways cater for over 200 payment methods in 115 currencies.
About WorldPay Zinc:
WorldPay Zinc
is a pay as you go cards acceptance service designed specifically for sole traders and small businesses with between one and five employees. It’s a low-cost, low-commitment way to accept card payments. The payments terminal is available to buy online and in selected Currys PC World stores for as little as £59.99 (including VAT). The Pay As You Go pricing plan means users only pay for the transactions they make, but there are several options to suit different needs and use cases.
Contact - Gabrielle O’Gara
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About the Post Office
The Post Office (Post Office Limited) has an unrivalled national network of over 11,500 branches across the UK, more than all the high street banks combined, and sits at the heart of communities in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. The Post Office has made a commitment to maintaining its network of branches at its current size and reach. It provides around 170 different products and services spanning financial services including savings, insurance, loans, mortgages and credit cards; Government services; telephony; foreign currency; travel insurance and mail services.
The Post Office serves over 17 million customers a week and a third of small businesses. Some 99.7% of the total population live within three miles of a post office and over 97% live with one mile of a post office. For many rural communities, the post office is the only retail outlet. Post Offices branches remain highly valued and trusted, and are the focal point of many communities. For more information, visit http://www.postoffice.co.uk/.
Please note the Press Office team can only deal with enquiries from the media. Unfortunately they do not have access to customer information so can not help with customer enquiries.
If you have an enquiry regarding any Post Office product or service please visit postoffice.co.uk or call 0845Local call rates apply. Call costs may vary depending on your service provider. Calls may be monitored or recorded for training and compliance purposes. 611 2970.
