Acquiring is the acceptance of cards to pay for goods. To provide the service, the bank installs terminals in trading networks. Recently, in addition to standard devices, portable mobile terminals have gained popularity, allowing payments to be made without reference to the office location. Which device is better to choose and how to connect the service, read on.
Essence
To use the service, you need to conclude an acquiring agreement. It will spell out the conditions of service, the size of the commission, the period for the reimbursement of funds, etc. Installation and connection of equipment, training of personnel is free of charge. Some banks offer to rent a terminal. This service allows the outlet to increase the number of customers, the turnover of funds, reduce the risks of cash payments and collection costs (at high speeds). According to statistics, the use of terminals allows banks to attract 20-30% of customers.
Background
Acceptance of cards for payment of services in Russia has become mandatory for shops and trading enterprises. Not so long ago, a law was passed according to which organizations that do not accept plastic have been fined 30-50 thousand rubles since 2015. Payment by acquiring attracts more visitors (especially tourists).
The higher the check amount, the higher the likelihood that the client will not have enough cash to pay. In the segment of restaurants and shops, the share of acquiring is growing. In 2015 alone, the number of transactions through plastic cards increased by 18%.
Who does acquiring seem to be?
Alfa-Bank and other lending institutions serve both new and existing customers. Having an account is not an important condition. Just new customers will have to submit more documents to conclude a contract.
Card selection
The minimum set includes Visa and MasterCard cards . If the distribution network is aimed at servicing customers from government agencies, you should also connect Visa Electron, Maestro, MasterCard Electronic. But Diners Club, American Express, as well as Gold and Platinum cards, banks issue only to very wealthy customers.
Reimbursement periods - 1-3 days. If the organization has an account with the acquirer, the total amount of operations minus the commission is credited the next day. If the main service takes place in another organization, then it takes another three days for interbank settlements . Some financial institutions are waiting for a full refund from the systems and then transfer. Then the terms are stretched to three to five days. If there is no opportunity or desire to wait, you can order an urgent payment processing for a fee.
Commission
Remuneration is determined as a percentage of the amount of the purchase. The size is set for each network separately and depends on such factors: field of activity, average monthly turnover, term of work in the market, type of communication, etc. The acquiring commission also depends on intermediaries. A certain percentage (most often 1.1%) of the remuneration received is transferred to the payment system, and another part to the issuing bank. Due to the high competition for acquiring, bank rates on average fluctuate between 1.5-4% of the transaction amount.
The more operations, the lower the maintenance fee. For customers with low turnover, a subscription fee for using the device may be provided. The method of transmitting information (the Internet or by wire) also matters.
Technology
How to set up acquiring? Alfa-Bank or another credit institution, after signing a contract with a client, provides the company with special equipment and programs. Today, POS-terminals are used (Point Of Sale - “point of sale”). This device reads information from the card and communicates with the bank. Terminals are conventional and wireless. The second are more suitable for waiters or couriers. Devices read magnetic tapes and chips.
Information to the bank can be transmitted through:
- dial-up - is cheaper, but the connection takes several minutes;
- GSM, GPRS - need internet;
- Ethernet, Wi-Fi is an instant answer.
Together with the supply of equipment, banks instruct the staff, telling employees how to use the device and cancel payments. A brief instruction on how to configure the device in case of need is also issued. Here's how acquiring works.
Bank Tariffs
A fee may be provided for connecting and configuring third-party equipment. The advantage of using bank terminals is that in case of breakage, replacement or flashing is free of charge. This must be taken into account before making acquiring. Bank rates include “thresholds” for card transactions. For example, if the amount of transactions per month is less than 50 thousand rubles, a commission in the form of a fine or an account maintenance fee may be additionally provided.
It’s easy to activate the service. But before signing an acquiring agreement, you need to carefully study the proposals of banks. When choosing an institution, you need to pay attention to what cards it serves, the size of the commission, the timing of the transfer of funds and other conditions.
Let's consider what tariffs Sberbank provides for acquiring. Depending on the amount of revenue received from cards, the commission may vary in the range of 0.5-2.2% of the amount. In standard tariffs, the cost of equipment is 1.7-2.2 thousand rubles. per month. After filling out the application, the software can be downloaded from the site. Sberbank also offers its customers the opportunity to connect Internet acquiring on individual terms. There are several ready-made solutions for the implementation of content management systems.
Online payments
Internet acquiring is the acceptance of bank cards for payment via the Internet. To provide services, credit institutions and processing centers use a special interface that allows cardholders to make payments on sites. The only difference between this service and the standard one is that the data is not read by the card reader, but entered by the payer in a special form.
Mobile Acquiring
Sberbank and other credit institutions of the country recently began to use wireless mPOS-terminals. In the West, Square, PayPal, iZettle have long served for these purposes. In Russia, analogues appeared: 2Can, LifePay. These devices are intended for IE, exempt from cash registers. They read data from the card, transfer it to the application on a smartphone, tablet. The service asks for the amount, prepares the payment and sends the data to the bank.
In order to connect acquiring to VTB via an mPOS terminal, you need to provide a TIN certificate, PSRN, director’s passport, an agreement on opening an account, a photo of the manager and wait a couple of days. Behind the service of each device is a certain bank. At 2Can, the acquirer is Russian Standard and Otkritie. Prombusinessbank together with Express Volga and Gazenergobank serve LifePay. PrivatBank is engaged in iPay, Alfa-Bank is engaged in Pay-Me, and Svyaznoy is in charge of SumUp.
Mobile acquiring is more expensive. Bank rates are on average 2.5-5% per transaction. The minimum and maximum threshold are also set for the amount of payments and their number. When calculating the effectiveness of a service, it is necessary to take into account the fact that acquiring contributes to the growth of customers by 20-30%. So the costs can be fully justified.
How to make a choice?
Acquiring is necessary for shops, sales offices and places with a point of payment. A comprehensive solution has been developed specifically for networks with a large number of cash registers - this is a program that implements integration with cash registers. Delivery services that not only accept payment, but also issue a check, should connect a hybrid POS terminal. If the amount is small, then people pay with couriers in cash. Mobile acquiring is more suitable for insurance brokers who need to accept payment on a check above the average level. The main part of users of mPOS terminals is private entrepreneurs and companies whose activities are related to receiving payments in inappropriate places: online stores, taxi and freight services, entrepreneurs providing home, medical and other services.