FAQs
For images of the EFTPOS terminals being offered by each PSP, please refer to the individual PSP Profile pages – click on the PSP logos on the Payment Service Provider Panel page to access the individual PSP profile pages.
For settlement cut-off times and settlement days, please refer to the Tools and FAQs section of each individual PSP Profile page – click on the PSP logos on the Payment Service Provider Panel page to access the individual PSP profile pages.
Some banks (e.g. ANZ, NAB, Westpac) will provide a chain/group merchant statement which summarises all the stores, in which case that is the only merchant statement we need uploaded. Our Contact Form only allows you to upload a single merchant statement, so if you have multiple stores but utilise Commonwealth Bank or another PSP that does not provide a summary merchant statement for all stores, then please email the additional merchant statements (PDF format) to info@paymentsconsulting.com noting the following:
Subject: [your company name] – merchant statements for additional stores
Email text: Please note that a Contact Form has already been submitted with our company and contact details, including the merchant statement for one store in the group. Attached are the merchant statements for the remaining stores in the group. Please prepare a Pricing Comparison for the group.
There is no need to change existing business banking arrangements if you elect to move to a new PSP for merchant services.
All PSPs supporting the Pricing Comparison service can settle into any Australian business banking account.
You will need to check directly with the PSP whether their EFTPOS terminal integrates with your specific POS system – please refer to the Payment Service Provider Information pages for relevant contact details, resources and links.
Note that major banks typically use Linkly for POS integrations. Suncorp, Live Payments and Fiserv also use Linkly for POS integrations. Refer to the Linkly list of accredited POS vendors for further information.
SmartPay does direct POS integrations rather then using a third party such as Linkly – please contact SmartPay to confirm that your POS system is supported.
Not necessarily.
All Payment Service Providers supporting the Pricing Comparison service enable least-cost routing as standard (which means multi-network contactless debit card transactions are routed to the lowest cost network, typically eftpos). Most industry offers to the liquor industry (e.g. NAB, Till Payments, CBA) leverage Metcash strategic merchant rates which require routing of multi-network contactless debit card transactions to Visa and Mastercard. As the card mix when least-cost routing is enabled is very different, it is not possible to make a decision just by comparing the rate schedules.
To compare the offers, you need to ask the alternate provider to give you an annual fee estimate based on the same merchant statement that you submitted to the RDA Pricing Comparison service and then compare this to the reports we have provided you.
As an example of the potential impact of a routing difference, a Visa/Mastercard debit transaction with average value of $45 at a MSF % of 0.343% would incur a MSF of $0.15435, which would be 54% higher than if it was routed to eftpos at a $0.10 transaction fee.
It is also important to understand with flat all-inclusive rates, how this differs from the rates applied previously for each card type. For example, if a single flat rate is applied to all card transactions, then eftpos transactions that may previously have incurred a lower transaction fee, $0.10 in the above example, would now be charged at the flat 0.343% rate incurring a higher $0.15435 transaction fee.
The high fee savings are achieved through a combination of the following:
- More competitive pricing, particularly for eftpos transactions fees; and
- Least-cost routing, which means multi-network contactless debit card transactions are being routed to the lowest cost network, typically eftpos.
The enablement of least-cost routing means that you will see a change in the card mix with a higher share of transactions flowing to eftpos (away from Visa debit and Mastercard debit).
- The service is operated by Payments Consulting Network, an Australian owned independent consulting firm.
- For further information, please refer to the About Us section.
- This is an information service only and Payments Consulting Network does not make any suggestion or recommendation to select any particular Payment Service Provider (PSP).
- This is not a tender or request for proposal service and utilises custom pricing made available by the PSPs supporting the service.
- While we attempt to include the most competitive PSPs in the service, we have not assessed all PSPs available in the Australian market, and there may be other PSPs that could potentially provide better pricing.
- The Pricing Comparison will be based on the information provided by you on your current payments arrangements and volumes sourced from the merchant statements. The analysis will not consider your integration requirements, detailed objectives, future projections, or a comprehensive list of requirements. We will however provide you with relevant links to the PSP’s website so that you can assess the PSPs to make an informed decision.
- Before acting on the information that we provide, it is important that you make your own assessment and review all the relevant documentation provided by the PSP on their website. Additional terms, conditions and fees may apply to different features.
- If you decide to apply for a new PSP facility, you will be dealing directly with that PSP and not with Payments Consulting Network. Pricing and product information should be confirmed with the PSP.
- While Payments Consulting Network has referral agreements with the payment service providers supporting the service, no referral fees are paid by these organisations to Payments Consulting Network. Instead, should you make a successful application using the enquiry link provided with the Pricing Comparison, these organisations will make a referral payment to our charity partners – The Funding Network Australia or The Life You Can Save. PCN receives no income from a merchant signing up with any of the payment service providers supporting the Pricing Comparison service and provides this as a community service as part of PCN’s Giving Program.
- We would appreciate that you please only leverage this service once you have already checked for better pricing with your existing provider, and only if you are willing to consider and change service providers to one of the service providers supporting the service.
- We require information on your business (e.g. company name, website), how you accept payments (in-store, online), payment volumes and fee structure (e.g. copies of relevant merchant statements).
- Please refer to the FAQ on merchant statements for further information.
Merchant statements can come in many formats and it is important that you provide all the necessary information. We have provided guidance below on what information we require:
- ANZ Bank
- Please provide a full merchant statement for a month that is representative of typical monthly sales.
- If you operate more than one store, please provide the merchant statement for the consolidated group.
- If you receive a rebate on eftpos cash-out transactions, please let us know what that amount is the rate often cannot be determined from ANZ Bank merchant statements. The eftpos cash-out rebate amount can be found in the fee schedule that forms part of your Merchant Services Agreement with ANZ Bank.
- Commonwealth Bank
- Please provide full merchant statements for each individual store for a month that is representative of typical monthly sales.
- Please also provide the most recent June merchant statement as this also shows 12 months cost of acceptance data.
- Fiserv
- Please provide full merchant statements for each individual store for a month that is representative of typical monthly sales.
- National Australia Bank
- Please provide a full merchant statement for a month that is representative of typical monthly sales.
- If you operate more than one store, please provide the merchant statement for the consolidated group.
- Tyro
- Once you login into the Tyro merchant portal:
- Select “Self-service” from the main menu. This will take you to the Surcharges tab. Please print this page as a PDF, ensuring the “Cost of acceptance breakdown” is printed and provide this file.
- Select “Reports” from the main menu. Select the “Transactions” tab. Select 1 March 2021 as the “Start date” and 31 March 2021 as the “End date”, then click “Generate report”. Once it has been generated, go to the bottom of the report/screen and click the “Excel” button to export the report, and provide this file. If you have more than one EFTPOS terminal, run this report for each terminal and export as an Excel file.
- Select “Reports” from the main menu. Select the “Reconciliation: summary” tab. Select a month that is representative of typical monthly sales, then click “Generate report”. Once it has been generated, go to the bottom of the report/screen and click the “Excel” button to export the report, and provide this file.
- Please also send a copy of your Tyro merchant services agreement pricing schedule which includes details on your monthly terminal rentals and merchant service fees, and other charges.
- Westpac
- Please provide full merchant statements for each individual store for a month that is representative of typical monthly sales.
- If you operate more than one store, please provide the merchant statement for the consolidated group.
- Please also provide the most recent June merchant statement as this also shows 12 months cost of acceptance data.
Merchant services fee structures are complex and the underlying costs are subject to change (e.g. interchange fees and scheme fees typically change annually) and the competitive dynamics of the market also mean that payment service providers will update their pricing at times to respond to changes. Hence, it is common for merchant statement formats to change. Our Pricing Comparison fee savings calculator can support many merchant statement formats already, however, if it is a new merchant statement format, then it can take us 2-3 weeks to update the fee savings calculator to support this. We let you know if this is the case and appreciate your patience during this time.
