Worldpay Review

Worldpay has improved over recent years and should be on the shortlist of most UK businesses looking to start taking card payments or switching providers.

Unfortunately, they haven’t improved the Worldpay / FIS website and it is not intuitive to navigate. We’re going to do our best to provide some clarity on what Worldpay offer businesses in the UK and how they compare to alternatives.

Worldpay Acquiring Services

One of the biggest advantages of working with Worldpay is that they are a merchant acquirer which typically means lower transaction fees as there is no middleman (i.e. ISO). Most payment service companies work in partnership with merchant account providers to authorise and/or process payment, but this isn’t the case with Worldpay.

In theory, this should make your contract situation simple (more on this later), as you’re only dealing with one company.

It also simplifies the technical side of your business accepting payments, as the company you deal with actually handles everything for you – especially important if you run into any technical problems. Another benefit of this is that you only need to have a single merchant ID for all of your card transactions.

Normally, to accept card payments for different types of transactions (face-to-face, by mail, cheque or phone and online) you will need a different merchant ID for each. With a WorldPay merchant account, you will only need one merchant ID for all types of transaction payments.

Worldpay Card Machines

The main difference between them is how portable they are and this decision mostly comes down to where you need to accept card payments.

• Desk 5000 countertop card terminal: Designed for over-the-counter and till payments, this countertop card machine is connected with a cable which means you can only use them at fixed locations. The upside is they process payments faster and have fewer connectivity issues than mobile or portable card readers.
• Axium DX8000 Portable payment machine: Suitable for restaurants, pubs and cafes that need to accept payments at the till and customers’ tables. Bluetooth connectivity should give you enough mobility to accept payments within 50m from your base unit but you sacrifice a bit of speed and also need to keep the battery charged.
• Move 5000 Mobile card machine: These card machines allow you to take payments anywhere in the UK with a mobile network connection – ideal for businesses with no fixed premises or professionals visiting customers on-site or at home.

Worldpay charges a fixed fee each month for their card machines.

• Fixed Monthly Plan: £49.99/month per card machine with a set threshold (which they don’t publish online).
• Custom Plan: £17.95/month per card machine and no transaction limit.

Both monthly plans will have variable transaction fees (see table below) based on the businesses and card type.

Each card payment rental contract has a minimum term of 18 months.

If you wish to accept payments over the phone, there’s an added cost of £9.99 per month.

A minimum monthly service charge of £15 is also applied

Payment Gateway Options

Worldpay offers extensive online payment services for businesses of all sizes and you’re well-covered regardless of whether you’re an online-only venture or need to add online payments to your existing business.

• Payment Gateway: Payment gateways are available via their partnership with pay360.com. Worldpay charges £19.95 per month for their standard payment gateway package (up to 350 transactions per month) and £45 for their Advanced Gateway package (up to 850 transactions per month). A bespoke quote will be needed for over 850 transactions per month.
• PCI Compliance: Charged at £29.99 per year. 
• Email payments: Save time chasing unpaid invoices with Pay By Link emails.
• International payments: They accept 120 currencies and operate in 40 countries.
• Fraud and risk management: One of Worldpay’s biggest strengths is its fraud and risk management capabilities, helping you and your customers do business securely.
• Data and analytics: You can also get detailed reports on how your business is performing online to help you spot opportunities for improvement.

Worldpay’s online payment services should cover all bases for most business types and the company is particularly strong when it comes to supporting payment types (international payments, alternative payments, etc.) and the security side of things.

With a WorldPay online merchant account, you will only need one merchant ID for all types of transaction payments (in person, online or over the phone).

Virtual terminal

Worldpay’s virtual terminal software enables businesses to accept payments over the phone or by mail and the transaction rates are same are below. You can compare them to other virtual terminal provider fees here. 

It is also worth noting you can use their regular card machines as a virtual terminal. The advantage of using the online virtual terminal on your computer is to keep your card machine free for face to face transactions.

POS System

Worldpay now offers a point-of-sale system called Worldpay Hub. This gives you a simple tablet-based checkout system designed for small businesses. This is generally suited to pubs, restaurants, cafes and other small businesses such as small retailers and hairdressers.