Over the last 12 months or so, Chip & PIN Solutions has witnessed a surge of businesses in the beauty industry needing to accept card payments. Britain’s beauty industry is booming, and it comes as no surprise that beauticians need to offer their customers the option to pay on card, especially with an average transaction value of over £40.
Traditionally the barriers for beauticians accepting card payments have been related to cost and accessibility. However with 1 in 6 new start-up businesses in the UK being in the beauty and cosmetology sector, business owners and especially mobile businesses need to be up to date with payment technology, ensuring that they can offer their customers flexibility with their card payment options.
What are the costs?
It is not possible to provide the exact costs for a business to accept card payments, as pricing will depend on the nature of a business, how it operates, turnover, and the type of card machine required. For example a mobile beautician would require a mobile terminal, whereas a business that has a fixed premises maybe better leasing a fixed or portable terminal.
Generally businesses can expect to pay the following costs:
- Monthly terminal charge (from £14.99 per month)
- Transaction charges (subject to card turnover)
- £4.99 PCI charge (Further details on PCI can be found here http://www.chipandpinsolutions.co.uk/is-your-business-pci-dss-compliant/)
In the past not having a fixed business address, could have been tricky for beauticians accepting card payments. However with mobile payments taking the payment industry by storm in 2015, especially with the growth of contactless, Apple & Samsung Pay, accepting card payments on the move has never been easier or more accessible.
In order to accept payments on the move, you would require a mobile card machine. This type of card terminal offers GPRS & GSM connectivity that allows you to accept card payments away from your salon. Also, since January 1st 2016, all new card machines deployed must now have contactless functionality. All of our machines are compatible with Apple & Samsung Pay, allowing you to offer even more payment flexibility to customers.
Points to consider
So if you are a business in the beauty or cosmetology industry, and currently not accepting card payments, here are a few points to consider:
- Increases in payment flexibility - customers expect to be able to pay by card.
- Cost verses loss of customers - With the average monthly cost in accepting card payments being around a similar cost to one pedicure, the monthly cost far out ways losing business to competitors. Simply upsell one treatment and that will pay for your monthly terminal charge.
- Increase impulse purchases - Allowing your customers to pay by card, may be a great incentive to upsell your products and treatments. Customers maybe far more tempted to make an impulse purchase if they can pay on card.
- Increase business security - by decreasing the amount of cash held on your premises.
What our members have to say...
Rebecca Wilson, Director at The Signature Spa has been accepting card payments for 4 years. Based in Hertfordshire, Signature Spa has been trading for 4 years and offers a range of beauty treatments and spa days. Rebecca, had always seen the importance in accepting card payments, and originally accepted a card payment package through her business banking account. Rebecca soon realized that she didn’t have the most competitive deal and switched to Chip & PIN Solutions due to a significant price increase with her existing payment provider.
Our reason for switching payment providers was due to a very hefty price increase and I was looking for a better package and deal. I chose Chip & PIN Solutions as they are a local business and I had received an email to say that they had partnered with BABTAC and would receive money towards my membership. The whole setup process has been excellent. Chip & PIN Solutions have been very informative, and made the whole switch over really seamless. I have been really impressed with the speed of the change over and the follow up call to make sure I was happy. “ (Rebecca Wilson, Director, The Signature Spa). When we asked Rebecca how accepting card payments has benefited her business, she confirmed that her business would be lost without the ability to accept card payments, as 90% of her transactions are paid on her terminal. Rebecca also confirmed that it has increased the quality of service that she is able to offer her customers, as they do not have to worry about having the right amount of cash.