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The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) wants merchants to provide feedback on its card-acquiring remedies, which it introduced to help businesses save money by simplifying the process of comparing prices and switching providers.
Since the remedies were implemented last year, the PSR has been monitoring how firms have adopted them, and the organisation is now ramping up its engagement with businesses to gain deeper insights into the real-world impact of these changes.
The remedies were introduced after the PSR identified that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK could save thousands per year if they had easier access to information on card-acquiring services and more flexibility to switch providers.
The measures were designed to offer businesses greater transparency and prevent them being locked into long-term contracts, and in October 2022, the PSR published its final decision on remedies following the Card Acquiring Market Review.
Oliver Hanmer, the PSR’s head of supervision and compliance monitoring, explained that “the goal of these measures is to make it easier for the millions of small and medium-sized businesses across the UK to compare prices, negotiate better deals, and switch providers if needed.
“When concerns are identified, we’re stepping in to make sure things are set right,” he said. “We’re keen to hear directly from businesses about how these remedies are impacting them, so we can continue driving the right outcomes and maintain a competitive market.”
As part of its engagement with businesses and trade bodies, the PSR is focusing on several key areas:
- Online Quotation Tool (OQT) and Summary Box: The PSR wants to know if businesses found it easy to locate these tools under Specific Direction 14, and whether they believe the tools accurately reflect the actual prices they paid.
- Trigger Messages: Businesses are being asked if they have seen the trigger messages provided under Specific Direction 15 and whether they have acted on them.
- Point-of-Sale (POS) Terminals: The PSR is also interested in hearing if businesses have faced challenges in hiring or terminating the hire of POS terminals since the 18-month contract limit under Specific Direction 16 was introduced.
Specific Direction 16 remedies were required to be implemented by January 2023, while Specific Directions 14 and 15 took effect in July 2023.
These directions were issued to the 14 most significant providers of card-acquiring services in the UK: Adyen; Barclays Bank; Chase Paymentech Europe Limited; Elavon; EVO Payments; First Data Europe; First Merchant Processing; GPUK; Lloyds Bank; PayPal; Square UK; Stripe Payments; SumUp; and Worldpay.
