Natwest no longer appears to be offering Merchant Account directly although they do offer Tyl card machines. This page is no longer being updated.
Is a Natwest merchant account the right choice for your business? This review compares their card processing rates along with their business banking reputation for offline and online payments to help you figure that out.
Natwest Merchant Accounts & Payment Processing Background
While Natwest is one of the UK’s best known high street banks, it doesn’t actually have its own merchant account product. Instead it’s partnered with Worldpay to offer merchant account and payment processing services.
Worldpay is the UK leader in the merchant account space and offers a highly regarded product that can handle transactions both online, in-person or over the phone 24/7/365. They have a helpline that’s open both day and night, so if you have a problem you can always get in touch with a real human to help you sort it out.
One further advantage of using Worldpay via Natwest Business Banking customer is that you’ll get your money up to 50% faster (2 days instead of the standard 3).
Natwest Payment Processing Fees
Natwest does not display the payment processing fees for debit and credit card transactions on its website. However, Worldpay does publish its fees on its website.
For businesses that process less than 1,000 transactions per month they offer two options:
- Option 1: Pay-as-go 2.75% + £0.20 per transaction for both credit and debit cards
- Option 2: Pay monthly £19.95 per month plus 2.75% per transaction for credit cards & 0.75% per transaction for debit cards.
For smaller businesses, these fees are more or less in-line with the industry average, but not the absolute best out there.
If you process more 1,000 transactions per month, you can definitely pay a lot less than this so it’s worth getting several quotes from different merchant account providers.
Natwest Worldpay Merchant Account & Business Banking
If you have a Natwest Business bank account, integrating a worldpay merchant account is relatively easy and as mentioned above means you can get your money faster. They can also help getting you setup up with PDQ machines if you have need to handle payments in-person.
However, you should be aware that you do not need to get your merchant account from Worldpay just because you do your business bank account is based at Natwest. All UK merchant account and payment processing companies should be able to deposit funds without any problem to your Natwest account.
Therefore, once again if you have a Natwest business bank account, you should probably still get quotes from other providers.
Natwest Online Payment Gateways
Do you want to sell online? Then Natwest Worldpay also offers payment gateway services that allow you to accept credit cards online. Just be aware that like all online payment processing providers they require your business complies with the latest PCI DSS standards.
Accepting Payments From Outside the UK
If you’d like to accept payments from outside the UK, Natwest offers merchant accounts and payment process from Streamline International (a Worldpay subsidiary). Their fees will vary depending on which countries and currencies you wish to accept and authorise.
Please note, this applies mostly to online payments in currencies other than GBP. Most card machines can accept payments from credit cards issued outside the UK, so long as you are charging in pounds.
Natwest Direct Debit
Natwest can also help your business process Direct Debit payments. This can be a useful and efficient way of collecting UK sterling payments directly from your customers’ bank accounts through the BACS electronic funds transfer system, instead of processing card payments.
Other Business Banking Services From Natwest
In addition to offering merchant accounts in partnership with both Worldpay and Streamline (for non-sterling denominated payments) Natwest also offers several other business banking solutions. Some of these include:
- Business Bank Accounts
- Mobile & Online Banking
- Business Credit Cards
- Small Business Loans
- Business Overdrafts
- Commercial Mortgages
- Foreign Exchange
- Letters of Credit
- Electronic Payments
- Bonds guarantees
- Trustee and Depositary Services
Final Verdict On Natwest Worldpay Merchant Account & Payment Process Services
If you’re already a Natwest Business customer a Worldpay merchant account is likely the easiest way to get start processing debit and credit card transactions but may not be the cheapest. Keep in mind that you are under no obligation to use them to handle card payments.
Therefore, you should spend a bit of time getting some free quotes to see what alternative options are available for your business.
Website: Natwest Payments