EFTPOS machines

[Danger UXB]

Dear All
just a question about cost and legallity.
I pay a management company to run the day to day working of my business. I have asked the management company if I can pay this cost using an AMEX card but at this stage they have no EFTPOS machine. How much do these things cost to rent/month and what is the amex surcharge likely to be .The yearly spend is approx $700 000 paid in increments of between $25 000 and $50 000.
Second part of the question is for the small print readers as the management company is run by my wife. Are amex/EFTPOS going to get a bit grumpy about shelling out 700 000 MR points( it's a standard amex charge card).I remember reading that you cannot put your own card thru your own machine but technically this is not my machine.
The billing is by the management company is completely above board with the ATO we just want to see if MR points can be accumulated for the transactions.
Here's hopeing to fly more Fcl trips
Thanks in advance for the advice
Cheers Danger UXB

 

[Nutcase]

Dear All
just a question about cost and legallity.
I pay a management company to run the day to day working of my business. I have asked the management company if I can pay this cost using an AMEX card but at this stage they have no EFTPOS machine. How much do these things cost to rent/month and what is the amex surcharge likely to be .The yearly spend is approx $700 000 paid in increments of between $25 000 and $50 000.
Second part of the question is for the small print readers as the management company is run by my wife. Are amex/EFTPOS going to get a bit grumpy about shelling out 700 000 MR points( it's a standard amex charge card).I remember reading that you cannot put your own card thru your own machine but technically this is not my machine.
The billing is by the management company is completely above board with the ATO we just want to see if MR points can be accumulated for the transactions.
Here's hopeing to fly more Fcl trips
Thanks in advance for the advice
Cheers Danger UXB

Short answer is Yes - and you dont need a terminal - You can use paper for this. Just call Amex and ask for a merchant application and apply. There will be a merchant fee though - 2-3% perhaps?

How much does an EFTPOS terminal cost? Around $20 per month depending on the bank plus MSF and some other fees but it can be a pain to get one. For a quick and dirty EFTPOS solution St George dont ask as many questions - and their rates are low BUT westpac are taking them over so be warned!

 

[Danger UXB]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I must confess I had not thought about using the paper solution and gets rid of the monthly fee. Could be a winner here
Cheers Danger UXB

 

[markis10]

From memory paper transactions have a 90 day settlement cycle ( you get your payment 90 days after sending the vouchers in) and have a higher merchant charge.

 

[equus]

I am not entirely sure why you would really want to bother if, in effect, the transaction is effectively "in house" (regardless of the entities involved).

There is no free lunch, so the merchant fees involved have to cover the cost of providing all aspects of the service - including MR points. You will be effectively paying for the MR points (plus all the profit to AMEX).

Now this may be worthwhile if you value the points at a higer rate than the merchant fee (because you use them for pointy end seats - directly or via upgrade). If this is the case, and you are turning over substantial amounts of money through a service company, how about cutting out the middle man (AMEX) and "purchasing" points directly from source. Have you considered getting the service company to enquire about the possiblities of becoming a Qantas partner and offering points for spend. You would then be buying points direct - and could potentially offer multiple points per dollar to customers.

 

[Danger UXB]

Thanks Equus
it really depends on the merchant fee if it's 3% then on $700 000 that works out to $21000 for 700 000 MR points which I turn into krisflyer points buying me approx 3 J standard returns Mel to LHR (actually approx 760k points) not such a great deal but if I can get it down to the levels of the ATO amex charge of just above 1% then $7 000 in merchant fees is good value for 3 Jcl returns to blighty.
Thanks Markis10 might avoid the paper
Cheers Danger UXB

 

[docjames]

I seem to recall (my retail / sales days were some time ago ) that the paper commission % was higher than if you did it electronically.

ie. you may pay 3% to do paper (with 90d settlement) or 2% to do electronic (with 30d / immediate settlement).

 

[Nutcase]

From memory paper transactions have a 90 day settlement cycle ( you get your payment 90 days after sending the vouchers in) and have a higher merchant charge.

There is no 90 day turn around.

There may be a higher rate but you have to balance that out with the cost of an EFTPOS terminal and fees. Dont forget - AMEX dont provide terminals so you will have the added pain of applying for Visa and Mastercard and the minimum fees charged.

At least $20 per month rental plus usually, depending on the bank, and minium MSF fee of $22.

Be careful and read the fine print and before you all jump all over the paper option, it may be the best for just 1 transaction per month. In fact, I doubt if you would get approved for a Visa/Mastercard facility at this rate.

 

[vilemerchant]

Surely you could also claim the merchant fees as a business expense.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

AMEX dont provide terminals

Actually, they do. The provide both a standard terminal, and a special "ExpressCap" device that lets you process Amex & JCB without a merchant account with a bank. If you then get a merchant account with NAB, it then also lets you accept Visa & MC through it. Not sure what the fees are like, but check out these links:

https://www212.americanexpress.com/...toid=bdbd655c2a98e010VgnVCM100000cef4ad94RCRD

and

https://www212.americanexpress.com/...toid=64c20188cbc8e010VgnVCM100000cef4ad94RCRD

 

[Danger UXB]

Well I got the merchant fee down to 1.49% so I will probably use this as a back up to get points in a hurry if I am alittle short. Using the express cap phone system saves on having to rent the terminal . All in all a reasonably cheap way to bump the points total up
Cheers Danger UXB

 

[thegurio]

I have one that is mostly used for over the phone transactions - in fact over the 18 months ive had it it's only been used once for an actual card and that only for a friend who had to pay for somehting that they owed us and it was the most convenient way. I pay $10 a month (I can give you the guys details if you wnat?) and then my merchant fees on top of that dependant on how much i put through. My % is 2.5 (for Visa and MC as i don't take Amex or DC/JCB) and that is unlikely to be changed as apparently over the phone, or MOTO as they call them, transactions dont count in your total "whack" to the bank if you know what i mean.

Having said that abotu your wife owning the management company - from a banks perspective, so long as there is another ABN and entity i cant see an issue. Not exactly black and white but lets say a dark charcoal!

If you're only doing one transaction through the machine a month i can't see them lowering their rates but who knows, you might just get a nice person who will do it for you...


Let us know how you get on.

 

[Danger UXB]

If you're only doing one transaction through the machine a month i can't see them lowering their rates but who knows, you might just get a nice person who will do it for you...


Let us know how you get on.

Repeated frem above for thegurio
Well I got the merchant fee down to 1.49% so I will probably use this as a back up to get points in a hurry if I am alittle short. Using the express cap phone system saves on having to rent the terminal . All in all a reasonably cheap way to bump the points total up
Cheers Danger UXB