No option to pay with Amex??

pimper · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:34

As far as im aware on Amex's website the flat rate, is $8 a month regardless of how many sales

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:37

[FnG]magnolia;25696938 said:
I'm surprised that you're party to the fees charged by the scheme to the merchant. They're almost always individually negotiated unless you're talking about the published rates?

You think every single card terminal in the world has an individually negotiated processing fee for each card type?

I'm not sure what else you want me to say, the World MasterCard has a higher processing fee than a regular MasterCard, which makes it more than Amex. Yet acceptance is almost universal it seems. Perhaps people don't realise, I dunno.

Essentially it used to be the case that nothing cost more to process than an Amex, so nobody took them. These days that's far from the case but acceptance is still limited in places even though other accepted cards now cost more to process.

[FnG]magnolia · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:38

The rates and fees charged to a conglomerate of size are considerably different to those charged to an SME or other smaller institution.

I'm worried that we're talking about different things.

e :

Fox said:
You think every single card terminal in the world has an individually negotiated processing fee for each card type?

Each terminal? No. Each pipe connection coming from individual merchants and then routed through one or more switches based on pre-negotiated basis splits? Yes.

mjt · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:43

On a somewhat unrelated note, why doesn't the OcUK phone number work outside the UK?

Is there a non-08xx alternative?

cainer · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:48

mjt said:
On a somewhat unrelated note, why doesn't the OcUK phone number work outside the UK?
Is there a non-08xx alternative?

international number listed here
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/contact.php

mjt · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:58

cainer said:
international number listed here
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/contact.php

Have you even looked at what you've posted?

All telephone Enquries - 0871 200 5052
All telephone Enquiries International - +44 871 200 5052

233 · 21 Jan 2014 at 10:41

Thing is I don't understand merchants dislike of Amex

Just to go over what we oay in fees

Visa/MasterCard/MasterCard world 1.5%
Diners club/JCB 2%
American Express 2.1 %

Only thing that is against Amex is they do their own merchant services whereas everything else I process is next day funding Amex can take up to 10 days to show in your bank account.

But you tend to find those wielding an Amex card are either corporate types or of above average wealth. I doesn't pay to not accept for the sake of 1/2 %

jas72 · 21 Jan 2014 at 10:56

I'm in Belgium so different to you guys if I spend 5K using Amex per year I get 90 day no quibble returns up to 300€ and free travel insurance and member rewards points.

With VISA and MASTERCARD I get NOTHING no points no insurance no 90 protection NOTHING.

Hmm guess why I use AMEX

Had to cancel a hotel reservation recently as they didn't accept

pimper · 21 Jan 2014 at 11:05

jas72 said:
I'm in Belgium so different to you guys if I spend 5K using Amex per year I get 90 day no quibble returns up to 300€ and free travel insurance and member rewards points.

With VISA and MASTERCARD I get NOTHING no points no insurance no 90 protection NOTHING.

Hmm guess why I use AMEX

Had to cancel a hotel reservation recently as they didn't accept

+1 Its why I use my Amex as much as possible, the benefits of being an amex user is far greater than a normal CC.

Purchase protection is a nice touch. 90 days as oppose to 30 days with MCard and a greater refundable amount

Vulcan · 21 Jan 2014 at 11:12

pimper said:
As far as im aware on Amex's website the flat rate, is $8 a month regardless of how many sales

No.

The merchant is charged a percentage of the sale, and the percentage is higher for Amex than the other card providers charge. Looking around, it's as high as 5%, but it will vary from country to country. I couldn't find a UK rate.

Vanilla · 21 Jan 2014 at 11:14

233 said:
But you tend to find those wielding an Amex card are either corporate types or of above average wealth. I doesn't pay to not accept for the sake of 1/2 %

AMEX cards cost no more than other cards to the user, they do seem to offer better benefits, such as air miles.

pimper · 21 Jan 2014 at 11:28

Vanilla said:
AMEX cards cost no more than other cards to the user, they do seem to offer better benefits, such as air miles.

Most amex cards have an annual fee ranging from £60 - £450, and then the invitation only cards so there is cost to the user, also a minimum annual income of £20k for green and gold and £40k for platinum (for the card holder only - combined income doesn't count)

So I would say that the amex user is usually above the average wealth.

Vanilla · 21 Jan 2014 at 11:46

pimper said:
Most amex cards have an annual fee ranging from £60 - £450, and then the invitation only cards so there is cost to the user, also a minimum annual income of £20k for green and gold and £40k for platinum (for the card holder only - combined income doesn't count)

So I would say that the amex user is usually above the average wealth.

AMEX have plenty of cards that have no fee and I'd hazard a guess to say those are the majority out there.

Sure, they have lots of options for paid cards but it's a bit like saying every owner of a Mercedes is loaded because Mercedes have AMG and Black editions so that means any owner falls into this category.

Barks · 21 Jan 2014 at 11:51

Where are these low figures for Amex coming from?

When I took out my Amex CC (nothing flashy, their basic non-annual fee card) I was earning 5% bonus cash back on everything for the first 3 months. Surely this means they are charging the retailers more than this?

Edit - They do offer cards with no annual fee like mine and you don't have to have a ridiculous salary either.

OllyM · 21 Jan 2014 at 12:17

Barks said:
Surely this means they are charging the retailers more than this?

The 5% cashback rate is a promotional offer to attract new customers, they don't charge merchants anywhere near 5% to accept the card.

mjt · 21 Jan 2014 at 12:58

jas72 said:
I'm in Belgium so different to you guys if I spend 5K using Amex per year I get 90 day no quibble returns up to 300€ and free travel insurance and member rewards points.

With VISA and MASTERCARD I get NOTHING no points no insurance no 90 protection NOTHING.

Hmm guess why I use AMEX

Had to cancel a hotel reservation recently as they didn't accept

Get the Brussels Airlines Amex - up to 2miles/€ on top

DB_SamX · 21 Jan 2014 at 13:05

jon86 said:
You'd lose Section 75 protection, so I really wouldn't do that.

I am pretty sure I checked with Amex on that several years ago, and they told me that as long as my invoice mentioned the retailer's name in addition to paypal, I would be covered. That was the case, and my claim was successful.

233 · 21 Jan 2014 at 13:19

OllyM said:
The 5% cashback rate is a promotional offer to attract new customers, they don't charge merchants anywhere near 5% to accept the card.

my merchant rate with amex is 2.1%

Barks · 21 Jan 2014 at 13:23

I stand corrected. I must admit I'm surprised I would have thought it would be significantly higher. I didn't realise the bonus cashback was paid out of AMEX's pockets.

shine · 21 Jan 2014 at 13:23

DB_SamX said:
I am pretty sure I checked with Amex on that several years ago, and they told me that as long as my invoice mentioned the retailer's name in addition to paypal, I would be covered. That was the case, and my claim was successful.

It depends if there is an Commercial Entity Agreement' with Paypal and the retailer:

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act#link-5