Card processing rates get all the attention, but for most small businesses there's a more impactful number to look at: settlement time.
Standard acquirers settle in 3-5 working days. That's 5 trading days of cash sitting with someone else's bank earning interest for them, not you.
Why next-day matters
For a business turning over £20k/month in card transactions, the difference between 5-day and next-day settlement is roughly £3,300 in working capital permanently sitting in your account instead of theirs.
That's stock you can buy earlier, suppliers you can pay on time for discount, or simply less overdraft pressure.
What to ask your acquirer
- Are weekends included in "working days"?
- Is settlement automated or batch-processed manually?
- Is there a settlement fee?
If you can't get clear answers, you're probably overpaying. Talk to us about next-day settlement at no extra cost.