Sheffield Council wants to spend £4million to save on card transaction fees
The council wants to spend more than £4m over the next five years so it can save money when people pay by card.
Members of Sheffield City Council’s finance and performance policy committee will discuss a report that seeks authorisation for commissioning a five-year contract with an estimated value of £4,125,000 (£825k per annum) for merchant acquiring services.
The authors of the report, published ahead of next week’s meeting, said for the council to be able to take card payments, it needs “the services of a merchant acquirer” which collects card-based payments which have been made via the Pay360 system and/or standalone chip and pin devices.
These services, of course, cost money – in these cases, it depends on the way the payment is made (online, telephone or in-person), the type of card issuer (e.g. Visa, Mastercard) and the type of card (debit, credit or business).
The document then added: “The annual transaction fees total around £747k, based on 2023/24 figures but is anticipated to increase further.
“The current agreement has been in place for a long time and has passed the initial term which has resulted in us being on a monthly rolling agreement which is a risk for the council.
“It is therefore vital we undertake a procurement exercise to secure a long-term contract for these services.”
The council wants, therefore, a new contract with a supplier (the council currently uses Global Payments as its merchant acquirer) that is capable of managing the specified transaction volumes and values and offering cost-effective pricing.