Acquiring
Cashless payments for businesses.
Card payment stopped being an extra option long ago: customers expect it by default, and a checkout without a terminal feels like an inconvenience. The technology that lets a business accept cashless payments is called acquiring.
Acquiring is not a one-off equipment purchase but a service a business uses every day. That is why uninterrupted processing, the speed of settlement and support matter more than the current rate.
How it works
The customer taps a card or smartphone on the terminal. The data goes to the processing centre, the bank approves the transaction and the amount is credited to the seller’s settlement account. The whole process takes a few seconds.
In-store acquiring works at a physical point of sale: a shop, café, pharmacy or filling station. It needs a payment terminal.
Online acquiring covers online sales: a payment form is built into a website or app, and the customer pays for the order without leaving it. Many companies today need both.
What drives the cost
The main cost is the fee on each transaction. Rates for the national Uzcard and HUMO cards are noticeably lower than for Visa and Mastercard. The final terms depend on the company’s turnover, line of business and the way it accepts payments.
So offers should be compared not by a single figure in an ad but by a full calculation for the company’s own turnover.
What it takes to connect
- a registered business;
- a settlement account;
- a contract with an acquirer.
Next, a terminal is installed at the point of sale, or a payment module is integrated into the website. With the infrastructure in place, connection usually takes from one to several working days.
What to plan in advance
Acquiring and the checkout system should be linked from the start. If the terminal and the online cash register work separately, the cashier processes each sale twice, and reporting errors are inevitable.
Devices that combine payment acceptance and fiscalisation solve this. Rahmat payment solutions cover both the terminal at the checkout and payments on a website: in-person acquiring and online acquiring.