Trying to get a card-reader set up for our business. Continues to be a massive saga. Every time I think it’s all sorted-out, our bank manages to screw it up.

Seems pretty simple to me. We run a bunch of ski chalets in winter, mountain bike holidays in summer. We have an office at home. We’d like guests to be able to make card payments either over the phone (for holiday bookings) or in resort for extras such as lift passes, bike hire, etc. As the chalets are fairly spread-out, the ideal solution would be a mobile card terminal (with a base-station in our office if required).

Had a swift google and, as far as I can tell, there are plenty of systems out there which work via GPRS/3G or by wifi connection (there is wifi in all the chalets). Our bank tells us this does not exist and our only solution is an unreliable satellite comms system, or a portable reader that only works within 200m of a base station.

Are they talking pish as I suspect? Anyone got any advice?

This connects to an app on your smartphone.

Not sure which acquirer it’s with or what %age they charge, though.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/payleven-chip-pin-card-reader/17506

Payleven charge 2.75% flat fee.

What bank?
The issue may well be the fact that (presumably) it’s a uk bank whose card terminal you want to use in Europe?
I have just got rid of a spire terminal that worked over the GPRS phone network. It was truly shit unless it had a rock solid strong signal. Anything other than that and forget it. It also broke 8 times in the year we had it.
We’ve gone to a Bluetooth I genico unit now and it’s 1000000000 times better. Although it only has a range of 100m from the base.
When I was looking into it I only found a couple that used the mobile signal.

Yeah, looked into phone/tablet systems, but the fees are high. Through the bank, fees can be as low as 0.6%.

toppers3933 – French bank, for use in France.

Dunno then. Cause they may well be different to uk setup. But I do know Ingenico and spire both make a mobile unit for use in most territories. They rely on a good signal though. Which can be problematic.

There must be some available as I have paid for reef cruises and snorkling from a boat a few miles off shore in Australia.

And that was about 8 years ago.

edit: Maybe that was the satellite system

i have an izettel one, now on offer at 59quid and the max cost of a transaction is 2.75% (its a sliding scale so the more you do the less you pay. no merchant account or monthly fees required. works via an app on iphone or android. only issue is that you can’t take payments over the phone, but for an easy onsite solution its great.