Paypal, Stripe, WorldPay. All of these well known online payment providers do pretty much the same thing: your customer makes a payment, your provider processes it and passes the money over to you (not before they take a fee of course)!
So what is Nochex?
Founded in Leeds back in 1999, Nochex is an independent online payment solution that’s looking to steal some business from the big players. Nochex mainly works with start-ups and small businesses based in the UK.
Nochex are only really suited to online businesses. If you have a need for a physical method of payment in a brick and mortar store, Nochex probably isn't the right service for you, as they don’t offer a POS system to handle in-store payments.
This article will run you through what products Nochex has to offer, and the features of each. We’ll fill you in on the fees/charges, look at the feedback of users, and finally ask the big question - why should you use Nochex instead of PayPal?
Nochex Products
There are two types of Nochex accounts available. The first of these is a standard merchant account, that processes the payments from your sales into a single solution. Here are the main features of this account:
The Merchant Account:
- Smooth and fast payment gateway: The longer a prospective customer spends waiting, the more time they have to change their mind!
- A unique payment page: When a customer makes a Nochex payment, they see a custom payment page that is visually on-brand with the rest of your website.
- Accepts all debit cards and most major credit cards: This includes Visa and MasterCard, but not American Express.
- Charges only on completed transactions: Nochex charges are pay as you go, so you only need to pay charges on the transactions that the customers have actually completed. This means you’re not paying monthly fees for a service that you’re not making the most of.
- International payment support: The Nochex merchant account fully supports international payments for multiple currencies.
The UK trader account:
This trader account is targeted at startups and small businesses that only operate in the UK. The UK Trader account has a £100 transaction limit, which will be a dealbreaker for many.
This account has most of the features of the merchant account, as well as a few additional features:
- Subscription support: You can set up automatic recurring payments to be taken from customer’s accounts.
- A virtual terminal: This lets you process card payments by mail or on the phone.
- Multi-seller payments: This lets other merchants use your website to sell their products to the customers who are visiting your site.
It's important to reiterate that Nochex deals with online payment processing. Unlike some other merchant accounts, Nochex won't supply you with things like a card reader, or a point of sale system. So if your business isn't entirely based online, or you want to process payments in-store, then Nochex probably isn't the right merchant account for you.
How much does it cost?
Unlike some competitors, Nochex are pretty good at being upfront with their fee details - you can find their full fees and FAQs here, but here’s a quick summary of the figures that are relevant to most merchants:
- When you first sign on with Nochex, you'll need to pay £50 for a one-time setup fee.
- The fee on online and invoice transactions is 2.9% plus an additional 20p per transaction.
- The fee on telephone transactions is slightly more, at a rate of 3.2% plus 20 pence per transaction, and a flat £10 fee per month.
Nochex states that the above numbers are for new business. For regular clients, you can expect lower rates (albeit Nochex don't state exactly what these are!)
Am I locked into a contract?
Nope!
Online payment platforms in general don’t tend to require any contractual commitment, and Nochex is no different. This is a nice change from one-off annual fees and annoying early termination fees if you change your mind.
Also, because there's no POS equipment/card terminal, you don’t have to worry about handing anything back (or breaking anything!)
The ‘no commitment’ nature of Nochex makes it painless to try out, as it’s so easy to opt-out if you feel you aren’t making the most of the service.
What are the reviews like?
Nochex is currently sitting on a score of a respectable 3.5/5 on TrustPilot.
Before delving into a few advantages and disadvantages, it's worth mentioning that the vast majority of negative feedback is from disgruntled buyers and not merchants.
These negative reviews typically involve a dispute between the buyer and the merchant, where Nochex holds the money until a solution is met. These complaints aren't necessarily a negative on Nochex - they follow the same protocols as Paypal, and Swipe.
Complaints by angry customers about confirming a transaction on a scam site for instance, isn’t really an issue with the merchant experience of Nochex but a flaw of the online payment platform in general.
So, let’s get specific and look at the positive and negative comments regarding the merchant experience Nochex provides. Here’s the gist of the reviews:
Merchants have been impressed with:
- The reasonable transaction charges.
- How easy the website is to use and view all of your payment services and details.
- The way Nochex backs up their merchants in the event of a chargeback.
Merchants are not so happy with:
- Customers not trusting the brand enough to proceed to checkout. Not a well-known name like PayPal, who are the default option on eBay and so are highly recognisable.
- Reports of a number of scam websites using Nochex - merchants feel Nochex ought not to process these obvious ‘cons’.
- Some merchants have reported slow withdrawal times, so the money they’re due is taking too long to reach their bank account!
So why should I use Nochex over PayPal?
We get it. People like a familiar name! It’s comforting. So why would you bother checking out Nochex, when you could use trusty PayPal?
Well for one, Nochex is cheaper:
- PayPal’s fee for online and invoice transactions are 3.4% + 20p while Nochex’s rates are 2.9% + 20p : so Nochex fees are 0.5% cheaper!
- Nochex is also cheaper with telephone transactions. PayPal’s transaction fees for this service is 3.4% + 20p & £20 per month, while Nochex is 3.2% + 20p & £10 per month. Also, remember that Nochex offers a cheaper rate to loyal and regular traders, so you might get a rate that is even better than this.
Here are a few other reasons to consider Nochex:
- Dedicated UK account manager: Every Nochex account holder gets their own account manager! This is an e-commerce expert who can be called up to discuss your account.
- Free PCI and 3D Security: Nochex merchant accounts come as standard with PCI (payment card industry standards) and 3D (3-domain structure) authentication - these are effective protocols that help prevent online card fraud. Nochex works with you to make sure your security is up to scratch, whereas PayPal have been known to suspend any accounts that are vaguely suspicious.
- UK Company: Nochex is a smaller company based in the UK and all of their support teams are based here too. For those who are keen to support local jobs and businesses, this might be enough of a reason to consider giving Nochex a chance.
Summary
When it comes to online payment providers, it’s worth checking out as many providers as you can to see who has the best rates and features for your business.
Those who stay loyal to the big brands like WorldPay and PayPal could be missing out on some great deals and features.
Nochex is a great option for many based in the UK. They also offer a fair few fraud protection and quality of life features that other competitors don’t.
