from Romesh Perera, Costcutter/Somerfield Essentials retailer, London
Sir; I read your story about the row between PayPoint and independent retailers over payment margins with great interest (‘PayPoint told to reconsider’, April 30, p5).
A year and half ago, I had a well-publicised run in with PayPoint about the commission it offered to retailers and its marketing strategy to convince retailers to get on board.
Many retailers, including myself, were told some years ago that taking PayPoint into our stores would bring footfall and increase revenue but they never talked about the commission and the downfalls. All their advertisements were based on retailers making more money.
When the utility companies, some years ago, realised that they were losing money maintaining their own stores, they came up with this fantastic way of not only stopping the loss they were suffering from their own stores, but also producing profits with less effort - and PayPoint was born.
The commission to retailers does not cover the banking and other expenses and, as proven before, the effect on store revenue is non-existent. In our case, the effect had a downside as the shop looked too busy for normal shoppers to come in.
I saw that having PayPoint was not going to make any money for me as the commission was less than 0.75%, and so I decided to charge 10p per transaction, with much approval from customers who supported me with a petition.
I was determined to prove that retailers are there to earn a living and make a profit - not to be a charity. As time goes by, many retailers will come to their senses that in the long run they are being taken for ride.
Sir; I read your story about the row between PayPoint and independent retailers over payment margins with great interest (‘PayPoint told to reconsider’, April 30, p5).
A year and half ago, I had a well-publicised run in with PayPoint about the commission it offered to retailers and its marketing strategy to convince retailers to get on board.
Many retailers, including myself, were told some years ago that taking PayPoint into our stores would bring footfall and increase revenue but they never talked about the commission and the downfalls. All their advertisements were based on retailers making more money.
When the utility companies, some years ago, realised that they were losing money maintaining their own stores, they came up with this fantastic way of not only stopping the loss they were suffering from their own stores, but also producing profits with less effort - and PayPoint was born.
The commission to retailers does not cover the banking and other expenses and, as proven before, the effect on store revenue is non-existent. In our case, the effect had a downside as the shop looked too busy for normal shoppers to come in.
I saw that having PayPoint was not going to make any money for me as the commission was less than 0.75%, and so I decided to charge 10p per transaction, with much approval from customers who supported me with a petition.
I was determined to prove that retailers are there to earn a living and make a profit - not to be a charity. As time goes by, many retailers will come to their senses that in the long run they are being taken for ride.
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