Setup fee – one-time payment to setup an online payment system
The set-up fee is charged only once when an online store or website operator uses the services of the payment provider, offering potential customers various payment options such as credit card, invoice, PayPal, GiroPay or Sofort. Once the online merchant has decided on one of the numerous payment service providers, the payment provider will charge him the setup fee for setting up or integrating the payment methods. Some providers charge a low two-digit amount, but sometimes the setup fees go into the four-digit range.
Set-up fee for credit card acceptance agreement
In the broadest sense, the set-up fee is a processing fee. Often, the set-up fee goes hand in hand with the application for a credit card acceptance agreement. The store or website operator needs the credit card acceptance agreement to be able to offer its customers credit card payment facility. Similar to a credit agreement, this contract is agreed with a bank, which in practice is referred to as an acquirer bank. Acquirers operating in Germany include Wirecard, Worldpay, Postbank and Airplus.
Acceptance contract is only issued after strict verification
Anyone wishing to execute a credit card acceptance agreement with an acquirer must be prepared for a strict review on the part of the acquirer bank. As a rule, such a contract is only awarded if the company has already been operating for a certain period of time, and can present corresponding business reports. It makes it much easier for online merchants to obtain a credit card acceptance contract if their website store has already generated sales via other payment methods.
Setup fee is charged only once
Unlike other fees that payment service providers charge for providing various payment methods, the setup fee is a one-time fee. Basic fee, transaction fee, and discounts are regularly occurring costs that online merchants have to adjust to. Even if this fee is only payable once, online merchants must take such costs into account when calculating their prices. However, some payment service providers only charge a portion of the set-up fee for the work performed. There are also payment providers that do not charge a setup fee at all.
