NAFD negotiates sector’s lowest card payment rates

The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) has teamed up with Elavon, a leading global card acquirer that processes over a billion transactions annually for more than a million merchants worldwide, to offer its members a new merchant services scheme with the lowest rates for payments made by credit or debit card.

“Although we have had a card scheme in place for over 10 years, it was based on the standard rates the supplier was making available to any trade association. The new agreement with Elavon has been developed specifically for NAFD members and is another first for the Association, as it means we can now offer debit and credit card processing services at the lowest charge rates available in the UK funeral sector,” says NAFD chief executive officer Alan Slater.

Elavon acts as a single, dedicated source for payment processing with a robust and secure international processing platform which not only ensures convenience, reliability and complete control over the transaction process, but also achieves impressive economies of scale. As a result, Elavon is able to adapt quickly to changes in the payments marketplace, such as the Single Euro Payments Area project, interchange updates and Payment Card Industry compliance.

Offering families easy and convenient payment options can create a number of advantages for funeral businesses, so the NAFD’s merchant services scheme is set to become an increasingly important benefit of membership. As well as generating additional sales, firms that accept payment by card can attract customers who prefer non-cash payment methods and minimise the risk of cash thefts, while the free online reporting and statement tool assists those responsible for preparing a company’s accounts.

This NAFD’s partnership with Elavon is highly innovative in that members benefit from competitive rates and pricing together with built-in savings based on the rate of adoption. For example, the initial rate of 1.06% for a transaction on a personal Visa credit card reduces to 0.93% if more than 100 NAFD members sign up. Similarly, the initial pricing on a personal MasterCard credit card comes down from 1.09% to 0.96% if 100+ NAFD members use Elavon for card payment processing.

Under the terms of this new merchant services scheme NAFD members will also pay reduced terminal rental charges, ensuring transactions are processed in the way best suited to each individual business.

“Research by APACS, the British trade group representing card issuers, reveals that card payments are growing in popularity, so it is important that funeral directors offer families the chance to settle accounts using a debit or credit card,” adds Alan Slater.

“Our aim is to help NAFD members offer a choice of payment methods which meets current market demand through a merchant services programme with the best possible charge rates. As a result of our new partnership with Elavon, we are confident members will find it simple, safe and cost effective to accept card payments for funerals.”