AIB Merchant Services Review

AIB or Allied Irish Bank merchant services is the largest merchant service provider in Ireland, and one of the most popular options in the country.

The company partners with First Data, Clover, and other services to provide you with a complete merchant service solution including merchant account, card readers and payments, online payment gateway, and merchant account.

So let’s get cracking with the AIB review now:

In this guide you will find

As an arm of one of the big four UK banks, AiB is likely one of the most attractive options for local sellers, but you may be concerned about costs, value, and the fact that AiB doesn’t actually provide payment processing technology themselves.

AIB offers merchant services including:

• POGO mobile payment processing
• Clover POS terminals
• All-in-One online payment gateway solutions
• Credit card processing from 2.5%

While AIB is one of the largest banking providers in the UK, they offer most services through partners rather than directly themselves, meaning that you get the same services as independent service providers like Payzone or Paymentsense. It’s important to consider their merchant services, offerings, fees, and contract terms and compare your options so that you can ensure you’re getting the best option for your business and not paying any additional fees.  

AIB Merchant Services Costs and Fees

AIB Merchant Services offers custom fees and pricing for in-store retailers with flat-rate pricing and processing fees for services like their AuthiPay online payment gateway, virtual terminal, and mobile payment processing. You will have to request a quote based on your business and transaction volume to determine how much you will pay for standard card transactions, but should expect around 2.5% for credit cards and 35p for debit cards.

AIB charges different rates for each of their services.

Online Payment Gateway

The AuthiPay payment gateway and merchant account service includes a flat rate pricing scheme + processing costs. You’ll also pay additional monthly fees.

POGO Mobile Reader

You can also expect to pay additional fees on all services.

Most of these charges will remain the same, no matter the size of your account. However, monthly account fees and transaction costs, as well as terminal rental fees, will change based on your equipment, merchant services, and business size. It is always a good idea to request a complete quote including all fees before making a decision.

AIB Merchant Services

Allied Irish Bank has been providing merchant services in Ireland and the UK for over 30 years. The company was one of the first to partner with Union Pay to accept Chinese credit and debit cards, and continues to offer a range of cutting edge software and technology, including all-in-one services, point of sale terminals, and their own mobile payment solution, POGO.

Merchant Account

Allied Irish Bank Merchant Services is provided through First Merchants, a joint venture between AIB and First Data that partners with Elavon and Payzone to offer merchant accounts. While AIB is the acquiring bank, First Merchants handles the actual processing and details, and you deal with their customer support and technicians. In fact, AIB Merchant Services is the trading name of First Merchant Processing (Ireland) Limited. If you’re expecting to deal directly with AIB, you will be disappointed.

However, Allied Irish Bank has offered a merchant account service for 30+ years, and the company’s technology and security remain strong, despite the partnership shifting merchant services to what is technically a third company.

AuthiPay

AuthiPay is an all-in-one solution combining an online payment gateway with a merchant account. Fees start at £21.99 per month including 300 transactions, after which you pay 20p for additional transaction tokens. You can expect to pay a flat rate of 3% for credit card processing and 5p for debit card processing.

AuthiPay offers dynamic currency conversion, real time reporting, PCI DSS security, and no setup fees. You also benefit from anti-fraud technology and custom technical support, with both integrated and hosted payment pages and a developer API available. The solution integrates into nearly all major online shopping carts and sales platforms.

Virtual Terminal

AIB merchant services includes a virtual terminal for accepting MOTO payments. Prices depend on your existing contract and services but you can choose to bundle a virtual server with a merchant account or choose it as a standalone service.

Card and POS Terminals

AIB offers a range of Clover point of sale terminals and card readers to customers making sales in stores. With rental fees starting from £25 and free demonstrations available, the service makes it easy for small business owners to set up with a POS or to replace an older system. AIB also offers a range of additional technology:

• Clover Mini – The Clover Mini is an all-in-one mini POS system featuring contactless, EMV, and magstripe payments, a built-in printer, and cloud services for ePoS and SMS or email receipt. The terminal features a 7″ colour touchscreen and can be connected to a till.
• Verifone Vx520 – The Verifone Vx520 features a black and white display, backlit keyboard, and support for EMV, Magstripe, and contactless payments.
• Verifone Vx820 Duet –  The Verifone Vx820 Duet is a pin pad ideal for use in situations where there is a large space between the customer and the POS system. The pin pad pairs with most card machines and EPOS. It accepts contactless, EMV, and magstripe payments, prints receipts, and includes a full-colour touch-screen display.
• Ingenico IC220 + IPP350 Pin Pad – The Ingenico IC220 is the lowest-cost card machine on offer from AIB, but without contactless payments, the solution is not ideal for everyone. However, with a full-colour screen, built in receipt printer, and backlit keyboard, it still has a lot to offer to retailers who don’t need contactless payments.
• Clover Mobile – The Clover Mobile is a portable POS terminal with 7″ touch-screen, included printer, and cloud-based solutions including email and SMS receipts. The terminal is fully PCI DSS compliant, accepts EMV, magstripe, and contactless payments, supports gift and loyalty programs, and features a cornering glass and brushed aluminium body.
• Verifone Vx680 – The Verifone Vx520 is a portable card machine with 3G, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity, a backlit keyboard, and a printer. The model features a 3.5″ display with a lithium ion battery and supports EMV, magstripe, and full contactless payments.
• Clover Station – The Clover Station is a complete Point of Sale featuring a tablet and stand, high-speed printer, and cash till. Like other Clover product, the Station operates on cloud EPOS, offers EMV, Magstripe, and contactless payments, and includes a variety of mobile services such as SMS and email receipts.
• POGO Payments – AIB offers the POGO payments app through First Data, which you can use for completely mobile payments on your phone. The app is free, and can be connected to either First Data, Elavon, Payzone, or an AIB merchant account.  

Additional Services

AIB merchant services offers a number of additional solutions including Global Choice, Tax Free, and Insight.

• Global Choice – Global Choice is a dynamic currency conversion program enabling you to accept payments in Sterling, Euro, USD, AUD, HKD, Kroner, Rand, Canadian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Franc, and Yen.
• Tax Free – This service makes it easy to remove taxes for foreign customers, reducing what they pay and simplifying your reporting process.
• Insight – Insight is an online data management portable, enabling you to access, view, and update all transactions. You can also generate and export reports, manage up to months of statements, and view and dispute chargebacks.

AIB has a lot to offer in terms of merchant services, but how do they hold up with customer support and service?

AIB Merchant Services Customer Service and Support

AIB offers local customer service in the UK and Europe, but with less than 200 total employees, the company does not have extremely strong customer service. This means you will have to wait on the phone to get in touch and emailing the company may result in a long wait. Many existing customer complaints surround AIB’s inability to respond quickly to initial requests for quotes or information.

However, AIB does offer quality customer service and support to existing account holders, with dedicated account managers to help you solve contract and technical issues more quickly. Most contracts include a guarantee of service with a support function in the contract.

AIB Contracts and Early Termination Fees

AIB likely offers both month-to-month and long-term contracts of up to 4 years like First Merchant. While contract length and termination fees are not specified until you request a quote, the company is part of the same brand. Therefore, you should pay close attention to the contract length included in the quote.

If you have a longer contract, you can typically expect to pay an early termination fee up to the total value of months remaining on your account.

All Clover terminal rentals are charged on a month-by-month basis, with no early termination fee.

AIB Sales Team Review

Allied Irish Bank offers one of the best sales teams in the UK, with no third-party sales people and no pay on commission. This means that you can contact the sales team to request a quote, get an offer or request service suggestions without worrying that you are being overcharged or being upsold on products you don’t need.

Here, AIB compares very favourably, even to other services using First Merchant such as Payzone, Paymentsense, Elavon, and many others.

Comparing AIB Merchant Services

AIB merchant services is offered by First Data and AIB, making it one of the largest payment processors in the UK. However, you do want to compare the company’s rates and fees to their competitors, to ensure that you’re getting a good deal.

Each of these offerings has different pros and cons, so the best way to compare them is to call and request a unique quote based on your business size, type, and transaction volume. You can then compare actual services and value offered for the money, fees and other rates, and total costs for each merchant service provider to determine who offers the best deal.

Final Verdict