The Horticultural Trades Association has agreed a new debit and credit card processing deal with Barclaycard Payment Acceptance which it says will mean the industry will have around £350k per annum out of its card processing costs.

It says the new arrangement will offer HTA members an average of 9.4% savings, easy-to-understand bills and a range of "innovative terminals." These will all be fitted with contactless technology. This gives members' retail customers the option of paying for goods under £20 by holding a contactless enabled card, mobile phone or PayTag over a read. The HTA says this speedy new technology will "help to reduce queues and improve customers' payment experience."

It remains to be seen whether customers will embrace the new payment options, however, as new research conducted on behalf of Vista Retail revealed this week that 95% of shoppers have no idea how contactless payment works. The research also revealed more than a third of retailers believed lack of awareness was the main reason holding consumer take-up, and 30% said end-customers were concerned about the security of the transactions.

Despite this, the HTA is keen to plough ahead and pointed out that changes to its payment options had come in response to members' suggestions. HTA director of finance and administration Paul Basham said: "The HTA has listened to members and struck a new card processing agreement that takes account of members' suggestions and delivers better value, in particular for our smaller members who do not wield the same negotiating power as larger businesses.

"The Association has used its bargaining power to strike a fantastic deal for members. This sort of demonstration of value-for-money is part of the Association's response to member feedback and the tough economic climate when every addition to the bottom line really counts."

He adds, "We encourage members to consider moving their card processing contract to Barclaycard Payment Acceptance to take advantage of the preferential rates and relationship support of your trade association."

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