Marketing
Nochex does not use any slick advertising or deceptive rate quoting, like you often find at many other companies in the payment industry. It uses referrals and partners, as well as social media to promote its products and services. Overall, its message is clear and transparent.
Honesty
Nochex clearly states that it charges a set-up fee, but we wonder why its transaction costs are no longer listed on its site. Also, we did not find any complaints about hidden fees or misleading information. Another thing is that it does not list its acquiring bank. In an effort to be more transparent, many payment providers have started including this information.
Sales
Nochex builds its customer base through an in-house sales team and referrals. Fortunately, we found nothing that indicates that it uses independent sales agents. Anyone in the payments industry will tell you this is good news. Independent sales agents are notorious for not disclosing all terms, setting their own rates, and not explaining all the nuances of accounts. Also, fortunately, we could not find any complaints of misleading tactics related sales.
Support
Nochex is available via phone, email, and live chat. However, it only operates during normal business hours. Those with problems after hours will do best trying to get answers by engaging with other merchants or using Nochex’s help pages and support information on its site.
Staff Responsiveness
Like similar companies that mostly operate online, Nochex is not as responsive as we had hoped. Though we found a wealth information on its site and FAQs section, the team was not very responsive via phone or email. However, we had better luck using its live chat option. Also, it is important to note that this was a main complaint for merchants and buyers. We find this unacceptable, but not surprising, since it is an online provider. We hope Nochex makes an effort to work on this part of the business.
Staff Interaction
We found it impossible to reach a live person at Nochex. We called multiple times, and we were unable to speak to anyone. We did email a few questions, and we were referred to its FAQ section. This jives with what other online comments and reviews. Most of the complaints about Nochex are about customers having difficulties getting technical support or dealing with poor customer service. Some complaints have said representatives were everything from non-responsive to ineffective to unprofessional. If Nochex wants to remain a major contender, it will need to continue to work on this part of the business. With so much competition, this is something that will force merchants to look elsewhere.
Staff Education
Since we were unable to actually communicate with a member of the Nochex team, it is impossible to evaluate its education level. We did find the site’s support center, FAQ section, and other parts of its site very clear and easy to understand. This can go a long way if staff is unreachable. But again, this is no excuse for poor customer service.
Pricing
Nochex offers two types of accounts – merchants and traders. The merchant provider charges a flat price percentage fee for both types of accounts. For a merchant account, Nochex clearly lists that it charges a one-time set-up fee of £50. Though it no longer lists transaction pricing on its website, the last rate reported for a merchant account was 2.9% plus 20p and 3.2% plus 20p per transaction. There is no set-up fee for the trader account. UK residents can only get instant merchant accounts. Anyone in Europe can get a trader account.
Similar to payment aggregators, it uses a pay-as-you-use model, so do not expect to pay: monthly, annual, management, reporting, fraud detection or protection, of transaction settlement fees. Also, both types of account holders get access to all of Nochex’s business services.
Early Termination Fees
Nochex does not require a contract, so there is no need to worry about any early termination fees if you no longer want to use their services. This is a major plus since many merchant accounts require a contract of three to five years with automatic renewal clause. In these situations, getting out of contracts can require hefty fees or buying out the rest of their contracts. This can be a headache for any merchant, especially one that is new to processing. Not having to sign a contract makes Nochex a low-risk, low-commitment provider that any startup or small business can appreciate.
Hardware Costs
Nochex does not sell or lease any point-of-sale machines, card readers, or any other equipment. If you need to process in-store card payments, you will need to seek another provider for the equipment and those services.
Complaints
Overall, most complaints we found were from buyers not merchants. With that being said, where Nochex falls the most is in the area of customer service and support.
We also found a number of complaints about limits and rolling reserves. Some complained about a £100 transaction limit on trader accounts. Some say after processing volumes increase, that limit can get lifted and businesses even get the opportunities to request additional countries. Transaction limits and rolling reserves are pretty commonplace in the payments industry. However, if merchants are complaining about it, obviously needs to step up its game and ensure they are telling people about this. If the limit can get raised, it would definitely make the account more pleasing to other small merchants.
There also are positive reviews on UK business Forums. Merchants says it’s easy to use, a good choice for businesses that do not process high-value items, and that the staff they worked with during technical issues were very efficient.
