https://vip-360.com/insights/ Plain-English guides to merchant accounts, gateways, EMIs, safeguarding, chargebacks and late payments, from a group of licensed institutions. en-GB Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/high-risk-merchant-accounts/ https://vip-360.com/insights/high-risk-merchant-accounts/ How a business gets classified high risk: your MCC, and your ratios against the published Visa and Mastercard thresholds. What it costs and how to apply. Risk & Rules Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/is-my-money-fscs-protected/ https://vip-360.com/insights/is-my-money-fscs-protected/ FSCS covers £120,000 per authorised bank since December 2025. E-money is outside it and safeguarded instead. How to check which one you have. Risk & Rules Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/match-list/ https://vip-360.com/insights/match-list/ The MATCH list explained: why acquirers list terminated merchants, the reason codes, how long a listing lasts, and how a listed business gets a merchant account again. Risk & Rules Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/business-credit-card-vs-prepaid-expense-card/ https://vip-360.com/insights/business-credit-card-vs-prepaid-expense-card/ Credit cards borrow, prepaid expense cards spend what you hold. What each costs, what a personal guarantee means, when the float is worth it, and why most finance teams end up running both. Understand Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/card-readers-for-small-business/ https://vip-360.com/insights/card-readers-for-small-business/ Choosing a card reader for small business: how app-based readers price, why sign-up is instant, the four ways businesses outgrow them, and how to work out your own crossover point. Get Set Up Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/chargeback-time-limits/ https://vip-360.com/insights/chargeback-time-limits/ How long a customer has to raise a chargeback, when the clock actually starts, how long a merchant gets to respond, and how Section 75 differs. Risk & Rules Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/faster-payments-limits/ https://vip-360.com/insights/faster-payments-limits/ The Faster Payments limit is £1 million, but your bank's limit is probably far lower. Why the two differ, what kinds of limit exist, and what to do about a large transfer. Understand Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/interchange-fees-uk/ https://vip-360.com/insights/interchange-fees-uk/ What interchange is, the UK caps of 0.2% and 0.3% and what they exclude, why cross-border fees jumped after Brexit, and which parts of your rate are negotiable. Risk & Rules Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/merchant-services-explained/ https://vip-360.com/insights/merchant-services-explained/ What are merchant services? What the phrase bundles together, why high-street providers decline some businesses, the eight things worth comparing, and what it costs to leave. Get Set Up Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/payment-terms-explained/ https://vip-360.com/insights/payment-terms-explained/ Invoice payment terms decoded: what Net 30, EOM, MFI and 2/10 net 30 actually mean, the UK statutory position if you agree nothing, and how to choose. Get Set Up Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-mid/ https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-mid/ What is a merchant ID? What a MID is, where to find yours, how it differs from an MCC, why scheme monitoring happens at MID level, and when running several is legitimate. Understand Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-payment-gateway/ https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-payment-gateway/ What is a payment gateway? What it does, the sequence a payment actually follows, hosted versus API and what each does to your PCI scope, and why a gateway decline is rarely the gateway. Understand Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-sort-code/ https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-sort-code/ What is a sort code? What the six digits identify, why a checker can call a fictional code valid, what Confirmation of Payee does, and what is safe to share. Understand Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-merchant-acquiring/ https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-merchant-acquiring/ What is merchant acquiring? What an acquirer does, how authorisation, clearing and settlement actually differ, who else can sit in the chain, and why your acquirer decides your approval rate. Understand Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/chaps-vs-bacs-vs-faster-payments/ https://vip-360.com/insights/chaps-vs-bacs-vs-faster-payments/ The three UK payment rails compared on speed, limits and cost. Bacs for scheduled runs, Faster Payments for speed, CHAPS for high value. Understand Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/how-long-does-a-bacs-payment-take/ https://vip-360.com/insights/how-long-does-a-bacs-payment-take/ Bacs takes three working days: submitted day one, processed day two, credited day three. What that means for payroll, and the faster alternatives. Understand Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/late-payment-letter-templates/ https://vip-360.com/insights/late-payment-letter-templates/ Four copy-paste late payment letters: the polite reminder, the firm chaser, the final notice and the letter before action, plus statutory interest. Get Set Up Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/client-money-vs-safeguarding/ https://vip-360.com/insights/client-money-vs-safeguarding/ Client money protection and e-money safeguarding are different regimes that letting agents often conflate. What each one covers, and how they fit together. Risk & Rules Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/uk-business-account-from-abroad/ https://vip-360.com/insights/uk-business-account-from-abroad/ How a non-UK resident company opens a UK business account: the bank vs e-money routes, what documents you need, and how long it really takes. Understand Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/payfac-vs-iso/ https://vip-360.com/insights/payfac-vs-iso/ Payment facilitator vs ISO explained: who holds the merchant relationship, who touches the money, and which model gives merchants a direct counterparty. Understand Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/payment-gateway-costs/ https://vip-360.com/insights/payment-gateway-costs/ The real cost structure of card processing: every fee category : interchange, scheme fees, processing margin, gateway fees, reserves and chargebacks. Risk & Rules Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-payment-facilitator/ https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-payment-facilitator/ Payment facilitators explained: how the payfac model works, how it differs from an acquirer, and what it means for merchants: one contract, faster go-live. Understand Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-virtual-iban/ https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-a-virtual-iban/ Virtual IBANs explained: real, routable account numbers issued under a master account: named collections and clean reconciliation without a bank branch. Understand Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-an-emi/ https://vip-360.com/insights/what-is-an-emi/ Electronic money institutions explained: what an EMI licence covers, how e-money differs from a bank deposit, and how safeguarding protects your funds. Risk & Rules Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://vip-360.com/insights/why-card-payments-get-declined/ https://vip-360.com/insights/why-card-payments-get-declined/ Most card declines are preventable. The real reasons transactions fail (issuer risk scoring, routing, 3DS friction, stale card data) and what lifts them. Understand Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT