Flatpay Retention Playbook

• Merchant says they want to cancel, return the terminal, stop the agreement, or not proceed after installation.

“I can help with that. Before I process anything, can I quickly understand what has driven the decision, so I can check whether there is a clean fix for you?”

• “Can I ask what’s driving the cancellation?”
• “When did this become a problem for you?”
• “Have you already moved to another provider, or are you still deciding?”
• “What would need to change for this to make sense for your business?”

1. Do not offer a discount before the root cause is clear.
2. Repeat the real issue back in one sentence, then move into the relevant scenario card.
3. Close with one concrete next step: update rate, remove/reduce surcharge, send comparison, book tech support, pause account, or confirm cancellation route.

• No usage, low usage, merchant says they are using another machine, bank transfer, cash, or only using Flatpay occasionally.

“I’m just reaching out in regards to your card terminal. I can see there hasn’t been much usage recently, just wanted to check in and see how things are going.”

• “Is the terminal working as expected?”
• “Are customers paying another way, such as bank transfer, cash, or another terminal?”
• “When do you expect card payments to pick up again?”
• “Do you use Flatpay as your main terminal or as backup?”

1. If seasonal: record expected restart date and schedule follow-up.
2. If another terminal: move to competitor/rate comparison or payout card.
3. If technical: capture exact symptom and evidence, then raise support.
4. If merchant forgot / unclear: remind them of agreement/minimum usage only after confirming context.

• Merchant says customers complain, business/international/corporate cards trigger extra charges, surcharge was not explained, or they fear losing customers.

“I’ll just explain to you basically why the surcharge is a unique benefit that we offer, and then I’ll be happy to go through the options if you’re happy to proceed.”

• “Is it mainly business cards, international cards, Amex, or all of them?”
• “Out of 10 customers, roughly how many pay with those card types?”
• “Are customers refusing to pay, or are they asking for an explanation?”
• “Would you prefer to keep the customer charge lower, or remove it completely even if your base rate needs to be recalculated?”

1. Explain the value neutrally: with surcharge enabled, merchant keeps 100% of those business/international card payments and can receive a lower base rate.
2. Land the loss framing if needed: “If the surcharge wasn’t in place, you’d essentially be losing money because you’d have to carry the cost out of your own pocket on those cards.”
3. Show the amount on real baskets: £10, £100, £550, etc. The strongest calls translated percentage into pounds.
4. Offer ladder: keep as-is if customer impact is low; reduce surcharge to 1.89/half if available; remove for selected card type if allowed; remove completely with base-rate recalculation.
5. Give a trial option: “Let’s try the reduction; if complaints continue, we can revisit removal.”
6. Confirm operational timeline: surcharge/rate updates were repeatedly quoted as taking two to three working days.

• Merchant says another provider is cheaper, current provider matched, they received 0.3/0.4/0.65/0.8 style rates, or they are staying with Takepayments/SumUp/Dojo/Square/Teya/Worldpay.

“That’s completely fair — most businesses will check the best offer. Before you decide, let me compare it like-for-like so you can see the full cost, not just the headline rate.”

• “Can you send the quote or latest statement?”
• “Does that rate include terminal rental, authorisation fees, transaction fees, minimum monthly fees, PCI/CPI, business cards and international cards?”
• “How many transactions do you take roughly per month, and what is your debit/credit split?”
• “Is the competitor rate for all cards or only consumer debit?”

1. Ask for proof or a statement before promising a match.
2. Calculate true blended rate with rental + per-transaction + authorisation + minimum monthly fees.
3. Only then offer match/beat, lower rate, or rate lock within authority.
4. Reposition Flatpay: flat rate, no terminal rental, no authorisation/transaction/rental fees where applicable, transparent cost, human support.
5. Close with: “If I can beat the true full cost, are you happy to continue with us?”

• Merchant objects to 36 months, says they were promised 18/24 months, says competitor has no contract, or is worried about closing/selling the business.

“I understand. The term matters because you don’t want to feel trapped. Let me check what flexibility we have and also clarify what happens if your business closes or you get a better offer.”

• “What term were you expecting?”
• “Is the concern the length itself, or the risk of exit fees if the business changes?”
• “Were you told a different term during the sale?”
• “Would a reduced term plus a rate guarantee solve the concern?”

1. Acknowledge before explaining the agreement.
2. Offer approved term reduction where available: examples in calls included 24 months and 18 months.
3. Reassure that Flatpay will review better offers for existing customers; do not imply cancellation is always free unless policy allows it.
4. Put the revised term/rate in writing.

• Merchant says money is missing, payout is late, bank statement was rejected, Amex slowed payout, or weekend/bank-holiday payouts hurt cash flow.

“I understand why that is serious — if money is not landing when expected, it affects cash flow. Let me separate whether this is a bank-verification issue, an Amex/weekend timing issue, or an actual missing payout.”

• “Which transaction date and amount are you missing?”
• “Has the bank statement or bank account verification been accepted?”
• “Are you using Amex, and was faster payout discussed?”
• “Is the issue weekday payout, weekend payout, or bank-holiday delay?”

1. Bank verification: reassure funds are not lost, identify exactly what document is needed, and send the correct email path.
2. Weekend payout: be transparent if it cannot be changed; do not sell rate as a fix if payout is the true blocker.
3. Amex/faster payout: explain the trade-off if applicable and confirm the setting.
4. Goodwill lever seen in calls: rate reduction for inconvenience where approved.
5. Rescue script when they’re ready to cancel: “I’m reducing your rate to 0.59 — flat for all UK credit and debit. That’s a meaningful saving and I want you to give it a fair shot. If after a couple of weeks payouts are still a genuine blocker for your business — not just an inconvenience — we’ll review then. Most merchants find the rate offset more than covers the cadence.” Do not volunteer free cancellation up front.
6. Close with the exact document/action, owner, and next callback date.

• Terminal does not connect, no network, payments fail, customer says machine is offline/declining, driver terminals not working, or support has not resolved it.

“I’m sorry that has disrupted taking payments. Let me capture the exact symptom so support can troubleshoot the right thing rather than just call you back generally.”

• “How many terminals are affected?”
• “What exactly appears on screen — no network, loading, declined, offline, or error code?”
• “Does it happen on Wi-Fi, 4G/SIM, or both?”
• “Can you send a short video or photo of the error?”

1. Capture the technical symptom, not just “not working”.
2. Ask for video/photo evidence if possible.
3. Send to support/tech with call ID and customer impact.
4. If repeated issue: offer replacement/field visit/escalation where available.
5. Follow up after fix and ask for first successful transaction.

• Merchant needs pay-by-link, phone payments, deposits, split payments, smaller/mobile terminal, POS/till integration, or a feature they were told existed.

“I understand why that would be a concern.”

• “Which feature do you need day-to-day, and how often?”
• “Were you told this was already available?”
• “Can the business continue temporarily with card-present payments, or is the feature essential before you can use Flatpay?”
• “Would a test phase, account pause, or written guarantee solve the risk?”

1. Be clear: live now vs roadmap vs not available.
2. Offer workaround or product specialist/test phase where genuinely available.
3. If we do not offer the feature they were promised, apologise. Clarify internally whether it’s on the roadmap, then let the merchant know if we will have it in the future.
4. If it’s not on the roadmap, still push for usage where possible — don’t drop the relationship just because that specific feature isn’t coming.

• “Do you require any plug-in integrations?”
• “Are you okay with experiencing bugs and initial technical limitations? It is in trial phase, so it may not be perfect.”

• Merchant says sales rep lied, disappeared, promised old-provider cancellation, Amex, free trial, a shorter contract, no contract at all, or same features as another provider. For surcharge-specific promises, use the Surcharge scenario instead.

“I’m sorry — that is not the experience we want you to have. I’m going to separate the issues, check what was promised, and give you clear next steps in writing so you are not left chasing.”

• “What exactly were you told before signing?”
• “Which part has not happened: old-provider cancellation, payout timing, rate, contract length, Amex, or feature availability?”
• “Do you have messages/screenshots from the rep that I can review?”
• “What outcome would rebuild enough confidence for you to continue?”

1. Apologise without blaming the merchant.
2. Acknowledge the specific failure: “I understand you were told X and experienced Y.”
3. Do not debate the agreement first; investigate and escalate to sales/manager if needed.
4. Where possible, honour the promise or offer a practical equivalent: term reduction, rate adjustment, pause, product test, or cancellation route.
5. Send an email summary of what was agreed.

• Merchant is closed temporarily, quiet season, renovation, moving, holiday, sickness, event-only/large-few-transactions business, or irregular opening hours.

“That makes sense. I’ll note that the low usage is seasonal/temporary rather than an issue with Flatpay. When do you expect payments to restart?”

• “Is the business closed temporarily or just quieter?”
• “What date should we expect transactions to restart?”
• “Will transactions be fewer but larger, or regular once you reopen?”
• “Do you need the account paused or just noted for follow-up?”

1. Record reason and restart date.
2. If closure is temporary, note pause/follow-up options if available.
3. If event-based, tag as large/few transactions and avoid repeated low-usage calls.
4. If minimum usage applies, mention it carefully after context is captured.

• Merchant permanently closed, sold the business, new owner is using the premises/terminal, or wants to transfer the account.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Just so I guide you correctly, is the business permanently closed, temporarily closed, or has someone taken over?”

• “Is there a new owner or new company?”
• “Are transactions still going through the terminal?”
• “Can the new owner take over the agreement, or do we need closure documentation?”
• “Do you have DS01/CS01 or other proof of closure if required?”

1. Temporary closure: move to seasonal/pause card.
2. Permanent closure: explain documents and return process.
3. Takeover: collect new-owner details and start takeover route.
4. If new business opening soon: check if terminal can be linked to new business.