Tony skinner
Hi, and welcome to the podcast, podcast my business. And today we have Mark grant from costless payment solutions.com. That’s dot com not com.au. Hi, Mark, how you doing?
Mark
I’m actually Excellent. Thank you, Tony, thank you for asking. 
Mark
Good on you. Okay, so cost less payment solutions, I guess it’s what’s the ad does exactly what it says on the tin.
Mark
It does.
Tony skinner
Like podcast my business that’s what I do I put out podcast people’s businesses.
Mark
Yeah, absolutely. It was. It’s sort of what I came up with when I left the corporate banking world some four years ago. So, yeah, it was sort of apt to be that name for what I actually do to help Australians with the businesses, the clubs in their associations.
Tony skinner
Fantastic. So is this some sort of revenge against the banks
Mark
Look, it depends on who you’re talking to. Some will say yes. Primarily, it was it was a case of, as I mentioned, I had a corporate banking role for some 20 odd years, I’m not going to attack my previous employer because no very good to me. However, I became a little bit disenchanted with the whole banking system here in Australia, where it was a continual taking and and pilfering of businesses, clubs and associations for bank face. So I had a, what they call a lightning bolt moment, some four years ago and left the corporate role, which was a real, you know, sort of like leaping Everest in a single bound by doing so.
Mark
So, I left had a little bit of what I call, detoxing, you know, getting out of that particular role and thought, Well, what will I do next? So, unfortunately due to my situation I was unable to find work where I live. And so like they say, Well, if you can’t find where could I make it? So that’s where this whole costless payment solutions and what I do sort of evolved from, there’s a real genuine onus in trying to give back to people and trying to help. And what’s really dear to me, Tony, is the cost of living pressures that were we we face here in this country. So I think, well, if I can give you back, some if not all of the bank fees well, that’s going to have an impact on the quality of life that I would think that you would like to have for your family.
Tony skinner
Oh, absolutely. And I mean, you’ve got it right here introducing zero bank fees. So I guess in a little nutshell, how does that work?
Mark
Yeah. Great, great, great question. How it works is it works in accordance with the Federal Government surcharge laws which came in in September 2017. In a nutshell, those laws state that a business club or association is able to pass back to their consumer, the cost of acceptance of a card for payment of a good or service. So that’s a pretty, I’ll just use a pretty brief sort of summary there on of the law. So it is a bit deeper than that. So in other words, if we can just use an example and this is where there’s a lot, I find this quite, quite common with businesses I’m dealing with across Australia. In that business will say, Well, hi Mark we are not interested in your product. I’m actually charging my own private surcharge. Now we’re a business club or Association has to be very, very careful in doing that. Is that the law is very, very stringent in business’s policy on their own profit surcharge. So if I can use just as an example, if you have let’s use as the example EftPOS terminal with Westpac and Westpac is charging you the business. On the EFTPOS transactions say 30 cents on a MasterCard visa transaction, to 2%. And on a mix 3% 
Mark
I struck a business in Brisbane some four months ago that was passing on what they thought was the correct surcharge to every customer paying by card in their business. They’ll policy on 3%. Now, I actually sat down with him and mentioned to them that actually complying with with the law, they’re actually flirting with it if I can use that word and the liable to a fine Up to $126,000. So we asked this particular business owner, okay, well, if you can’t pass on 3% of those rights I mentioned, what right can you pass on to every car hauler.
Mark
He was going to pick 2%. Then I said, Well, no. How about third time lucky 30 cents Well, that’s right. So effectively, if he was going to then pass on to every card holder paying him in his business, a 30 cent surcharge, he effectively would be going out the back door quicker than what he would know, because Westpac will still continue to charge the 2% for MasterCard and Visa, and 3% for a mix. So that that’s a pretty common example of what’s actually happening across our country at present. It’s a little bit of an education piece that that’s required. And that’s sort of wear on I’m sort of happy to help in any shape or form. I can
Tony skinner
Well, that’s right? I, for example, don’t use the major banks, I use somebody else that does that. And you mentioned that similar what you’re doing over, you’ve got a different arrangement. And for me, they pass it on automatically to customers. And I guess I was lucky enough, shall we say, when I started the business all those years ago that I saw the trap.So who would this be ideal for?
Mark
Yeah, gonna answer that a very vague why Tony, this is sort of ideal for people who are thinking, in example, I will look out our business costs are going through the roof and our profits going through the floor. So what can we do to sort of, you know, equalize that a little bit more people who may be a little bit disenchanted with the banking system here in Australia. So it’s sort of, and option three is anyone else I haven’t even thought of yet. But as I keep saying to too many people I come across in my dealings day in day out.
Mark
When someone is looking for a payment solution, it’s a very warm path that they would tread straight through to their bank. However, you know, with the anti regularization in our financial services here in Australia, there are people like me, and with my experience in dealing with these solutions, you know, for some 20 odd years, I’ve got the knowledge and I, I know what can actually work for you, and what can’t and what can actually add value to your bottom line, and ultimately help you improve that cost of living. I spoke earlier about
Tony skinner
Okay, cool. All right. Well, thank you for that. So yeah, it’s, I guess, with the event that we’ve all gone through saving Money is pretty damn important.
Mark
Yeah, it is. It is. And it’s, it’s sort of that case there where, you know, you look, you know, for instance with. And I’ll use an example here a real life example that happened about five months ago, I was contacted by a fairly large medical practice here on the Gold Coast. And as something I commonly do with when I’m talking to a business has told me about the goals and dreams you have for your business. So this was a thriving medical practice that had four receptionists at the front, I was actually meeting with the three directors who happened to be three of the doctors in the practice.
Mark
And they mentioned to me mark, we’d like to have another receptionist out the front. And obviously I asked him, Well, what would that cost you? And I said, you know, 50 k plus, plus, super So that’s fine.
Mark
What I’ve done prior to, to asking about those goals and desires for the business, I have actually been privy to the last three months of the merchant statements for 
the EFTPOS terminals with the National Bank. So I could see that on a annual basis though we’re paying fees and charges to the NAB of $125,000 a year. Wow. So ultimately what I came back to say to them as well, doctors what happens if there is a why. So I can show you how to fund that extra staff member that you don’t think you can afford out the front there and still have at least $70,000 a year going back in your cash flow. What are your thoughts? There was a pause and then suddenly I think I almost need to call triple 000. I think I had the results the date them. So ultimately now. Yeah, they are using mysolution and and that’s that’s sort of the real dollar savings that I’m able to help people with.
Mark
Tony, to the listeners and what I’d say to them, too, I mentioned that in a fairly large, you know, sort of situation dollar wise, but I’ve, I’ve come from with my background, and when I started this business, it was all around about trying to make a difference to as many lives across this country as I could. And in saying that, I’m more than happy to talk to no disrespect meant the mom and dad running the local news agency and you know, suburban Sydney as an example.
Mark
So, you know, it’s a way of me imparting over 25 years of banking and finance knowledge. And certainly if they’re on something better than what I can help them with. I’ll have no doubt in telling them and say, right, stick where you are, I can’t add value to what you’re doing.
Tony skinner
Fantastic. Okay. That’s the thing if you don’t need to change it and no, we don’t we don’t want change. That’s wrong. Yeah, exactly. All right. So like I asked everybody for some tips. So what would be a tip from yourself? Dealing the banks or saving money with the banks?
Mark
Yeah, sure. And one of probably my first tip is, is if you have not had contact with your bank for, let’s say, 12 months, and you have a payment solution with them, let’s say an example would be an F POS terminal, or a direct debit link solution, that you go back to them. And you say, right, if you want my business, what are you, the bank going to do to keep me? What are you going to do about these fees and charges? Because obviously, what you what you now know is there’s another provider in the marketplace, there’s myself that can provide those same solutions the banks are doing at no cost to your business. So that would be That would be tip one.
Mark
Tip two, if you’re if you’re in your business now, I’m sorry if you’re at home, in isolation during this event that Tony refers to and as I would certainly be looking at your bank statements, because there is, you know, if there’s $100 a month, $200 a month that you’re being charged for a subscription as an example. Yeah, maybe that subscription was was justified some two years ago, but you no longer need that subscription now, but you just haven’t gotten around and canceling it now would be that sort of time to do so. So there’s, you know, there’s another two and a half thousand dollars a year that you could find, that can help towards your rights on your property or towards you know, taking your family away for a holiday when we’re allowed to travel.
Tony skinner
Well, that’s a good point, because I think a lot of the time business owners don’t look at things like, Oh, I can’t, it’s coming out. That’s a subscription model. I’ve got to pay for that and one of the don’t spend enough time looking Looking at the actual expenses themselves, so that’s Yeah, exactly right. Okay, well look Thank you Mark. Really appreciate that. And, again, Mark from costless payment solutions.com. And you’ve got a thing here right on your website on your homepage, saying free consultation. And certainly people who want to find out more can go there.
Mark
Thank you, Tony. Thanks very much.