Elite Catering was founded one year ago to provide catering services for corporate and private events in London. From weddings and parties to seminars and conferences, Elite can either work in collaboration with other third party event organisers or look after the entire event themselves. Founder/owner Chris had previously worked for a large company sourcing venues for events and at the beginning Elite would take business overflow from his old employer. But before long he started winning business independently from private clubs and hotels with new clients coming on board on the back of referrals and networking.

We spoke with Chris to discuss the challenges he faced in growing the company to be the success story it is today and how his business has been transformed since adopting the EVO Payments Pay by Link solution.

Pay by Link

Pay by Link is a simple payment tool that lets you send a ‘Pay Now’ button in emails or a payment link in invoices so your customers can pay you quickly and easily. You don’t need a website and you don’t need a card terminal. You can use it anywhere – all you need is a laptop, PC, smartphone or tablet and access to an internet connection. There is an online portal where you can keep track of all your payment requests to see when they’ve been paid. You can resend a request to an alternative address and send reminder emails if the bill remains unpaid.

Previous payment provider

Prior to EVO Payments, Elite Catering had previously used a well-known global online payments solution for all payment processing. “My previous provider were unreliable and their rates were very high, charging 2.75% on Visa or Mastercard. This was ridiculous” according to Chris.

“Also I had an account with them where my payments were accumulating. And while I needed that money in my own bank so that I could pay my suppliers, I often had great difficulty accessing my money. Every other day, my account was ‘on hold’. They would frequently put my money on hold for 72 hours where I had no access to my funds. As my business grew, I would often hire and have to pay subcontractors and self-employed personnel only to discover I had no access to my money to pay them” said Chris.

Lower rates and better service

After speaking with some friends, Chris learnt about EVO Payments and after a short phone conversation with the EVO team, decided to move all his card payment requirements over to them. The main drivers of change can be summarised as follows:

• More competitive rates
• Simple, straight forward approval process
• Easy on-boarding
• Hassle free, great service

Helping my business grow

“The difference between EVO and my previous supplier is night and day. I can see all the charges and transactions online on the EVO portal so everything is very clear and easy to understand. Because of that I am much more relaxed about my payment processing now that I’m with EVO. I can fully concentrate on growing my business and not worry about how I am going to collect my money and how am I going to pay my suppliers and vendors,” Chris says.

“I know exactly when my money will be in my account and it is there when I need it so I can plan around that. I’ve already recommended EVO to a friend of mine who needed a payment solution and I will recommend EVO to anybody else who asks me. I have nothing but good things to say about them” Chris says.

Why choose EVO Payments?

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