Since 2024, bank cards have been the most popular form of payment in France, beating out cash and representing 61% of transactions made in stores and online, excluding cash payments. To keep up with customers’ buying habits in France and remain competitive, businesses must be prepared to accept card payments.

However, businesses also need to carefully choose their payment processors. Poor negotiation or misunderstandings of contract terms can hurt profitability. On the other hand, good providers can boost sales performance and customer trust.

In this article, we explain what to look for in an electronic payment contract, including the contract’s details, obligations, and associated costs.

Key takeaways

• An electronic payment contract is an agreement between a business and a certified payment provider that authorizes card payments and defines the financial, technical, and security terms of transactions.
  
• Electronic payment contracts address key points, such as accepted cards, processing fees, and merchant security requirements (Référentiel Sécuritaire Accepteur, or RSA) guidelines.
  
• Electronic payment contracts come with mutual obligations. Businesses are responsible for security and traceability, while providers are responsible for service availability, funds transfers, and technical support.
  
• Contracts allow businesses to accept bank cards—the most popular form of payment in France—while also ensuring payment, securing transactions, and lowering costs.
  
• The main costs of accepting bank card transactions are interchange fees, bank network fees, and service fees.
  

What is an electronic payment contract?

An electronic payment contract is an agreement between a business that accepts payments and a banking institution or certified payment provider. The contract authorizes the business to accept bank card payments through an electronic payment terminal or online solution.

The contract outlines the financial, technical, and security terms for payments. This includes how the parties use payment terminals or online solutions (e.g., card machines, online checkout). It also includes the types of cards accepted (e.g., Cartes Bancaires [CB], Visa, Mastercard, foreign cards), payment types (e.g., in-person, contactless, remote), and fees for each transaction.

Once the parties sign the contract, the business receives a direct deposit card that includes its business number and bank number. The business uses the card to set up the payment terminal so payments from completed transactions deposit directly into their business bank account.

What parties enter into an electronic payment contract?

Electronic payment contracts bind two parties: the business (i.e., the party accepting payments) and the payment provider (i.e., the payment processor). Here is more information about each party:

• Business
  This can include any registered business that legally agrees to accept bank card payments in exchange for goods or services.
  
• Banking institution or payment provider
  This is an institution that provides financial services (e.g., account management, payment methods, loans) and must be certified by the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution, or ACPR). It can be a traditional bank, specialized service provider, or certified payment service provider, such as Stripe.
  

What businesses use electronic payment contracts?

Any business type can use an electronic payment contract, including small or large businesses, freelancers, and nonprofit organizations that accept payments. However, to accept bank cards, a business typically needs to open a business bank account first.

What do electronic payment contracts include?

Electronic payment contracts define the entire technical and commercial relationship between the business and payment provider. The contract contains terms common to all providers, each party’s obligations, and special clauses that vary based on the service provided. Though the structure of an electronic payment contract can vary by provider, the terms and obligations are usually similar.

Here are some common features of an electronic payment contract:

• Glossary and definitions: Electronic payment contracts define technical terms, such as “business,” “payment processor,” “transaction,” “card machine,” “electronic equipment,” and “processing fee.”
  
• Payment types accepted: The contract will indicate whether in-person or remote payments are accepted.
  
• Financial terms and conditions: The contract contains information on processing fees (e.g., interchange fees), rates by card type, provider processing fees, and revenue-based fee schedules.
  
• Security acceptance standard (Référentiel Sécuritaire Accepteur, or RSA): All electronic payment contracts contain a clause describing the 15 general security requirements that the business is required to follow (e.g., protecting the system, restricting access, ensuring transaction traceability and data privacy).
  
• Direct deposit card: The contract describes how the payment provider will issue and renew the business’s direct deposit card.
  
• Obligations of each party: The business and payment provider must meet certain obligations stipulated in the contract.
  
• General conditions: These involve use of payment terminals or card payment solutions and the terms of the various bank card networks.
  
• Optional terms: These could concern the purchase, rental, or maintenance of payment terminals or holds on cards.
  
• Cancellation terms: Electronic payment contracts clearly state the agreement’s duration, process for early cancellation, cancellation fees, and equipment return process.
  
• Additional services: These can include transaction statements, payment guarantees, chargebacks, transaction reporting or updates, and periodic equipment maintenance.
  

What are the obligations in electronic payment contracts?

An electronic payment contract creates obligations for both the business and payment provider. If the business fails to meet these obligations, the provider can suspend service, reject payment guarantees, or terminate the contract.

Business obligations

Businesses accepting bank card payments must do the following:

• Register the business: The business must have an establishment directory identification system (SIRET) number and principal activity performed (APE) code issued by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, or Insee).
  
• Display the bank cards accepted: This can include CB, Visa, Mastercard, foreign cards, etc., and they must be displayed at the store entrance and register.
  
• Use the card payment terminal: Businesses use the terminal as indicated in the electronic payment contract.
  
• Verify card security elements: This includes the card verification value (CVV) code, holographic logo, and information consistency.
  
• Explain minimum transaction amounts: Inform the customer about these amounts, if they are applicable.
  
• Offer physical or electronic receipts: This must happen after each transaction.
  
• Send electronic records: Businesses must transmit records of transactions to the bank within a certain time limit.
  
• Keep and store proof of transactions: Businesses must store this information for a certain period of time. Records must include images of receipts, certificates, and authorization numbers.
  
• Follow RSA requirements: This includes general security requirements that businesses are required to follow.
  
• Agree to audits: These could be conducted by third parties hired by the payment provider or bank network.
  

Payment provider obligations

Similar to businesses, banks and payment providers also have specific obligations, including the following:

• Provide and maintain payment processing services throughout the term of the agreement.
  
• Credit payments to the business’s bank account within a certain time limit.
  
• Provide transaction statements on the schedule stipulated in the electronic payment contract.
  
• Provide technical support in the event of an outage or payment terminal malfunction.
  
• Handle transaction disputes and arbitration, in certain cases.
  
• Inform the business when rates change.
  
• Meet Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements for securing payment information.
  

Why do businesses need electronic payment contracts?

Electronic payment contracts are required to accept bank card payments. Without contracts, businesses cannot set up payment terminals and begin taking card payments. The contract is also an important way to make payments secure, structure cash flow, and respond to customer payment habits.

Electronic payment contracts offer a number of benefits to businesses:

• Access to an important payment method
  Credit cards are the most popular payment method in France. Offering credit card payments allows businesses to meet customer expectations, accept a wide variety of cards (e.g., CB, Visa, Mastercard, mobile payments, meal vouchers), stay competitive, encourage higher spending, and build trust and credibility.
  
• Guaranteed payment
  Under an electronic payment contract, the payment provider must credit the amount of each authorized transaction to the business bank account, ensuring concrete financial security that cash payments can’t match.
  
• Secure transactions and security standards
  Every card transaction is processed using protocols certified by PCI DSS and RSA. Customer card information is encrypted and secure, reducing fraud and failed payments.
  
• Lower deposit costs
  Electronic payment contracts define processing fees ahead of time, offer volume-based fee schedules, and let businesses negotiate terms with the provider.
  
• Improved cash flow
  Electronic payment contracts stipulate how long it takes for payments to deposit into the business’s account, offering an accurate view of cash flow and more efficient decision-making for business management and investments.
  
• Dispute handling
  In the event of chargebacks, the contract contains a structured arbitration procedure for the business, payment provider, and bank that issued the card.
  

When do businesses enter into multiple electronic payment contracts?

Businesses that wish to accept card payments can enter into an electronic payment contract for each payment channel:

• In-person payments
  This includes any payment made by a customer in-person using a payment terminal in a physical store or business (e.g., bakery, restaurant, clothing store, plumber). Electronic payment contracts generally include payments entered manually and contactless payments (e.g., Tap to Pay).
  
• Remote payments
  These include payments made when customers are not physically present and communicate their banking information online, by phone, or via payment links.
  
• Machine payments
  This includes any card payment at a machine without a human present (e.g., toll booth, gas pump, ticket kiosk, airport check-in kiosk).
  
• Digital wallet top-ups
  This service allows customers to store money without linking it to a bank account and to make payments directly.
  

What are the costs of electronic payment contracts?

The costs of electronic payment contracts—called “processing fees”—vary based on the services desired and contract terms. There are three types of fees that apply to all card transactions:

• Interchange fee: This fee is paid by the business’s bank to the bank that issued the customer’s card.
  
• Bank network fee: The card network (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, CB) charges this fee to the business’s bank for use of the network’s infrastructure.
  
• Processing fee: The payment provider charges this fee for services provided, and it can be negotiated in the electronic payment contract.
  

There can also be additional costs, including payment terminal rental, transaction reports, or terminal installation and setup fees. Before signing electronic payment contracts, businesses need to check with providers to verify which fees are included and added.

How Stripe Payments can help

Stripe Payments provides a unified, global payments solution that helps any business—from scaling startups to global enterprises—accept payments online, in person, and around the world.

Stripe Payments can help you:

• Optimize your checkout experience: Create a frictionless customer experience and save thousands of engineering hours with prebuilt payment UIs, access to 125+ payment methods, and Link, a wallet built by Stripe.
  
• Expand to new markets faster: Reach customers worldwide and reduce the complexity and cost of multicurrency management with cross-border payment options, available in 195 countries across 135+ currencies.
  
• Unify payments in person and online: Build a unified commerce experience across online and in-person channels to personalize interactions, reward loyalty, and grow revenue.
  
• Improve payments performance: Increase revenue with a range of customizable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and advanced capabilities to improve authorization rates.
  
• Move faster with a flexible, reliable platform for growth: Build on a platform designed to scale with you, with 99.999% historical uptime and industry-leading reliability.
  

Learn more about how Stripe Payments can power your online and in-person payments, or get started today.