Trust centre

How we use AI

We use modern AI tools to help with research and first drafts, the same way we use a spellchecker or a spreadsheet. They make us faster. They do not make our decisions and they do not have the final word.

• A named human reviews and signs off every published page. AI never publishes on its own.
• AI does not decide anything for the customer. Our comparison matches your sector and pricing needs to providers on our panel by criteria fit. Which provider you choose, and what you sign, is always your decision. Any account decision is made by the acquirer, on the acquirer's own process, with a human in the loop.
• AI does not give regulated advice. MerchantHQ is a comparison and introducer service. Our content is general information, not personal financial, legal or tax advice.
• Real terminal data only. We do not let AI invent terminal specifications, fees, founding years, provider names or hardware details. Pricing, rates and hardware facts are taken from the provider's own current documentation or left out. We do not publish fabricated reviews or testimonials.
• Personal data handled by AI tools is processed in line with our privacy notice and UK data protection law.

Our use of AI is guided by UK data protection law and the ICO's guidance on AI and automated decision-making. Where AI could affect a customer, a person stays in the loop, in line with the direction of AI regulation such as the EU AI Act.

Named authorship and editorial standards

Every page is written or reviewed by a named person and dated. We publish comparison and editorial content, not paid-for rankings, and any sponsored material is labelled as such with the sponsor named. Reviews and rankings are not for sale. The full detail is in our editorial policy, the review method is set out in how we test, and you can see the people behind the content on our authors page.

Fact-checking and sources

Before a page goes live, factual claims are checked against primary sources, not other websites. In practice that means:

• Terminal pricing, fees and hardware specifications taken from the provider's own current rate sheet and product documentation.
• Entities verified against Companies House.
• Regulated firms checked on the FCA Register.
• Payment-scheme and interchange context taken from the card schemes' own published fee documentation.

Corrections

If something is wrong, tell us and we will fix it. Email [email protected] with the page address and what is incorrect. We respond within two working days. Material corrections are made and noted in a footer line on the page so the change is visible.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with our service, we want to hear about it. Email [email protected] or write to Best Business Loans Ltd, and please include your name, how to reach you, and what went wrong.

We acknowledge every complaint within five working days and aim to give a full response within four weeks. MerchantHQ introduces enquiries to card-payment providers and is not itself the provider of any payment or merchant account, so a complaint about a specific product or terminal may also need to go to the provider that supplied it. We will point you to the right place if so.

Your data

We only pass your details to providers on the disclosed panel that match your enquiry, and we tell you before we do. What we hold, why, and how to ask us to delete it is set out in our privacy notice and cookie policy. Best Business Loans Ltd is registered with the ICO under reference ZC151816.

All our policies