Most business owners pick a payment processor the way they pick a coffee order: fast, cheap, and rarely thought about again. That works fine until a chargeback spikes, a rate quietly climbs, or a support line goes unanswered during a busy weekend. By then, switching costs time and money that a little upfront diligence would have saved.

William Stapleton, President and CEO of Iron Rock Payments, has spent years on both sides of this problem. Before running Iron Rock, he built and sold a credit card processing company, so he has seen how processors are put together from the inside and how merchants experience them from the outside. That gives him a clear view of where the gap between the two usually sits.

Start with what the rate actually includes

The quoted rate is the easiest number to compare and often the least useful one. A processor advertising a low headline rate can still cost more once you add batch fees, statement fees, PCI compliance fees, and early termination penalties.

Stapleton’s view is that merchants should ask for the full fee schedule in writing before signing anything, not after.

“A rate quote with no fee schedule attached is not a real quote,” he says. “It is a starting number designed to get you to sign, and the real cost shows up on your first three statements.”

A short list worth asking for

• The full interchange-plus or flat-rate breakdown, not a blended average
• Monthly, annual, and PCI compliance fees, listed separately
• Chargeback fees and how they are handled
• Early termination terms, in plain language

If a sales rep hesitates to put these in writing, that hesitation is the answer.

Judge support by how it behaves under pressure, not on a slow day

Every processor sounds responsive during the sales call. What matters is what happens when a terminal goes down on a Saturday or a deposit does not land on time. Stapleton points to this as the single biggest gap between processors that look similar on paper.

“You don’t find out what support really means until something breaks,” he says. “Ask who answers the phone at 9pm on a weekend, and ask what happens if that person can’t fix it.”

A good way to test this before signing is to call the support line directly, outside business hours if possible, and see how long it takes to reach a person rather than a queue.

Match the technology to how the business actually takes payments

A retail counter, a service business that invoices clients, and an online store all need different things from a processor. A common mistake is picking a processor built around one use case and then bending the business to fit it.

Stapleton suggests working backward from the actual transaction flow: how customers pay, where the money needs to end up, and what reporting the business owner actually looks at each week. A processor that can’t answer those three questions clearly during a sales conversation usually can’t answer them well after the contract is signed either.

Questions to bring to that conversation

1. How does settlement work, and how many days until funds are available?
2. Can the reporting dashboard show what the owner needs without a manual export?
3. Does the equipment or software integrate with the point-of-sale or accounting system already in place?

Read the contract length before the rate

A processor offering a very low rate tied to a long contract term is making a trade the merchant should notice. Stapleton’s advice is to treat contract length as its own line item, separate from price.

“Ask yourself what you’re giving up in flexibility for that discount,” he says. “If the business changes, or the processor’s service slips, you want a way out that doesn’t cost more than staying would have.”

Shorter terms with slightly higher rates often work out cheaper over time, once the cost of being locked into bad service is counted.

Watch for what happens after the first year

Introductory rates are common, and they are not inherently a problem. The issue is when a merchant does not notice the rate reset because nobody flagged it. A simple habit fixes this: put a calendar reminder for the date any promotional rate ends, and compare the new statement against the original fee schedule.

What good actually looks like

Pulled together, a processor worth keeping usually has a few things in common: a fee schedule you were given before you signed, support that answers when something breaks, technology that fits how the business actually takes payments, and contract terms that don’t punish you for wanting out. None of that is complicated. It just requires asking the questions before the account is open, not after the first bad statement arrives.

Snacking giant revenues up but was affected by ‘inflation, currency volatility, pressure on household budgets’

McVitie’s and Jacob’s owner Pladis has vowed to continue investing in its factories and brands despite seeing a fall in profits as inflation and economic uncertainty continue to bite.

The global snacking giant reported revenues for 2025 of £3.3bn, up 1.2% on 2024. Operating profits fell from £344.4m to £301.6m, while overall pre-tax profit fell from £181m to £49m.

Chairman Murat Ülker said: “Our external context in 2025 was shaped by commodity inflation, currency volatility, pressure on household budgets, and intense competition across our markets.” But he said revenue growth showed “continued progress across both mature and growth markets… demonstrating the enduring relevance of our brands.”

He said: “Through a focus on productivity, waste reduction and careful management of operating costs, we continued to strengthen the resilience of our business.”

And he added: “Alongside our heritage, we continue to invest in innovation, technology and new capabilities so that our brands remain relevant to changing consumer expectations while staying true to the qualities that made them trusted in the first place.”

The year also saw Pladis commit to a £68m investment at its UK sites. That included a £21m investment at its Jaffa Cake factory in Stockport, as well as a £33m overhaul of its Jacob’s Cream Crackers bakery in Aintree, Liverpool. The company also investment £2m at its Carlisle biscuit factory, creating dozens of jobs.

The group also invested £8.6m in its Cairo site and another £4.6m in a BN production line in France. 2025 also saw Pladis mark the 100th anniversary of McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives.

Sridhar Ramamurthy, chief financial officer at Pladis, said: “Pladis delivered a resilient performance in 2025, growing revenue to £3.3 billion and maintaining market-leading positions in the UK, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere. This reflects the enduring strength of our branded portfolio and the focus and commitment of our teams around the world. It was achieved in a year that tested every part of the food industry – from commodity inflation and currency volatility to broader macroeconomic headwinds.

“Our private, family-owned structure gives us the freedom to take a long-term view, beyond the reporting cycle. That perspective shapes how we invest in the business: in 2025, we invested £100 million in capital expenditure to support efficiency, capacity and resilience, while continuing to innovate across our priority brands.

“We are building from a strong commercial platform and our priorities remain clear: to keep building our brands, bring innovation to scale, accelerate digitalisation and manage cost, cash and capital with rigour. That combination of long-term investment and financial discipline is central to strengthening our competitiveness and creating value over time so that we can continue bringing happiness with every bite.”

Pladis was founded in 2016 and today employs more than 15,000 people in more than 110 countries. Its brands include Carr’s, Flipz, GODIVA, Ülker and BN, and it bills itself as “the world’s fourth-largest sweet biscuit manufacturer, the seventh-largest chocolate manufacturer and the eighth-largest savoury biscuit manufacturer”.

Since the year end, Pladis has continued its efforts to grow the McVitie’s brand in China, which it sees as a key growth market.

The Chancellor, John Healey, should use Canada as a guide when setting defence spending policy in the Autumn Budget, according to audit, tax and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.

Melissa Thomas, a director at the firm, said increased defence spending should be treated as an investment in high-value jobs, innovation and export growth rather than a cost to the economy, and called for tax incentives for businesses developing dual-use technologies.

“Increased defence spending should not be viewed as a cost to the UK economy, but as an investment into high-value jobs, innovation and export growth,” she said. “Canada is treating defence spend as an industrial strategy, the UK should do the same by ensuring defence procurement stimulates domestic innovation and private sector investment.”

Thomas pointed to a series of Canadian announcements over the past year on defence spending and defence technology, including the Regional Defence Investment Initiative.

According to the Canadian government, the programme provides C$379.2m over three years to integrate businesses into defence supply chains and strengthen industrial capacity. It is delivered by Canada’s seven regional development agencies, each covering a separate part of the country.

“Over the last twelve months Canada has announced a number of initiatives around increasing its defence spend and associated ‘defence tech’, such as the Regional Defence Investment Initiative,” Thomas said.

“The UK should do the same by announcing tax incentives in the Autumn Budget to support dual-use technologies that have both commercial and defence applications, helping British businesses scale faster and access new international markets with similar areas of focus, like Canada. This could unlock the UK’s next generation of high-growth businesses.”

Dual-use technologies are those with both commercial and defence applications. Thomas said the Budget should include tax measures to encourage investment in businesses in strategic sectors.

“The Budget needs to include tax policies that encourage investors to back innovative businesses in strategic sectors such as cyber security, quantum computing, space technology and advanced engineering,” she said.

“If the UK government wants Britain to lead in defence technology, it should strengthen incentives for research & development, capital investment and commercialisation of intellectual property.”

She also argued that Canada’s growing investment in the sector created an opening for British companies. “As Canada deepens its investment in defence technology, the UK has a prime opportunity to become its natural collaboration partner for AI, cyber security, advanced manufacturing and aerospace innovation,” she said.

“Defence supply chains are becoming increasingly international. UK businesses that develop relationships with Canadian innovators today could be better positioned to access future procurement opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.”

UK spending plans

The government’s Defence Investment Plan, published on 30 June, allocates £298bn to the Ministry of Defence over the four years to 2029/30, according to a House of Commons Library briefing. The briefing said the plan includes more than £5bn for drones and autonomous systems.

The government has committed to spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejected a Conservative proposal to cut housing benefit to help pay for it last week.

Research by EY published in April found that raising defence spending to between 3.5 per cent and 5 per cent of GDP by 2035 could add £30bn a year to UK economic output.

The Ministry of Defence has also created a Defence Office for Small Business Growth, which aims to increase procurement from small defence firms by £2.5bn a year by May 2028.

About the author

Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.

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NEW YORK — Elon Musk has topped Forbes’ annual ranking of the wealthiest Americans for the fifth consecutive year, with the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive’s net worth more than doubling over the past year to reach $908 billion, the highest figure ever recorded on the list.

Forbes unveiled its 45th annual Forbes 400 ranking Monday, describing the current environment as one in which “today’s global economy showcases resilience in the face of persistent geopolitical shocks and a profound tech-driven wealth boom, as the richest Americans continue to smash through records.” The list is compiled using a snapshot of stock prices and exchange rates as of September 4, 2026.

Musk’s lead over the next-richest American widened to $530 billion this year, a gap Forbes described as unprecedented in the list’s history. Musk briefly became the world’s first trillionaire in June during the initial public offering of SpaceX, though his net worth as calculated for the Forbes 400 currently stands below that milestone at $908 billion.

Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, placed second on the list with a net worth of $378 billion. Larry Page, co-founder of Google and former chief executive of its parent company, Alphabet, rounded out the top three with $278 billion. Page stepped down as Alphabet’s CEO in 2019 but remains a board member and controlling shareholder of the company.

Facebook and Instagram parent Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg saw his position slip this year, falling to sixth place on the list after his net worth declined to $212 billion, a notable reversal for one of the list’s perennial top performers.

Forbes noted that many of this year’s billionaires, including several newcomers, owe much of their fortune to the ongoing boom in artificial intelligence investment. Among those benefiting is Greg Brockman, a co-founder of OpenAI, who joined the list as a newcomer this year. Also newly featured are Anthropic co-founders Daniela and Dario Amodei, whose fortunes reflect the rapid rise in valuation of the AI safety-focused company they helped establish.

The overall scale of wealth represented on this year’s list reached new records across the board. The 400 wealthiest individuals in the United States are collectively worth $8 trillion, an increase of $1.4 trillion from the prior year’s total. The minimum net worth required to make the list also climbed to a new high, reaching $4.4 billion, up $600 million from the previous year’s cutoff, underscoring how sharply wealth has concentrated even among those toward the bottom of the ranking.

Forbes has published the list annually since it was first launched by Malcolm Forbes in 1982, and the publication notes that its methodology generally lists individuals rather than multi-generational families that share large fortunes, though wealth belonging to a billionaire’s spouse and children is included in certain circumstances, primarily when that person is the original founder of the fortune in question.

Musk’s continued dominance atop the list reflects the combined performance of his various business ventures, spanning Tesla’s electric vehicle and energy operations, SpaceX’s satellite and launch businesses, and his other enterprises including the social media platform X and artificial intelligence venture xAI. The scale of his lead over Bezos and Page illustrates how concentrated the very top of American wealth has become, with the gap between the first- and second-ranked individuals on this year’s list alone exceeding the entire net worth of all but a handful of other entrants.

The prominence of AI-linked fortunes on this year’s list, from established technology executives to newer entrants tied directly to AI research labs, reflects the broader financial impact of the artificial intelligence investment boom that has reshaped much of the technology sector over the past several years. That trend has extended beyond publicly traded companies to privately held AI labs as well, with the inclusion of Anthropic’s co-founders alongside OpenAI’s Brockman signaling how thoroughly the AI sector’s rapid valuation growth has begun reshaping the composition of America’s wealthiest individuals, even for figures whose companies remain outside the public markets.

Forbes’ release of the list comes amid a broader period of economic uncertainty, with the publication specifically framing this year’s record wealth totals against a backdrop of continued geopolitical instability. Even so, the scale of gains recorded across the list, both in Musk’s individual fortune and in the collective total wealth of all 400 individuals, points to a stock market and broader investment environment that has continued generating substantial returns for the country’s wealthiest individuals over the past year, even as that same period has included periods of significant volatility across global markets.

With Musk now having held the top position for five consecutive years and having widened his lead over his nearest rival to its largest margin yet, this year’s Forbes 400 list underscores both the scale of his personal fortune relative to the rest of the country’s wealthiest individuals and the broader concentration of wealth that has continued to define the upper echelons of American business in the current economic environment.

Available for over a year

Katy Watson highlights Australia’s complex, turbulent and evolving relationship with their number one trading partner – China. Having signed a free trade agreement eleven years ago, in recent years there has been a marked shift in relations, with Canberra balancing its security dependence on Washington with its economic reliance on Beijing. From businesses, diplomats and military personnel, Katy Watson asks if China is Australia’s enemy or friend? Or as some critics suggest, are they a ‘frenemy’?

Presenter: Katy Watson
Producer: Peter Shevlin
A Pod60 production for BBC World Service

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Move comes despite warnings over inflation

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 3.75% amid warnings that the pressure to raise rates is not going away as the Iran war continues.

The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said global energy prices were volatile and likely to push inflation higher by the end of the year than it had been expecting. The decision to hold interest rates at 3.75% marks the sixth time in a row the committee has not changed borrowing costs.

The MPC voted 6-3 to keep rates on hold at 3.75%. It said the majority of policymakers believed “holding bank rate, combined with the significant tightening of financial conditions that had occurred since the conflict started, was providing sufficient insurance against the upside risks to inflation stemming from fluctuations in energy prices”.

It added: “This would allow time to observe further evidence, preserving the option to change bank rate in future were the evidence to warrant it.”

Governor Andrew Bailey, who voted for a hold, said: “So far higher global energy costs have had a limited effect on price and wage setting in the UK.”

This refers to so-called second-round effects, meaning things such as higher wage demands among the UK workforce and prices that are charged in shops.

He went on: “But the longer this volatility persists, the bigger the impact it will have on inflation, and the more likely it is we will need to raise Bank rate to ensure that inflation falls back to our 2% target.”

The move comes as prices in the UK keep rising, with Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation up to 3.1% in August, from 2.9% in July. That marked a five-month high and shows CPI inflation has moved further from the Bank of England’s 2% target.

Analysts fear the cost of living could soon rise further, with energy bills set to rise next month, meaning the Bank could be prompted to raise rates. Ofgem’s next energy price cap kicks in from October, when household energy bills will rise by 4% for a typical dual-fuel household

However analysts have pointed out that services inflation stayed at 3.4% in August, indicating a lack of so-called second round effects.

Reacting to today’s announcement, Paul Cherpeau, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said: “Inflation has been a major concern for business owners in the Liverpool City Region for some time, and this has been borne out in our Quarterly Economic Surveys and conversations with businesses. As inflation continues to rise, that concern will only grow and continue to have a negative impact on businesses.

“Today’s decision by the Bank to hold interest rates will be welcomed by businesses but there is a clear acknowledgement that inflation must be brought under control soon.

“Confidence is crucial and businesses will not make long-term commitments or investments without it. Hiring new staff, up-scaling premises or buying new technology will be avoided by many until they have greater certainty over the future. Global events have undoubtedly caused the upswing in inflation, but the government must also take some responsibility and positively affect matters within their control.

“The Chancellor will make his maiden speech at party conference in Liverpool in a few weeks’ time and we hope he will use that to signal strong support for businesses through targeted tax cuts to ease the pressure on firms, followed by tangible measures in next month’s Budget.”

The increasing number of empty shops, parking provision, and the rising cost of living have been raised as issues facing voters in Arbory, Castletown and Malew.

Although stretching out to include the two parishes, at the heart of the southern constituency is the ancient capital of the Isle of Man.

Boasting Georgian and Victorian architecture and overlooked by the Medieval fortress Castle Rushen, concerns have been raised over a severe decline in the number shops in Castletown’s centre.

Tearoom owner Patsy Lockerby said the drop in footfall had left small shops and businesses “suffering”.

She said: “I’m the only shop open in Malew Street, so that sort of speaks volumes, doesn’t it?”

“It’s affected the town – people don’t bother now, they bypass Castletown. You can’t rely on the tourists and coaches coming because there’s nothing for them.”

She called for action from the government to help independent businesses in the short term to get up and running in the town centre.

“They need to come up with something that they can afford that would be beneficial to people who want to start a new business,” she said.

Repeated closures of parking in Market Square by the commissioners in previous years was cited by her as a significant reason for shop closures due to dwindling footfall in recent years.

Liverpool has the smallest share of legacy phone lines still to be upgraded of any of the UK’s 10 largest urban centres, with six per cent left to migrate before the old copper-based network is switched off at the end of January 2027, according to data published by Openreach.

The figures, which cover major cities and their surrounding areas, come with less than 20 weeks to go before the analogue Public Switched Telephone Network, or PSTN, shuts down.

Manchester is second, with just over seven per cent of legacy lines left, followed by Cardiff with just over eight per cent and Leeds with around 8.6 per cent, Openreach said.

London has the largest share still to move, at around 13 per cent. Glasgow follows with just over 10 per cent, while Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh each have around nine per cent remaining.

Across the 10 cities and their surrounding areas, Openreach said around 90 per cent of legacy lines, more than six million, have migrated to digital services over the last five years. That leaves around 600,000 lines still to be moved before the PSTN switch-off.

James Lilley, director of All-IP at Openreach, said: “When it comes to preparing for the switch-off, our Northern cities appear to have a head start. But the bigger story is the progress being made right across the UK, with more than 90 per cent of legacy lines across ten major cities and their surrounding areas already upgraded to digital alternatives.”

“That means around seven million copper-based services have made the switch. But with more than 600,000 lines still to migrate, there’s no room for complacency.”

Lilley said many organisations may not realise how many services other than phone lines depend on the old network.

“Many organisations may have already upgraded their phone line but may not realise how many other services still rely on the old network, from payment terminals and lift alarms to security systems, door entry systems and building management technology. Once the PSTN is withdrawn, those services could stop working unless they’ve been upgraded or replaced.”

“The reality is that the final migrations are likely to be the most complex and business critical. The organisations that act now will have more time to identify hidden dependencies, test new solutions and make the transition smoothly. Those that leave it until the last-minute risk unnecessary cost, disruption and pressure as the deadline approaches.”

Openreach is urging city-based businesses to speak to their service provider, establish which services could be affected and put a migration plan in place.

“Inaction is no longer about uncertainty but preparedness, and those who wait risk leaving customers exposed to avoidable service disruption. The consequences go beyond technical issues, they can lead to lost revenue, operational difficulties and a poorer experience for customers,” Lilley added.

Nationwide, Openreach estimates around 1.5 million lines are still operating on the copper network, including around 350,000 business premises. It gave the same figures in July, when it warned businesses there were six months left before the network is withdrawn on 31 January 2027 and said there would be no extension to the deadline.

The switch-off has already prompted some firms to look again at their telephony, with Business Matters reporting on small businesses replacing landlines with virtual phone numbers and on the business VoIP phone systems available as alternatives.

Openreach said it has launched a range of migration offers, meaning a move to digital services can often be the more cost-effective option for customers.

It has also raised prices on its legacy Wholesale Line Rental services to encourage migration. Under the schedule Openreach set out in February, rental charges rose by 20 per cent in April and 40 per cent in July, with a further 40 per cent increase due on 1 October that will leave them at double their 2025 level.

About the author

Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.

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The brokerage said passenger traffic remained subdued in August 2026, with GMR reporting around 1% year-on-year growth, including the recently added Nagpur and Bhogapuram airports. On an organic basis, however, passenger traffic declined 2.6% YoY, primarily due to continued weakness at GHIAL, where traffic fell 11.5%.

At GMR’s key domestic airports — DIAL, GHIAL and GIAL — passenger traffic declined 2.4% YoY in August. Domestic passenger traffic dropped nearly 4%, with GHIAL accounting for much of the weakness, while international passenger traffic edged up 1.4%.

JM Financial expects passenger traffic to remain under pressure through November 2026, partly due to the impact of the West Asia crisis. However, the brokerage expects growth to improve from December 2026 as favourable base effects kick in following the IndiGo airline crisis in late 2025.

The brokerage also noted that resilience in international traffic could support non-aeronautical revenues, helping offset some of the weakness in passenger volumes.

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JM Financial values GMR’s operational airports in India at its long-term average 12-month forward EV/EBITDA multiple of 21x. Including the value of monetisable airport land, including the upcoming Bhogapuram airport and Medan airport, the brokerage arrived at a target price of Rs 115.
The brokerage acknowledged that near-term pressure on the stock could persist amid muted passenger traffic. However, with GMR Airports shares having declined around 8% over the past month, JM Financial believes much of the near-term traffic weakness is already reflected in the stock price. The brokerage therefore retained its Buy rating, citing an improved risk-reward profile at current levels.

Share Price and Technical Indicators

GMR Infrastructure’s stock has remained subdued in recent weeks, declining around 7% over the past month. The company currently commands a market capitalisation of approximately Rs 99,613 crore.

On the valuation front, GMR Infrastructure trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 205.31, while its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio stands at 6.04.

On the technical front, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at around 32.4, indicating that the stock is approaching the oversold zone. Typically, an RSI below 30 is considered oversold, while a reading above 70 is viewed as overbought.

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Ritesh Presswala, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Ritesh Presswala and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here