Merchant accounts & Banks

[kns]

Hello everyone. A couple of questions for you all...
Say if I wished to accept payments on my website worldwide,i.e, from international credit cards - which one in your opinion would be better - First Data or something like World Pay or any good recommendations is appreciated (keeping in mind any hassles that I may have to face in future if things were to get bigger).

And has anyone dealt with or heard of Sage Payment solutions for merchant accounts. Suggestions? Thanks.

And not sure if a question like this is relevant but - would there be any ONE US bank that can be regarded as a BANK that is more favorable to Ecommerce business? - to open an account with. Thanks.

[genidude]

We have been using Sage for years and have had very few complaints over the years

[msinfo]

Yes, if you're based in the US then a real US merchant account is best. Some good complete bundles are Nexcommerce.com, Echo-Inc.com, Fast Transact. Those are 3 solutions with good overall pricing. There are others to choose from but I would really recommend that you look into a real merchant account for both international cards and standard US credit cards.

[SnerdeyWebs]

I'd also look into Google Checkout they are not only in US / Canada anymore. It's best to have a few options for your buyers as many out of the US tend to do business via wire for example.

Also really important are the claims, fraud and protection you have when shipping or selling overseas.

Good luck

[ArthurNYC]

There are a ton of merchant accounts but stick with domestic. If you are going overseas for a merchant account you are going to get killed on the fees. Overseas merchants are generally where you go when you have high chargebacks.

I am pretty sure that if you go to Verisign that they have a "starter" package with a merchant account but I think it caps at $25K a month you are allowed to process.

Whatever you do, pick a merchant and stay with them. That gives you much more credibility if you go through some chargeback or low volume issues.

Arthur

[a53mp]

If you have a very small site/products you might want to look into a business account with paypal.

[krisidious]

all I can say is DO NOT USE PAYPAL!!!

their charge back procedures are very one sided towards the credit card company of the purchaser.

Google Checkout would be my suggestion.

[NJ]

If anyone has used PayPal, I'd like to hear your opinion. I have one client who has had great success with Paypal. I have another client with only one glitch in the experience. However, when I tried to call with a question for a third client, I got an hour worth of runaround from one Paypal office to another and people who couldn't answer a Paypal site interface question. Of course, by the end of the hour, I was getting a bit on the rude side myself, and the final Paypal employee hung up on me. The difference is that they got to be rude for an hour!

[adtastichosting]

CDG Ecommerce Apply now - Merchant Accounts from CDG Commerce is my choice over all and I have tried more than a few. Now I am an affiliate for them I willl tell you by way of disclosure but when I tell you the difference and why I use them I am certain you won't hold that against me.
About 95% of my business is from credit cards and I have automated purchase systems for hosting with instant setup after payment, customers with ecommerce stores with zencart and oscommerce that use them plus of course virtual online terminal for orders by phone or in person. I do six figures annually in credit card business but being a small business I need every penny I can keep.
I was with First Data for 2 years and I paid a year penalty about $300 to get rid of them that is how bad they were and how good it was to move. Prior to that I used National Bankcard Systems and they were horrible.
First Data their rates kept going up and it seemed that all my cards were "non-qualify" which is the higher rate. Then they started charging me a $50 annual "compliance fee." Then that fee went to "$75". Only thing is, its a lie. See, I signed up as an agent and I got an agent email talking about the "compliance fee" how it was there for "extra revenue" and how we could "waive" it if we needed to. Well that really ticked me off and it was then and there I cancelled all of my relationship with First Data, after first checking around really hard and talking to people I found CDG. Not to mention that if you go with them you have to sign at least a 6 month contract with a penalty if you leave early. (My rep never told me about 6 months I was told 3 years and thats what I had- another reason I was mad once I became a rep and saw the rules).
I have never looked back. There is no contract to sign with CDG locking you into having to use them! They have a $10 monthly fee for internet processing no extra gateway fees and they also have a a gateway emulator if you needan authorize.net gateway which can save you a bundle over having to pay to use authorize.net. Rates are just a little bit higher than that if you have retail store but you get a free terminal.
Their gateway works right directly with zencart and oscommerce and many other carts with ease. I like them too because they are built right in to my hosting billing and automated setup software.
Hey this may all sound like a sales pitch but if you are serious about this like I am you will see all these things really matter and sets them apart like none other.
Here is another thing I love about them. When I was with First Data it always took 3 days for my visa and mc to settle to my bank account and 4 days for amex. Now my visa and mc settles in two days (sometimes one) and amex in 3. So do I love them?? You Bet!
Ok, being honest here is what I hate about them:
It seemed to take me awhile to get signed up on them. Their application process is clunky as all heck so you have to be patient on that. Their customer service is decent but not perfect. I tell everyone, when you compare that against all the terms, not having to commit to a contract, no early withdrawal penalties, quick settle of your money, low rates, its worth it!
That's my "two cents" on the subject -feel free to pm me if you have questions.

[adtastichosting]

Originally Posted by adtastichosting

That's my "two cents" on the subject -feel free to pm me if you have questions.

Hmm, weird won't let me edit post in this category so wanted to add a couple of items of note. One is I also use paypal and google checkout. In my case might be different for others with the choice between credit card, paypal or google checkout on one chooses them but always uses credit card.
I have been a paypal business member since 2000 and used to do all of my business thru paypal. I sitll average about 20-30k annually thru them and I keep them as a "necessary evil" but I don't encourage anyone to use them exclusively they suck. Customer support is horrible and they always side with the buyer. Talk to customers and ask them and they will tell you they won't use paypal. Paypal even admits somewhere or used to in some documentation somewhere that 20-30% of potential customers will abandon the purchase if it goes to paypal. Now if that's all you can do well they are better than nothing at all and don't get me wrong they have their positives I just can't think of any over a merchant credit card account.

[emps]

Well.... I exclusively use paypal,and have for a long time. I have quite a substantial turnover and never had a problem

with them. Service has always been good.

[kns]

Well seems like from the post I have made on this forum & other forums as well, CDGcommerce has been recommended by one too many. Although have to be honest that I havent heard of them before....I will definitely look into them more carefully.

P.S. Hey genidude, you seem to be pretty happy with Sage solutions....do you process large amount of transactions on your website. They are being recommended by my ecommerce software company(guess they are a reseller for them).

Yes google checkout will definitely be on option on my store.

[a53mp]

I use paypal for most of my clients. They really have gotten better in the last few years.. before their customer service sucks.. but now it's actually pretty decent.

There are pros and cons with them vs a real card company.

paypal pros
no sign up costs
no monthly fees
easy integration
accept debit and credit cards and echecks (depending on account type)
debit card option so you can pull money right out of paypal at an atm or use to purchase items at a store
paypal takes care of most pci compliancy
the most popular way to send money online, very large userbase

paypal cons
slightly higher transaction fees
some people dont like paypal
not a real bank


I recommend paypal to most of my clients, who are dealing in low transaction items or sites. Money wise paypal does take more of a % than other companies, but they also do have other fees that most companies have. If you are making under 200 or 300 a month or less in online sales, you are probably better off going with paypal. If you are making more than that, you will probably be better off with a real card company like authorize.net or similar



I have only had 1 problem with Paypal in the past, and it wasn't really paypals fault. I was freelancing for a company, and for a month they were using one of their workers personal cards and paying him back while they got their new cards set up. I was paid like I should, but a few months later the guy was fired. He went back and claimed unauthorized transactions on a bunch payments made, even though he was reimbursed. So because of that $800 was deducted from my account and I had to fight it showing proof and documentation. Paypal reps said it was definitely in my favor and I would get the money back, but they sent it to his bank to reverse it, and they rejected the claim (not paypals fault). About 3 months later I get an email from paypal saying that the case was reopened and I won, and I would be getting my money back within the week. About 4 days later I had my $800 back.

[kns]

I have never been a big fan of paypal either as I too have been using them for sometime now, atleast using personal account. I am sure there are lots out there who feel the same way.
They have turned themselves into 'one' of those popular companies who dont bother anymore or take care of the ones who made them what they are today - their CUSTOMERS.

[astro]

I have used PayPal for 4 years now and have a verified business account with them. Never (touch wood) had a serious problem. If I have any bugs/gripes they are:
1. The email invoices will still attempt covertly to sign the client up if they have started the sign up process before and given their email address then decided not to complete the process. They cannot pay your invoice until the sign up process has been completed. They should not have to do this as I am a business user
2. They do not like credit cards from Balkan countries, one payment took a month to clear!
3. They will not accept payment from a client if their kids have used their parents email address on eBay as their own address! i.e staying with Dad and Mom whilst on holiday then buying stuff from eBay. Surprisingly this has happened a couple of times to me.

Apart from that, whilst there are cheaper solutions, so many of my clients already have a paypal account anyway which makes life simple. Not one has requested world pay because they have a world pay account.

Not being a bank these days could be a plus!!!!

astro

[skazka]

We've been using Sage Merchant Account for several years now and never had any problems. Besides using their services locally (Arizona), we also travel to a different gift shows in different states, where we need to change our wired/wireless terminal connection, they always help us right away.

Good luck! Hope it helps.

[genidude]

We've had a few complaints over the years with Sage, but overall, we are satisfied.
I would recommend getting your own shopping cart system and not using their system.
It is not very versatile.
We do process a large amount of transactions.

[enchantedneedle]

Oh, Sage. To start let me say that I've had no problems with them whatsoever. However, I'm not really happy with them right now. I call about 2 months ago to get a review and to see if I could get a better deal with them. I was told "of course" and my rates would more than likely be lowered due to changes in my volume, average ticket, etc. Anyway, I looked forward to seeing the results on my next statement. When it arrived no change. I've not heard from them on the matter either. I feel like I wasn't worthy of their time. I am currently looking at other options. Cornerstone is one that I am leaning toward heavily.

[furnitureboy]

Worldpay are great, they start you off on quite a high transaction commission rate, however after 1 year they have a provision for giving you a discounted commission rate, they just don't tell you this until you ask and haggle it down. Be strong and bluff them that you will leave them if they don't reduce it. Remember nothing ventured nothing gained!

[Manpasand]

Originally Posted by krisidious

all I can say is DO NOT USE PAYPAL!!!

their charge back procedures are very one sided towards the credit card company of the purchaser.

I would say same thing for 2Checkout. They have also the same reason.

DO NOT USE 2CHECKOUT!!!

[dracula]

I use moneybookers.com you may check them up, easy to work with.

[mikeewart]

If you are a Costco memebr, look at their partner, NOVA. Weve used the for years without a problem.

[getmea]

When I signed up for a merchant account through Millenium BankCorp, they were simply the re-selller. They locked me in for 3 years. They hooked me up with Authorize.Net as the merchant and Pipeline Data Processing as the processor. They killed me with fees! It started out as $25/20 monthly...When I cancelled last month, the fees were $38.50/30. I had no processing problems with either, but cancelled in december due to Pipeline passing a $150 fee (besides the $100 annual fee) which VISA/MC passsed to them for each merchant. Turns out this is PCI Security Standards (.org) newest requirements from October, 2008.

Authorize.net processed out of country credit cards. Most merchant processors do. Since many foreign banks do not do Address Verification Checks, your system cannot ask for the verification otherise it will always return a bad response. For foreign transactions, either you will have to turn off the AVC or run the transaction manually.

I now use Paypal until I figure out what to do with Visa/MC...

CDG sounds interesting...

[martindow]

We use a local merchant account (we are UK based) for credit and debit cards but also offer Paypal as a payment option. About 15 per cent of customers choose to use this. There have never been any problems with chargebacks.

I think that there are millions of people with a small amount of cash in their Paypal account that they cannot withdraw without paying a fee. Using this balance is a very painless way of paying.

[netwebproworld03]

I can accept credit cards directly on the site via PayPal Pro. My site is membership subscription, and because of my nature of my site, I don't have any charge back yet. I have a 30 day money back, so customers who want to cancel just email me.

When people mention that they use PayPal, they should say if they are using PayPal Pro (on seller's site) or the PayPal Standard (on PayPal's site). The user experiences between the two are very different.

[justgowithit]

If you're business is located in the US, you could use a site like CardFellow and let the best provider come to you.

[jpatriar]

Originally Posted by NJ

If anyone has used PayPal, I'd like to hear your opinion. I have one client who has had great success with Paypal. I have another client with only one glitch in the experience. However, when I tried to call with a question for a third client, I got an hour worth of runaround from one Paypal office to another and people who couldn't answer a Paypal site interface question. Of course, by the end of the hour, I was getting a bit on the rude side myself, and the final Paypal employee hung up on me. The difference is that they got to be rude for an hour!

I've been using PayPal for a long time. I only had 1 chargeback as the card was stolen. They caught it right away, emailed me before I shipped the item. They're not the most technical staff but they do have a forum PayPal Developer Community - PayPal Developer Community where you can get to some of the more technically advanced members.

[markrchisholm]

Originally Posted by furnitureboy

Worldpay are great, they start you off on quite a high transaction commission rate, however after 1 year they have a provision for giving you a discounted commission rate, they just don't tell you this until you ask and haggle it down. Be strong and bluff them that you will leave them if they don't reduce it. Remember nothing ventured nothing gained!

I would have to totally disagree with this. If you want to engage in silly games with them fair enough, but I can't be bothered to deal with such an unhelpful company.

We have just left WorldPay. They placed a stupidly big reserve on our account. We had been with them for over a year and it'd be 2010 before we hit the threshold where they would start to pay us.

They would review this amount for us if we supplied them with a year of audited accounts. Now our company is relatively big, the website that was just a trading name is really just a plaything, so I had no inclination to supply them with the whole companies accounts, and even with a years trading under our belts with no charge backs they were still inefficient enough not to fulfill our reasonable request.

I have just got off the phone with them now trying to get a simple answer to the question 'when can we expect to receive the money that you owe us'. The best answer the girl could give us is 'It could take anything up to six months', bearing in mind some of it has been with them for around a year now she's talking total horsecrap.

Apart from our personal experience with them, their online reporting system is so frustrating it's quite frankly not worth bothering with, it's just so fidley and annoying.

We have implemented Google Check Out which seem great, but can anyone recommend a good UK based payment processing system?

[biophase]

I use Authorize. net for all my ecommerce stores. I go through Chase Paymentech for my merchant account. One thing to do is haggle and negotiate your rates and sign up fees. Some places like to start at $300 to sign up and I've seen them come down to $50.

[rkelly]

I have them, CAREFUL of what you SIGN! When I tried to cancel (don't have credit card business anymore) they said I signed a 3 yr CONTRACT, it was in the fine print somewhere. What a rip off - they want $300 to cancel! That is the full $25/month flat fee, whats the point. Look at Sam's or Costco they probably have the best deal with no hidden fee's and cancel fees.