We have our online site ready and the last step is choosing out online credit card processing company. We first contacted the same company that processes our credit card orders for our store in person. They responded with this email, and I am going to show you what they say just because you guys I'm sure will be able to tell me if it's a good offer or bad offer, or maybe somewhere in between. Also, what credit card processing companies do you guys use? What factors are important when deciding on a credit card processing company? Anyhow here is their response to more information about how they do it: It was good speaking with you today regarding our merchant account program. Here's a summary of what we can get you set up with: 1. Merchant Account - Gives you the ability to accept all major credit cards. Visa and MasterCard discount rate is 2.22% plus $0.20 per transaction. In addition, there’s a $10/month customer support/statement fee. 2. Virtual Terminal – Virtual Terminal will allow you do two things. First, you can hook any shopping cart program or front-end order form to our Virtual Terminal to provide online, real-time, secure credit card processing right at your website. Our API, the instructions on how to hook your shopping cart/order form to our Virtual Terminal, can be found at our website. Second, you can use the Virtual Terminal to perform all the same functions of a physical credit card terminal, conveniently accessed over the Internet through a secure web-page interface. You will be able to manually process credit card transactions, issue credits, void transactions, view your online log file . . .really manage your internet-business. . . from any computer in the world. 3. Internet Payment Gateway – When you accept and process credit cards on the Internet, you need a secure payment gateway to the credit card processor. The cost is $10 per month for an unlimited number of transactions. Also, please note that this eliminates your expense of obtaining a secure digital certificate and the additional cost of hosting your site on a secure server. The cost to get set up is as follows: No Bank Application Fee. Software/Set Up Fee FREE Sincerely, Total Merchant Services Total Merchant Services (TMS) is a Member Service Provider for: HSBC Bank USA, National Association, Buffalo NY
Do you guys know of any examples of these two at all? Maybe an example of the Website Payments Pro for Paypal? Thanks guy! edit: So Google checkout doesn't seem to say anything about monthly transaction fees like Paypal and others I have seen, is that because there is none? http://checkout.google.com/support/sell/bin/answer.py?answer=30724&hl=en_US
Google checkout and Paypal have similar percentage / transaction fee structures. As far as the quote you posted earlier, i would say it is a standard rate. The difference that you get with a real MSP like Total Merchant Services is that you can have a completely seamless checkout process, and your name appears on your customer's credit card statement. Apart from that, Paypal is notorious for poor customer service, and randomly holding money without precedence. However, with TMS or any other true MSP, there are additional fees that will more than likely make up the majority of your actual bill. 2.22% plus $0.20 is what you were quoted, but you will also have a $.05 AVS fee with each transaction, and there are downgrades if you take international and other non-consumer credit cards. From the information you provided, it's impossible to tell if it is a good deal or not, because the entire fee structure is not listed. The base rate is fine, but there are a ton of other factors that will decide what you will pay at the end of the month. If you can get an application from them with the full fee schedule, we can tell you if you are getting a good deal as far as cost is concerned.
I see what you mean by a seem less transaction. Google Checkout takes you to an external site (theirs) to process the transaction. I know if I'm buying something I do not like being taken to external sites it sort of scares me and I know I have X'd out instead of buying something. The paypal Pro one looks like it integrates with your website, but like you pointed out they do have poor customer service which we already know from dealing with their normal checkout. So I have learned alot so far, thank you all! There are pro's and con's of both types and I am going to contact TMS and get the full pricing for all cases. Thanks!
Becareful with Google Checkout. They have reason: " helping online shopping easier" if someone might to attack you with chargeback. They will ban your account- VERY FAST.
I am with CDGcommerce. I have liked them so mjuch, i even became a affiliate! They are A+, i get funds within 3-4 days of the transaction going through, the bank settles things quickly, and i never need support. Everything is GREAT!
I think getting your own merchant account has lots of costs and hassles for the average small business owner. That's why more and more people are using third-party free credit card processing services like PayPal, Plimus, ClickBank, and 2CheckOut. I've tried different solutions and found these services to be the best. Having your own merchant account has its own benefits too - like lower per transaction fees.