Post: #1

I started a new online business, and am searching for a Merchant Account. Wells Fargo's seems to be overpriced, Chase seems decent but then there are a lot of random companies I haven't heard of but are on Authorize.net's reseller list.

Searching for reviews on the web makes it even more difficult as it seems a lot of the review sites are spammed/paid sites to pump up the various resellers. Merchant Warehouse seems to come up a lot as positive but not sure if I can trust the reviews.

Anybody have any experiences with Merchant Accounts and online credit card processing? I'm new to this, prefer not to get ripped off....thanks in advance.

Post: #2

Most of the popular choices offer more of less the same product with comparative rates. A lot will depend on your volume, your credit rating and what kind of product you will be saying. Certain categories are considered higher risk than others which will effect the discount rate as well as your initial monthly volume cap.

Post: #3

Is there anything particularly wrong with paypal? I know nothing about this stuff, but would be interesting in getting some educated opinions.

Post: #4

What platform are you using to sell? What's the average dollar amount of each transaction? Depending on your transaction volume, it may or not be beneficial to get a merchant account of your own. They all charge a monthly fee, as does Paypal Wesbsite Payment Pro.

If you are based in the US, and all your customers are in the US then Dwolla is probably the cheapest option.

https://www.dwolla.com/business

Stripe is another payment gateway that is gaining popularity. 2.9%, plus a 30 cent processing fees, no monthly charges.

https://stripe.com/help/pricing

Post: #5

(08-06-2012 08:09 PM)Carmo Wrote:  Most of the popular choices offer more of less the same product with comparative rates. A lot will depend on your volume, your credit rating and what kind of product you will be saying. Certain categories are considered higher risk than others which will effect the discount rate as well as your initial monthly volume cap.

If that's the case I'd probably just go with the big name banks. But my volume won't be that high initially since it is a startup.

(08-06-2012 08:11 PM)Tengen Wrote:  Is there anything particularly wrong with paypal? I know nothing about this stuff, but would be interesting in getting some educated opinions.

I need it to accept credit cards too. Not sure if paypal does that.

(08-06-2012 08:46 PM)ManAbout Wrote:  What platform are you using to sell? What's the average dollar amount of each transaction? Depending on your transaction volume, it may or not be beneficial to get a merchant account of your own. They all charge a monthly fee, as does Paypal Wesbsite Payment Pro.

If you are based in the US, and all your customers are in the US then Dwolla is probably the cheapest option.

https://www.dwolla.com/business

Stripe is another payment gateway that is gaining popularity. 2.9%, plus a 30 cent processing fees, no monthly charges.

https://stripe.com/help/pricing

The platform is authorize.net if I'm hopefully answering your questions correctly - it is an online business so all sales will be through the website. Avg dollar amount will be about 150-250. All my customers will be in the US.

Am I required to go through authorize.net? That's what my website guy said. Dwolla looks awesome if I'm allowed to use it.

Post: #6

(08-07-2012 02:04 AM)slubu Wrote:  The platform is authorize.net if I'm hopefully answering your questions correctly - it is an online business so all sales will be through the website. Avg dollar amount will be about 150-250. All my customers will be in the US.

Am I required to go through authorize.net? That's what my website guy said. Dwolla looks awesome if I'm allowed to use it.

No, I meant as in are you selling from your own website or using a company like Volusion or Shopify. If you are running from your own website, do you know what shopping cart is being used? Is the website based on WordPress?

Post: #7

(08-08-2012 10:30 AM)ManAbout Wrote:  No, I meant as in are you selling from your own website or using a company like Volusion or Shopify. If you are running from your own website, do you know what shopping cart is being used? Is the website based on WordPress?

Yes selling from my own website. My designer said it has to be a merchant account compatible with authorize.net. The website is based on WordPress.

Post: #8

(08-08-2012 10:41 AM)slubu Wrote:  

(08-08-2012 10:30 AM)ManAbout Wrote:  No, I meant as in are you selling from your own website or using a company like Volusion or Shopify. If you are running from your own website, do you know what shopping cart is being used? Is the website based on WordPress?

Yes selling from my own website. My designer said it has to be a merchant account compatible with authorize.net. The website is based on WordPress.

That might be because of the shopping cart he has decided to use.

You have to add up all the monthly charges using the Merchant Account/Authorize.net and see if you come out ahead.

For a $200 transaction you might give Paypal $6 to $7. With your own Merchant Account you might give them $3 to $4. But, then you have to add up all the monthly charges and see if you come out ahead, depending on your volume of transactions.

Post: #9

It depends on what you want to take credit cards for. I play in eCommerce and take credit cards directly and via paypal. You want to do both; some people still love PayPal.

Only accepting PayPal is amateur and their processing % is higher.

Personally, I use PowerPay, via Authorize.net.

If you want to get setup with something legit, the company who setup my account with PowerPay is called Total Apps. I think their website is total-apps.com or .net. Look them up, you should be able to find them. They're legit and plenty helpful if you need something. I've heard horror stories from numerous colleagues who couldn't get help from the company that set them up with ________ and it takes all kinds of time to get anything done.

Without sounding like a know-it-all, I should say, I've been in the game for a long time, and go to conferences put on by guys who clear 60M in revenue per year, and all those dudes use PowerPay. There are other options, for sure, but you should also consider how profitable the company is, if they're growing, etc. etc. Chase is a mess right now.

My setup is:

PowerPay (via Auth.net) and PayPal for eCommerce website.

I make SEO clients email me a check or invoice them via PayPal if I'm travelling.

I use Capital One for business checking, personal checking, and my credit card.

Capital one gives you points for everything, including checks, and check card transactions.

I order products with my CC (points) and pay it off 2-3x per week for extra points.

Unlike Chase, B of A, etc., that bank is buying profitable institutions and scaling themselves out responsibly. Their online banking blows compared to all the others, but it does what it needs to do.