I have a small business renting a few apartments in Barcelona to
tourists . On my web site I accept a deposit using pay pal. This
enables people to secure the booking using their credit card. Problem
is, if they are not pay pal members they cannot do this instantly.
They must wait for a number from Pay pal in their next credit  card
statement.I loose clients because they want to book instantly with
their credit card. 2checkout.com refuse to deal with apartment rental
business. As a small time private owner of a few flats I do not want
to set up a corporate account to accept credit cards directly. My
question is- is there any other company along the lines of  Pay pal
which would accept peoples credit card payments instantly.

Hi declan,

Here you go...

iKobo:
"...We offer payment processing to merchants in Spain to enable them
to accept debit and credit card payments on their website and auction
sites. With merchant protection, no fees, and instant payment options,
the iKobo Merchant Program is perfectly designed for the needs of
online merchants in Spain."
http://www.ikobo.com/country/spain/

"You can accept payments from current iKobo members as well as
customers who have never used iKobo before, and you will not lose your
customers after they have made a purchase. Our payment process keeps
the customer on a page designed by you to look as though they never
leave your site. Once the customer completes the transaction they are
directed to the page of your choice. It is a seamless process from
start to finish.":
http://www.ikobo.com/ikobo.cgi?action=paynowbuttons

Step-by-Step Demos:
http://www.ikobo.com/ikobo.cgi?action=info_demomanual

The pricing for merchants is as follows (click on "fee"):
1.99% + .29 for each purchase a buyer makes.*
"One unique feature of the iKobo Merchant Program is that we give the
merchant the ability to share a portion or all of their fees with the
buyer. For more information on this feature please see our Terms and
Conditions."
* Until February 29, we are offering a special 1.99% + .29 rate for
all merchant processing! Accept credit and debit cards from 240
countries. No set-up or monthly fees.
http://www.ikobo.com/country/spain

I hope you find iKobo suitable for your business. If not, of if you
have any questions, please post a clarification request before
closing/rating my answer and I will be happy to assist you.

Thank you,
hummer

I searched my own bookmarks for an option that would work for merchants in Spain.

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Request for Answer Clarification by declan-ga on 03 Mar 2004 05:34 PST

ikobo
do not have a buy-now   button  to enable people to send payments in
Euros. As I live in Spain I deal with Euros so I am still looking for
a company like Pay Pal that deals in Euros and unlike Paypal, can
except instant payments by credit card

Declan

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Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 03 Mar 2004 06:48 PST

Hi again declan,

Thank you for your clarification - I'm sorry to hear that iKobo didn't
work out for you. I will be away from my computer today but I will
have another look at your question when I return and try to find a
solution for you. I'll let you know one way or the other how I make
out as soon as possible - sorry for the delay.  Until then, hummer

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 04 Mar 2004 09:13 PST

Hi again declan,

I believe Card Service International meets all of your requirements:

1) Secure method to accept credit cards from around the world.
2) Customers pay in the currency of their choice.
3) Money is automatically converted to your local currency and
deposited in your bank.

Application:
1) Do you want to process in multiple currencies? Yes No
2) Which currencies would you like to accept?
3) In which currency would you like to receive your bank deposit?
http://www.expandyourbusiness.com/international.htm

Fingers crossed,
hummer

I have some experience in this field, both as a merchant and on the
operations side of things. There are firms that will let you take
credit cards without a "real" merchant account, but all of them charge
high fees; 10% is an absolute minimum, usually much higher. This is
because they assume the risk of chargebacks, run the risk of offending
*their* bank and losing the merchant account they use to provide this
service, and so on.

On the other hand, getting a merchant account is not as difficult as
you think, and this usually gets you the best possible rate. Your
usual bank often will not seem interested in giving out merchant
accounts and will ask for unreasonable deposits and ask for
unreasonable rates; you want to work with a company that specializes
in this. I suggest that you investigate 1st National Processing.
Although my experiences with their customer service were a bit mixed,
there's no question that they are legitimate, well-established, and
willing to offer competitive rates with no deposit and a modest
monthly fee:

1st National Processing
http://www.1nbcard.com/

Hope this is helpful.

I do not meet the criteria for 
http://www.1nbcard.com/

ikobo      do not have a 'Buy now' button which enables people to pay
in Euros. I live in Spain and deal in euros. So I am still looking

Declan