Hello bdw0617-ga,
I presume you meant "merchant bank" and not just "merchant". I can
relate to your situation, I am a Web Developer and have some ideas for
e-commerce sites, and can identify with the same problems in trying to
find a merchant bank that will let me open an account with them to
sell services online. The following merchant credit card processing
service site was recommended to me last year by a Dutch programmer who
uses it on his online personal ad website.
From my experience, this is definitely the way to go for starting up
in e-commerce, with very reasonable fees too. It is generally hard to
start your own merchant account without any track record, and you need
to be in business for a while before that can happen. You could try
reapplying for a merchant account with a merchant bank later, say
after a year of successful online sales. For now, this service is
highly recommended :
The company is called 2CheckOut.com [ http://www.2checkout.com ], and
so far they have processed sales exceeding $29 million for 2002. It is
very easy to use their service, and to get approved. I've pasted their
introduction info from their Overview page :
+----------------------------------+
Pasted from :
http://www.2checkout.com/overview.htm
2CheckOut offers our customers the ability to easily and securely
accept credit card payments from their customers in real time over the
Internet. You don't need to spend the time and money to set up your
own secure server and transaction software. You can sell goods,
services, e-products and memberships, just about anything online!
How does it work?
At its simpliest you just enter your products or services into our
data database and add the buttons or links are automatically created
for you to your site. When your buyers click on the links to pay,
2CheckOut handles the transaction and deposits the money into your
account.
It's just that easy!!
How fast can I get up and running?
1. You can be receiving live orders within the hour!! Click here to
activate and account using our online form. No long forms to fill out
and mail, contracts to sign, etc. Your account will be live and ready
to process credit cards immediately!!
2.* Next add products/services and prices to your customer account so
that buttons and links can be automatically created for you.
3.* Then place the buttons or links on your web site and you're ready
go.
That's all it takes for you to accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and
American Express payments for your goods and services.
*Other options exist, such as using our free Perl shopping cart or
other third party product or shopping cart.
How do I fill orders?
As soon as your customers place an order you will receive detailed
order information via email.
Detailed records of each transaction are also stored on our servers
and can be accessed by you to fill, track and manage orders.
What does it cost?
There is a 1 time only set up fee of $49.00, after that you only pay
for sales, sell nothing, pay nothing.
2CheckOut collects a 5.5% commission on each sale plus a $0.45 charge
per sale.
There are no leases, no monthly fees, no application fees,no gateway
fees,no additional card company or third party charges and no
statement fees!!
How do I get paid?
Each accounting period is 15 days in length. A new period begins
every 1st and 16th day of each month.
All transactions that occur within this period will be processed, and
payment will be electronically deposited directly to your personal or
business bank account as follows:
Payment for orders shipped between the 1st and the 15th of the month
will be dispersed on or about the 16th of that month.
Payment for orders shipped between the 16th and the end of the month
will be dispersed on or about the 1st of the following month.
* Accounts with larger sales volumes ( over $1,000 a week ) can
qualify for weekly transfers.
What types of products and services can be sold?
Click Here to view Eligible products and services.
Who is eligible to participate?
You can use 2CheckOut if :
You maintain a Web site(s), containing complete marketing,
advertising, and product information.
Your orders will be entered by your customer through email links or
your website.
Your offering meets our Eligible Offerings Requirements.
Have More Questions? Perhaps our FAQ can help.
Click here to activate your account immediately!
+----------------------------------+
I hope this is what you are looking for. If you need further
information, please do not hesitate to request for clarification. All
the best in your business undertakings and let me know how else I can
help.
Warmest regards,
kyrie26-ga |
Clarification of Answer by
kyrie26-ga
on
25 Sep 2002 10:15 PDT
Hello bdw0617-ga,
The way I see it, you may have to accept the 5.5 percent as a
temporary situation, until your e-business is more well established
and you are in a position to get your own merchant account.
As for when you receive payment, you may have seen the following info,
but I'll paste it just in case :
+------------------------------------+
Pasted from :
http://www.2checkout.com/faqs.htm#payment
How and when will I be paid?
Clients with United States or Canadian Bank accounts will have
payments electronically deposited directly to any bank account at no
cost.
Clients without a US Bank account can have their payments air mailed
at no charge or have the option of an international wire payment. Fees
for an international wire start at $36 and go down $3 for every
hundred dollars in gross sales. (Breakdown of International Wire Fees)
Each accounting period is 15 days in length. A new period begins the
1st and 16th day of each month.
All transactions that occur within this period will be processed and
payments will be dispersed as follows:
Payment for orders shipped between the 1st and the 15th of the month
will be dispersed on or about the 16th of that month.
Payment for orders shipped between the 16th and the end of the month
will be dispersed on or about the 1st of the following month.
If your sales are over $1,000 a week, weekly disbursements are
possible. Weekly disbursements are reviewed on a case by case basis.
Example of criteria that may influence your approval for weekly
payments:
Transactions on your account occurring for 8 weeks with little or no
buyer complaints, or charge back problems,
Your sales greatly exceed $1,000 a week,
You can provide sales contracts or other documentation proving the
legitimacy of your orders,
You can provide suitable business references or other documentation
establishing a concrete business history.
+------------------------------------+
I have sent them an email asking them if a special arrangement can be
made assuming anticipated monthly sales volume of $250,000. Let me
know if there's any other avenue I can work on. Thanks!
kyrie26-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
kyrie26-ga
on
26 Sep 2002 08:32 PDT
Hello bdw0617-ga,
The reply I got from 2CheckOut, on whether it was possible to receive
your funds more frequently than once a week, was :
"No, and weekly payments are only available after you have processed
sales over 1000.00 a week for 6 pay cycles."
I have done some research on other similar services, and as commented
on by zeno-ga, Pay Pal's service is also worth checking out. The other
services seem to be more expensive and/or have less features.
Let me know if you need further clarification.
Regards,
kyrie26-ga
|
