Hello,

I want to accept credit cards online and I dont want to go through services such as revecom.

Could someone give me a walk through of what needs to be done, and what troubles I might have setting things up.

I am willing to spend some money, but of course I would like to limit it as much as possible.

If someone would do this, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks!!!

Here's a brief walkthrough:

1- Contact your bank and ask them if they have online processing of Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard)

2- If so, you will need to pay a fee for each card you support... from almost nothing to almost 60 000 :D

3- If not, the same fees will occure because you will need to process CC numbers yourself, on a machine.

4- Developpe or find a SECURE form that gathers client's info, Credit Card numbers, set up accounts, etc.

5- You need a way to have automated rebill, again HIGH SECURITY, & other nifty stuff like invoice reporting, etc.

if you are not ready to invest some $$ in this, you might only get VISA support... Mastercard can be pretty expensive, and so can be Amex.

Well that was a real broad view of things... Could you get a little specific as far as how interaction with payment gateways, certificates, and setting up merchant accounts(or using a 3rd party merchant account).

Thanks.

I'm looking for the same thing. I would like to accept credit cards online but I would prefer to not go through a third party system. I may be wrong, but I believe that most customers are hesitant in choosing a web host already and having a third party billing system only adds to their anxiety.

Félix C.Courtemanche,

I noticed that you were at one time considering going with CIBC to handle this for you. Did you ever end up going with them?

I'm currently considering this as an option. The monthly fees are a little high (as compared to nothing) but the discount is fairly reasonable and you can be confident that they are not going out of business anytime soon.

Here is the numbers that I got from them:

$125 setup fee for accepting Visa + security deposit (variable) + 5% discount rate
$150 activation fee to use Payway (their transaction gateway)
$38/month to Payway + 21 cents/transaction.

Does this sound reasonable to everyone?

from what I have read, the 5% rate might be a tad bit high, I have seen it in the mid 2's.

Im not sure about the other aspects of the plan.

Originally posted by WebBloom
<SNIP>
$125 setup fee for accepting Visa + security deposit (variable) + 5% discount rate
$150 activation fee to use Payway (their transaction gateway)
$38/month to Payway + 21 cents/transaction.

Does this sound reasonable to everyone?

NO WAY!

I went throuh electronictransfer.com

I paid NO setup fees
I have access through authorize.net, a leading gateway
company.

$29.95 per month for my terminal lease, $10 per month
gateway fee.
2.30 % discount rate, .40 per trans action, this includes
AVS check on the card (Address Verification System)

I had doc fee of $40, but they paid to overnight my paper work
both ways.

I was into my merchant accounnt for $69.95

I am accepting Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.

:D

No more third party for me, they are a hassel if there are billing issues.

To use electronictransfer all you have to do is gate a certificate, is that correct?

ljprevo
I went throuh electronictransfer.com

I paid NO setup fees
I have access through authorize.net, a leading gateway
company.


But this is still a third party, not a regular merchant account. It is also only for US citizens and US based companies. They have a program for international users but the fees are higher.

The No setup is also a limited time offer as their page indicates the normal setup fees are:

Application Fee $ 90 - $ 195
Sales Receipts $ 10 - $ 50
Amex Setup $ 50 - $ 75

So after offer setup can range from $150 - $320.

seattlite
from what I have read, the 5% rate might be a tad bit high, I have seen it in the mid 2's.


Since he was talking about CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) I assume he is in Canada (although they have branches internationally). 5% is near the top but still a normal range for here where it varies from 3.5-6.5%.

As for the setup costs, to compare to the US companies multiply them by .65 for a truer comparison in US dollars.

Originally posted by NyteOwl


But this is still a third party, not a regular merchant account. It is also only for US citizens and US based companies. They have a program for international users but the fees are higher.



electronictransfer.com is not a third party billing company, they are a merchant account service provider, yes I have a full blown merchant account. The bank the actual merchant account is setup through is National Bank of the Redwoods, Santa Rosa, CA

They are in the business to get the whole package put together for you. Your merchant account at the bank, your visa/mastercard account, AMEX, Discover, Authorize.net set up, etc.

They handle it all and they did a good job at it.

NyteOwl is right. I am based in Canada and all of the setup fees I listed are in Canadian dollars. My Company is incorporated and I am in the process of setting up a business account which allows me a little more flexibility when choosing American merchant account options.

However, I still have to be careful that they allow Canadian based companies. As far as charging in US funds I don't find this a problem. Most prices online are listed in US funds anyways and if I am working with a customer in a face to face situation they can always pay be cheque if the US funds are a problem.

I'm just tyring to find a reasonable solution with comparitively low discount rates but still a company that I can trust. The solution that I choose will also be the solution that I will recommend to my customers wanting e-commerce capabilities so I would like to try to setup something right from the very beginning.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Originally posted by WebBloom
NyteOwl is right. I am based in Canada and all of the setup fees I listed are in Canadian dollars. My Company is incorporated and I am in the process of setting up a business account which allows me a little more flexibility when choosing American merchant account options.

<SNIP>


He may have been right about the Canadian issue, but not about electronictransfer.com setting up merchant accounts.

I had a merchant account in the past from Card Services International. (I dropped it for lack of use) My bundle rate was 2.9% (I think) and I was using Authorize.net

I'm not affiliated with them now, but you could find an agent by going to http://www.cardservice.com/

Hope that helps :cool:

sPoT!