AMEX = American Express? I'm just wondering, as a customer says he wants to pay via AMEX. And as I myself only have Visa and MasterCard's, I'm not sure.

Thank you.

yeppers.

Thanks. I wasn't sure before. :)

LOL, I never knew that. I just thought that AMEX is another type of credit card from the US (since I'm UK based). Learnt something new today :D... well I learn a lot everyday I guess.

Alan

If your with Natwest / TSB or any UK bank you will probably find you need to pay more per month for the privalige of taking their crappy card if youv'e got a merchant account. I've had one transaction in six months on AMEX , a complete waste of time.

Yes, I agree. Although I am in the US, the fees associated with AMEX are rediculous. An then, AMEX and Discover get all huffy and puffy because VISA and MC have control over the majority of the industry...

Patrick

WorldPay doesnt support AMEX... i lost many customers because of this :bawling:

Originally posted by Precise
An then, AMEX and Discover get all huffy and puffy because VISA and MC have control over the majority of the industry...

Patrick

What? Discover ain't Visa or Mastercard? Oh man that explains why I constantly hear that people have issues with that card. Especially when travelling.

I supose AMEX is ok when you're expecting to have international customers, and Discover is great for low-budget accounts..?

What? Discover ain't Visa or Mastercard? Oh man that explains why I constantly hear that people have issues with that card. Especially when travelling.

Yes, they are the 4 major gateways...

How many would have an AMEX card anyway? Surely the majority of the word has either a Visa and/or a Mastercard which is accepted worldwide. Is there any reason to setup an alternative service to accept AMEX or other cards that aren't accepted by the standard credit card processor such as WorldPay?

Alan

AMEX is accepted by 2Checkout, and I think Revecom as well. By the way, I just sent a ticket to 2Checkout, and it got answered and resolved by a human in 5 minutes. Even though it's Sunday! :)

I think it is important as you grow to offer AMEX/Disc, however, most people who have credit cards have a VISA or MC. Most banks now offer VISA or MasterCard debit cards as well. I have never seen a bank offer an AMEX/Disc debit card though.

How many would have an AMEX card anyway?

There are a few businesses who use amex for corporate accounts. Some small businesses use them too, cause they get some bounus or something (forget about the fact that amex charges high fees and percentages, but I guess they like bonuses). We have had a few people who left previously because they wanted to pay by amex. I could not believe it.

Now, you can have then pay with paypal - paypal now accepts amex and discover. Of course, you can do that with 2checkout and paysystems too.

Originally posted by Magic
WorldPay doesnt support AMEX... i lost many customers because of this :bawling:


I truly doubt that you've lost many customers over it. AMEX is not that widely used and those who have it generally have a Visa or MC to use instead...simply because its not as widely accepted, by merchants, as Visa/MC.

--Tina

Depends on how you define 'many'. I was speaking proportionally ... and my client base is very small right now so losing 7 sales means a lot ;)

I think last time we looke dAmex wanted something like 5% on top of our processors fee which would put it at about 7.9% total which is just stupid so we didn't bother. Actually WorldPay will take Amex if you use the bank aquired service.

Originally posted by Magic
WorldPay doesnt support AMEX... i lost many customers because of this :bawling:


It does support AMEX.. you have to request it seperately... you will need to sign something called the Schedule E to use it. They charge a little extra to..:(

Originally posted by ho247
How many would have an AMEX card anyway? Surely the majority of the word has either a Visa and/or a Mastercard which is accepted worldwide.

Amex is very, very, very popular among businesses (both small and large alike). And since business owners can't (or shouldn't - some do, but they're fools for doing it) mix personal funds and business funds, even if the owner of the business has a Visa or a Mastercard, if the only credit card the business itself uses is Amex, and you don't accept Amex, you've lost that business customer.

The reasons why Amex is so popular among businesses is that it isn't actually a credit card (they're not extending you any credit - you have to pay it off, in full, every single month.) That makes it much easier not to over-extend yourself (if you know you don't have the cash to pay for it, you're not going to put it on your Amex card). Also, because they're not extending you credit, it's easier to get an Amex card than it is to get MC/Visa (MC/Visa do extensive credit checks - but many young start-up businesses don't have business credit profiles for MC/Visa to check, so they get turned down).

Amex also has no credit limit - so while you might only be able to spend $1,000 or $2,000 on your MC/Visa, you can spend as much as you can pay back on your Amex.

I personally, have both a MC and a Visa card for my personal use, but for my business I use Amex exclusively. I typically put between $4,000 and $6,000 per month on the Amex card - never in a million years could I get an MC/Visa with that high a credit limit.

As a small business owner, I love Amex - and I don't do business with people who don't take it.

Now... on the reverse side of the coin, from the perspective of *accepting* Amex - yes, it costs a little more, has a higher discount rate, and they do hold your money longer (Amex makes deposits after 72 hours, whereas MC/Visa it's after 48). But I've never, ever, ever had a problem with Amex. My money is in my bank account 72 hours after it's been processed, guaranteed (I don't even bother checking it anymore). I can't say that about MC/Visa, who has a nasty habit of holding back funds once every few months just to make me have to call them and complain. Amex has fantastic customer service, and I've got nothing at all bad to say about them (but could go on and on and on about MC/Visa).

Jason