Well i've decided to high-tail it and run away from 2CO, so many problems with their support I have nightmares.

I want to get a merchant account but there's some holes in my knowledge of how that's all done.

1. I've heard i need to be a LLC or S corp if i want a merchant account, then i've heard no, you don't. which is right?
2. lets say i DO have to be LLC or S, wheres the cheapest/easiest places online to do it? any suggestions from your previous experiences?

3. whether or not i incorporated or not, next is the merchant account, suggestions of the cheapest/best places to do it?

4. after i got the merchant account, i need an internet processor correct? if i'm wrong, where did i swerve? if i'm right, suggestions for the processors with the best rates?
- i'm not talking about 2CO or the like, i'm talking about authorize.net and the like

speaking of authorize.net, i don't buy their services from them right? but from a reseller of theirs? what's the cheapest resellers for them?

after all this is done, i use my shopping cart or whmap to use authorize or whatever processor i decided on to bill the cards into the merchant account which sends it to my bank account..... is my understanding.

any help? i know that's pretty jumbled but there are questions buried in there somewhere. thanks in advance for any help.

PS. someone pointed me to http://www.merchantexpress.com/ for the merchant account, any reviews on that?

1. You don't need to be LLC or S corp.
2. Everyone has their own opinion on that.. you'd want to see a business advisor about that.
3. CDGcommerce is great .. great prices, fast setup, fast support, and they're online system is great. www.cdgcommerce.com/whtpromo (http://www.cdgcommerce.com/whtpromo)
4. You will need to get what is called a gateway. Everyone has their own opinions on those. I prefer Authorize.net and their setup / online system is great.

Its real easy to setup. I refer my clients who don't already have a merchant account to go to CDGCommerce. They will setup the merchant account and you just tell them who you want to use as a gateway and they'll set that portion up as well.

Richard

you're saying signing up with that whtpromo at cdg will kill 2 birds with one stone? save me the trouble of finding a authorize.net resller? it'll make an account for me to use there? i just want to be 100% sure before trying that route.

Originally posted by xanthion
you're saying signing up with that whtpromo at cdg will kill 2 birds with one stone? save me the trouble of finding a authorize.net resller? it'll make an account for me to use there? i just want to be 100% sure before trying that route.

Yup.. on the application form it'll ask you what gateway you want to use and you can chose Authorize.net (they do have others if you want to chose another one..) .. Once your application is approved and your merchant account is setup, they'll email you with your merchant account login info and your Authorize.net (or whoever gateway you chose) login info.

Richard

I gotta say it sounds too good to be true. What happens to all the setup fees and all that jazz for authorize? Why would anyone use anyone besides cdg then? Sorry to seem skeptical, it's just we all gotta be wary of a "2 good to be true" scheme on the net these days.

I used authorize.net a long time ago and hated all the extra charges. I use the Linkpoint gateway now and very happy with them. There are no extra changes for transactions or anything. They do not change me either for recurring billing. I signed up with Cardservice and I have been extremely happy with the services. They are very professional and if you are thinking of running a business, I highly suggest Cardservice.

I even found a reseller on WHT who goes above and beyond to help me out. He let me speak with his programmer and got me the code that I needed as well as let me borrow his test store, which is something else that Linkpoint provides for free. With authorize.net, you have to pay for those test transactions.

I even have started refering my clients over to my reseller (http://www.merchantaccounts4less.com) and now my merchant account does not cost me anything with the all the referrals I have made to them. It is like a free merchant account.

Originally posted by websites4u2day
I used authorize.net a long time ago and hated all the extra charges. I use the Linkpoint gateway now and very happy with them. There are no extra changes for transactions or anything. They do not change me either for recurring billing. I signed up with Cardservice and I have been extremely happy with the services. They are very professional and if you are thinking of running a business, I highly suggest Cardservice.

I even found a reseller on WHT who goes above and beyond to help me out. He let me speak with his programmer and got me the code that I needed as well as let me borrow his test store, which is something else that Linkpoint provides for free. With authorize.net, you have to pay for those test transactions.

I even have started refering my clients over to my reseller (http://www.merchantaccounts4less.com) and now my merchant account does not cost me anything with the all the referrals I have made to them. It is like a free merchant account.

so you're using linkpoint as the gateway and that resller as the merchant acct?

is there ever such a thing as a particular place's merchant accts not "working with" or "incompatible" with any particular gateway?

I am using the Linkpoint as my electronic payment gateway, Cardservice as my merchant account provider and then my clients, I refer over to Merchant Accounts (http://www.merchantaccounts4less.com) and then they send me a commission every month on all my customer sales.

Plus authorize.net actually uses the First Data platform sometimes and LinkPoint is owned by First Data.

I am sure CDG has a referral type of program, but I know what my preference is. The support that I get from Merchant Accounts (http://www.loudcommerce.com) and Cardservice is phenomenal.

Some gateways do are not compatible with some merchant accounts and depending sometimes on what platform at First Data you are placed on, the gateway might not be able to support you.

My second choice for payment gateways is Verisign, with Authorize.net being my last choice.

As you can see with the WHT promo, you will see there are no setup fees for the gateway. I am sorry this deal does not attract you and it seems like a "too good to be true" scenario. You can search for cdgcommerce on WHT and see what kind of reputation they have.. :)

I used to use cardservice international with linkpoint years ago from the first business I started and it was great for what I was doing. However, when I needed to search for merchant accounts and internet gateways for clients, the cardservice international program didn't look too attractive compared to some others.

I e-mailed them the app and scanned documents on a Friday afternoon, but Monday I was up and running.. Setup in 1 business day with a great promo package, you can't beat that.

:beer:

Richard

Thanks John for the recommendation.

There are a lot of gateways to choose from. Each have their own pitfalls. There are different fees that might be charged by some. But if you think you are going to be hit with a lot of fraudulent transactions, Verisign has some great add-ons to choose form to help reduce fraudulent transactions.

And for the most part - depending on the type of business and volume, most account are usually approved in 24 hours. All depends on when the application get submitted etc. Usually anything under $30,000 a month and based in the United States is automatic acceptance.

so is there a % of every transaction and per transaction fee taken out by both the gateway and place im getting the merchant acct from? or just one or the other? i can't seem to find any rates on authorize.net about their fees.

I know with cdg wht promo authorize.net is $15/mo if that's what you are asking.

Richard

Does authorize.net - linkpoint - cardservice allow for automatic recurring billing?

I know Authorize.net does, but they do charge an extra fee for it. I was just looking over CDG's stuff again and apparently they have their own gateway system and it looks like the base "package" is free (i think you get 500 free transactions a month and recurring billing is free). Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Going through the documentation it sounds like a great deal cause it works just like Authorize.net as far as shopping cart programs, etc. wise so anything that supports Authorize.net will be able to support the cdggateway ..

Richard

Authorize.net's recurring billing is $50 setup fee and $30 monthly fee.. thats a lot of money for most people..lol..

Richard

CDGCommerce has some of the lowest fees per transaction rates that I've ever seen. They do charge a monthly fee, but if you're processing a large volume of orders, the low fee percentage makes up for it.

Originally posted by IncognitoNetworks
CDGCommerce has some of the lowest fees per transaction rates that I've ever seen. They do charge a monthly fee, but if you're processing a large volume of orders, the low fee percentage makes up for it.

Are you referring to the CDG merchant account monthly fee or are you saying that the CDG Gateway has monthly fee?

Ricahrd

Originally posted by xanthion
Does authorize.net - linkpoint - cardservice allow for automatic recurring billing?
Authorizenet.com offers recurring billing - it costs about $25 a month. Linkpoint offers it for free.

Thanks for the kind words, Richard & Incognito. :)

Beyond the info already discussed here in this thread, a few other things to look into when selecting a merchant account include the following:

1. Monthly Minimums - when you are just getting started, this can be a big deal during the initial months. Most processors charge a $25 monthly minimum fee - which is the minimum amount of discount (or discount+trans) fees that will be billed, even if you do $0 sales. This fee is typically charged in addition to any monthly gateway, statement or support fees.

2. Annual Fees - not all processors charge annual fees, but a fairly large % do these days so be sure to ask if there is any annual fee component of any kind that will apply. If you divide it by 12, you can determine the effective monthly cost it represents.

3. Early Termination Fees - most (but not all) processors charge an early termination fee. I have seen it range from as little as $95 to as much as many hundreds of dollars... you will want to have this waived by any processor you talk to if possible. Otherwise, should you later want to switch your account, sell your business or cancel it - you may incur an unexpected cost.

4. Merchant Reporting - in my opinion, having real-time merchant reporting is a huge benefit in that it lets you really see what is going on with your merchant account. In particular, if you can get setup with a solution that gives you the full details on your processing activity ranging from batches to ACH activity to fee deductions, that is ideal.

There are more of these types of solutions on the market now - just make sure to clarify with any processor exactly what details are provided and/or if there are extra costs involved. A lot of processors will charge extra for even a rudimentary online batch reporting service and some include it at no cost.

5. Fraud Detection & Scrubbing - this is a key area for any Internet merchant. Ask any processor you are considering what kind of fraud scrubbing or detection tools they provide and whether it requires a specific gateway system.

There are two types of fraud prevention systems that can be utilized - on the authorization side (i.e. prior or during a transaction) and on the settlement side (post-transaction).

You will also want to drill down on what costs are involved for either of the above and account for that when determining your total cost for your merchant processing solution.

6. Chargeback Processing - another big area, in particular for Internet merchants, are how chargebacks are handled. I.e. is there any pre-notification of a retrieval or chargeback prior to the merchant's account being debited and/or what is the process for that.

You'll also want to ask about how rebuttals are handled and what level of assistance is provided to help guide you through those kinds of disputes to see if it can be reversed in the event of an unfair chargeback.

7. Risk Management - another area to ask about is how risk issues are handled and what is the typical process for resolution.

This is a source of hgue variance between processors. Some processors may handle a risk issue within hours or days; another may take weeks to resolve it.

The attitude and communication that exist in a risk situation can make a huge difference especially when it may relate to a potential cashflow issue if it is not resolved promptly.

8. Transaction Downgrades & Classifications - a final issue that is worth mentioning... and which can really become a major item as the volume grows on a given account, is to ask any processor how they classify their various transaction tiers.

For instance, you may have heard of terms like "qualified", "non-qualified" - they represent "clusters" of transaction types that are billed at a specified rate.

As an example - some processors may charge a qualified rate for any typical credit card transaction but another may downgrade the very same sale to a higher % rate if the AVS does not match.

The same can be true for cards like corporate cards, foreign/international cards, Rewards cards and other types. Thus, it is good to ask about this and understand the full set of possible costs on each tier with any given processor.

9. Choosing the Appropriate Gateway - last but not least, it is important to select the right gateway for your needs. Typically, the starting point is to determine what shopping cart, billing software or custom application type you'll be implementing.

Then based on that, the processor(s) you interview should be able to point you in the right direction to the most cost effective gateway for your needs.

Authorize.Net is definitely a great solution, but personally I'd suggest eProcessingNetwork if you are building your own custom recurring billing application since there isn't any additional cost for recurrings with ePN vs. Authorize.Net.

Verisign is also a very solid gateway but I think it gets pricey for the typical small business/startup. There are lots of other options as well - Plug-n-Pay, CyberSource, Paradata, iTransact... but again it comes down to what you are trying to do and which will be the best match for both your needs and budget.

10. Reseller Programs - some processors have reseller programs which can be a great way to offset the cost of your account. This is really a whole different topic to itself in terms of the things to look for but in a nutshell - try to find a program that offers a residual profit-sharing structure that requires no minimum # of accounts to keep earning your monthly income... as well as a solution that would fit well with your current client's needs and the way you market value-adds to them.

Best of luck with your search! :)

could i bother you to answer your own questions? IE: go through wherever you said "ask your merchant acct provider what they do for X situation" and answer it as to how cdg does it?

I'd be more than happy to answer it but before I post anything, I am going to make sure it is ok for me to do so with the WHT moderators.

Normally for sales-related questions with a given provider, it is best to do that off-forum to avoid any possibility of it being considered self-promotion.

You should also consider http://www.merchantplus.com as a viable option. We have a lot of experience with them, and their rates are as good as you can find.

Sam

Normally for sales-related questions with a given provider, it is best to do that off-forum to avoid any possibility of it being considered self-promotion.

Why not try it, it looks like Im the only one that get warning points for it....:emlaugh:

Sorry I cant leave it without a comment, no offend to you.

I realy thing that if someone have questions like this, they should go directly to the PSP and not ask on WHT.

Why not try it, it looks like Im the only one that get warning points for it....

Trinitron, you and me are in the same boat then. I answer a question, and look out.....I'm on vacation from WHT:)

One question thought, how do you make the quote area appear? I tried it on the post above this one, and it did not take. hmmmm....

You might also check out http://www.loudcommerce.com; they helped me with a merchant account and I have been extremely happy with their services and support.

I use the LinkPoint gateway and there have been no outages and I pay one flat rate of $15.00 a month. No extra transaction charges and no extra charges to use their recurring billing

Originally posted by Cash&Sol
One question thought, how do you make the quote area appear? I tried it on the post above this one, and it did not take. hmmmm....


I just click in the Post Reply on the Quote button ;)

and then copy paste your text into the box that push up.

Yeah, I did the whole cut and paste thing but it does not have that neat looking box that appears when you do it. I guess I need to practice a little more.

Is there any where that offer Merchant accounts and gateway like what cdgcommerce for UK Client's as all the one's i have looked at on here are for US

There are actually a number of them afcbob. Just they cannot come out and say it - it is against the TOS, but look at a few sigs and click a few links

Also Afcbob, are you looking for a direct UK merchant account, or a third party solution?
You might want talk to force tronix. He should be able to help you out.